Riot has published a post called Playing with Respect, and the message is simple: abusive and toxic voice comms don’t belong in VALORANT, and the studio keeps investing in ways to detect them and hand out penalties. With Patch 13.06, the Riot Voice Evaluation system got better at identifying toxic comms in Spanish, Portuguese and Korean, with more languages arriving in the coming months.
What actually changed
Riot Voice Evaluation (RVE) is the in-game detection system for voice comms, and according to Riot it has been evolving continuously. The results are already visible: thanks to earlier improvements, Riot says it now detects and penalizes twice as many instances of voice comms abuse compared to the past year.
- Patch 13.06 improves detection in Spanish, Portuguese and Korean.
- Riot promises support for more languages in the upcoming months.
- Player reports remain a key part of the system – tech alone isn’t enough.
Why comms matter so much in VALORANT
Riot frames it plainly: VALORANT was built as a deeply competitive tactical shooter, and the result of a match should be decided by what happens in the gameplay, not by someone’s disruptive behavior. Calling out enemy positions, coordinating utility, planning a retake – that’s often the difference between a win and a loss. Spammy noises, harassment and threats get in the way of all of it. If you’re still figuring out who brings what to a team, we’ve covered the agents and roles in a separate guide.
The expectation was spelled out earlier this year in the Riot Games Community Pact: Play to Win. Play Fair. Play with Respect. Or go play something else. Riot recently talked about Playing Fair and the updated anti-boosting tech from the Anticheat team; this post is the Playing with Respect half of the story.
So is trash talk banned?
No. Riot is explicit that VALORANT is a competitive game and trash talk is a natural part of competition – RVE is not there to wipe out every bit of banter. The rule of thumb Riot offers: keep it about the game, not the person.
- Fine: questioning a play, banter with your opponent.
- Over the line: repeatedly attacking another player, threats, targeting someone’s identity, hate speech and slurs.
Riot also suggests reading the room – if teammates are objecting or going quiet because of how you talk, or if you keep collecting reports, it’s time to dial it back. That goes double in ranked, where tempers run hottest; our overview of Valorant ranks walks you through the climb itself.
What if someone starts on you first?
You’re allowed to stand up for yourself, but Riot makes it clear that self-defense isn’t a free pass to respond with abuse of your own. The policies apply to everyone: even when the other player kicked things off, continuing the argument can end in penalties for anyone involved if the replies also cross the line. Context matters, but keep your responses clean of hate speech and other inappropriate behavior.
The stronger move is to report. Riot stresses that detection tech is only one part of the system – player reports flag incidents that need evaluating. If someone is abusing voice comms, use the Voice Comms Abuse report category in-game so Riot can review that interaction, act where appropriate, and keep improving the detection systems.
Where to go next
Riot admits disruptive behavior won’t disappear overnight, but says it will keep investing in the technology and systems that identify abuse and act on it – the RVE expansion is another step. If you’d rather queue with people who speak your language, check out the Czech and Slovak community, and you’ll find everything else we’ve written in our Valorant news section.
FAQ
Riot updated the Riot Voice Evaluation system so it better identifies toxic voice comms in Spanish, Portuguese and Korean. Improvements for additional languages are planned for the coming months.
According to Riot, improvements to RVE over the last year have helped it detect and penalize twice as many instances of voice comms abuse.
Riot says RVE is not designed to remove all trash talk. The line is crossed by repeated personal attacks, threats, targeting someone’s identity, hate speech and slurs – banter about the game itself is part of competition.
You can stand up for yourself, but self-defense doesn’t excuse abuse in return. If your responses also cross the line, you can be penalized too, even when you weren’t the one who started it.
Use the Voice Comms Abuse report category in-game. Riot then evaluates the interaction, takes action where appropriate, and uses the reports to keep improving its detection systems.