Finally, the smurfing problem in VALORANT is being taken care of by Riot Games and honestly? It was due time. The company has just revealed that starting with patch 11.09, mobile phone verification will be a requirement for players at the Ascendant rank and above. This is their latest step against smurf accounts at the highest levels of the competitive first-person shooter.
Smurfing is when top players create secondary accounts to play in lower tiers. It has been a significant problem in the VALORANT community as players keep complaining they have to face opponents with much higher skills than they have. The new policy will force players in Ascendant, Immortal, and Radiant ranks to connect their accounts to a phone number.
The feedback from the community has been, to say the least, quite mixed. Some of the gamers see the situation as a positive change, like JayTea who tweeted: “Wait honestly this really is kind of a W, sick of smurfs messing my rank.” However, on the other side, there are also those who are doubtful about the efficacy of the measure.
Freakmonger, which is a user, raised a very relevant issue: “But are Ascendant+ players really going to think twice about creating alternate accounts and then smurfing in lower elo?” This indeed is the main problem – smurfing of high-ranked players in lower ranks like Silver and Gold, which the new system does not directly limit for lower tiers.
In addition, there exists the entire workaround scenario. TRZAN stated, “All u need to do is get 20 1$ sims and send verification to a number wen u want to play this doesn’t change anything.” They are correct – determined smurfs could certainly resort to cheap SIM cards as a means to get around the verification process. Still, let’s be honest about it, how many people would actually go through the trouble of getting several SIM cards just to smurf?
The regional rollout was another thing that players pointed out. User qtGiaaa made it a point to mention that “11.09 only impacts NA, LATAM, BR, and KR and it’s a beta feature. Other regions will come later.” If this is true, then players in Europe or elsewhere might not experience this change happening immediately.
Some gamers are anticipating the consequences already. Pain cracked a joke about the situation by saying, “Damn, I just got my Smurf to asc. Guess I’ll need another number soon lol,” which portrays the current situation quite sadly but realistically.
Moreover, the future operation of this system is not very clear. DFreniek posted the question “Does it mean that 1 account is linked to 1 phone number?” The response is pretty much: yes – because it is directed at preventing sharing of accounts and also making it more difficult to own multiple high-rank accounts.
The smurfing debate has been going on for a long time. _133v expressed the heated opinion “while I totally agree with you, if they don’t let diamond players Smurf in silver, their player base will shrink” which…wow, that’s quite a bold statement. Meanwhile, MFparlay pointed out “I think you underestimate the number of players quitting the game because of Smurfs.”
And what about the whole market for selling accounts? BoydTryon and others were discussing the possibility of players simply buying accounts at high ranks, and one user pointed out that the cost of phone verification for purchased accounts would be “pennies dependent on an operator and region.”
Interestingly, Riot is starting with the higher ranks. User NotFoundDeon said “it will slowly go down to lower ranks, it is in beta for now in selected countries.” Therefore, the present situation may merely signify a larger anti-smurfing campaign.
The mobile verification method is a familiar one – Overwatch and Dota 2 have also implemented it. However, VALORANT’s competition is especially prone to smurfing because the game is so tactical and team-oriented. The presence of just one smurf on either side can tilt the scale of the competition.
The most amusing aspect might be that the community is so divided over the issue. Some people are declaring it a major victory, while others have already devised their workaround plans. Moreover, there is even a debate about the importance of high-rank smurfing, with DimitrisK claiming that “smurfing on high rank doesn’t affect the players” while jaskabb countering that “anyone in high immo-rad can farm ascendants.”
The timing is also very interesting—just as the competitive scene is getting hotter. VALORANT’s esports scene has been evolving very quickly, and a ranked system that is more integrity-focused could facilitate the game’s competitiveness.
Will this measure actually drive out smurfing as a problem? The answer is probably No, not 100%—there will always be some determined players who manage to find a way to get past the restrictions. Nonetheless, it should become a lot harder to have multiple high-rank accounts, thereby perhaps cleaning the top of the ladder.
The more significant question is whether Riot will eventually apply this limitation to lower ranks. Let’s face it—most complaints about smurfing come from these ranks. The Silver and Gold players who are fed up with Diamond smurfs in their ranks have been the main complainants since the game’s launch.
For now, high-ranked players should get their phone numbers ready. The coming 11.09 patch will soon be in force, and the hunt for smurfs will start at the top. It will be pretty fascinating to watch how this affects the overall ranked experience and if it indeed makes matches fairer for everyone. Only time can tell if this mobile verification system is the long-awaited solution for players. PlayStation and Xbox gamers will be watching closely.
