The newly introduced feature allowing players to block others, which was added in the latest patch, has been temporarily disabled due to a bug affecting its functionality. Here are more details on the issue.
The New Feature
A new feature in Valorant allowed players to block others who they found disruptive or unpleasant. Once a player was blocked, all communication with them, including chat messages, voice comms, party invites, and friend requests, would no longer be visible. However, due to a bug that caused concern within the community, this feature has been temporarily disabled.
By adding the "Block" Function, Riot somehow has made it WORSE for streamers LMFAOOOO pic.twitter.com/CwPM76t2Ad
— L21saac (@L21saac) September 25, 2024
The Bug
The bug in question allowed blocked players' nicknames to be visible even if they had the name-hiding feature enabled. This issue arose because players could access their blocked list and see the nicknames of those they had blocked. This loophole opened the door for abuse, particularly stream sniping, where players deliberately seek out streamers or pro players in-game to disrupt their play.
Hey, we realized that the PC UI related to blocked players unintentionally reveals the IDs of players with the "Hide My Riot ID ..." setting enabled. We're going to temporarily disable the feature while we work on a fix! While disabled you won't be able to block/unblock players.
— Riot Nu (Marcus Reid) (@RiotNu) September 25, 2024
Conclusion
Disabling the new blocking feature in Valorant was a necessary step to address privacy concerns. The bug, which revealed hidden nicknames, posed a potential threat to fair gameplay and the comfort of users, especially streamers and pro players. Riot will likely prioritize fixing this issue to ensure player privacy and a better experience for all.
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