How to Leave the Game in Valorant

Sometimes things happen in the middle of a gaming session. You may need to make an emergency bathroom trip. Or maybe your spouse (or mother) is urgently calling you from another room. Whatever the case, there are times where you may need to leave a Valorant match or game prematurely.

How do you leave a game that’s already in session in Valorant?

In a perfect world, players would see a “Leave Game” button firmly embedded on their screen during a match, but this isn’t a perfect world and Valorant is far from a perfect game. Keep reading to learn how to navigate your menu and get to the option for leaving matches early – and discover the possible repercussions if you do.

How to Leave Competitive Matches?

Leaving online multi-player games while a match is in progress is generally frowned upon because it can affect other team members’ experience. However, most multi-player games do allow premature game departure to some extent, with penalties.

When Valorant first released, it had a host of issues including players not being able to leave a game in progress. Since then, Riot Games has introduced several fixes to address most of the issues at launch. Still, some players are having problems leaving a game before it’s done. At this point, it’s not necessarily the developers’ fault. Players simply don’t know where to look to exit a match.

Check out the steps below to bow out of a current match:

1. Press the ESC button to open the menu.
   
2. Select the gear icon in the upper-right corner.
   
3. Select “Leave Match and Exit to Main Menu.”
   
4. Press “Yes” to confirm leaving.

Keep in mind that there are penalties for leaving a match early. Some bans are temporary and can last anywhere between a few minutes to a few hours. Repeat offenders may eventually get a permanent ban.

Understanding Approximate Match Time

Competitive matches are when five-player teams are pitted against each other to plant or defuse the “spike” or bomb. The first team to win 13 rounds out of 25 is declared the winner. Even if you’ve never played ranked (competitive mode), just the notion of going 25 rounds can make your head spin.

According to Riot Games, each round can last up to 1 minute and 40 seconds. There are also 7-10 seconds between rounds and the buy phase can last half a minute or more. When you add in other variables like the time it takes to defuse or plant the spike, matches can last an hour or more.

Unfortunately, many players enter matches without fully realizing the time commitment involved with completing them. Leaving prematurely is also more likely to happen if a team is losing a match. Riot Games implemented penalties for players who abandon their teammates mid-game, but that hasn’t stopped this phenomenon from occurring more often than developers would like to admit.

Understanding how long matches can take may not help when an emergency crops up, but it can give you an idea about how much time you’ll need for a match.

Leaving a Game vs. Surrendering

Players that disconnect from a match mid-way through, called “leavers” in the community, do their teammates a disservice. Team members are left to compete in the remaining rounds with one less person, making it almost impossible to win a match.

If it’s not an emergency and you want to quit a match for other reasons, you may want to consider forfeiting the game instead.

Patch 1.0.2 brought a new feature to Valorant matches: Early Surrender. If you’ve played League of Legends, you’re probably already familiar with how this works. New players or those who’ve never played LOL may be interested to know that there is a way to “give up” on a match if your team feels it’s “unwinnable.”

Generally, the only situations wherein you’d contemplate an Early Surrender is if:

• You have a “leaver” on your team (someone who leaves the match prematurely).
• You feel someone on the opposite team is cheating to run roughshod all over your team.

Being a person short in a 5v5 match can put your team at a disadvantage as well as someone who’s cheating to win rounds. However, Early Surrenders are not to be taken lightly and the entire team must agree to it.

If you want to suggest an Early Surrender, simply type one of these commands in the group chat:

• /concede
  
• /ff
  
• /surrender
  

Doing so will notify the rest of the team of your suggestion. If they agree with the surrender, they can push the F5 button to accept it. Otherwise, F6 rejects the surrender, and the team continues with the match. Typing “/yes” or “/no” also works to accept or reject a proposed Early Surrender.

Riot implemented specific forfeit rules to keep players from abusing this option, though. You need to meet the following parameters to qualify for an Early Surrender:

• Every player needs to vote in favor of surrendering.
• You can’t suggest a surrender before the 8th round of a match.
• Early Surrender propositions are limited to once per half (match).

Keep in mind, though, that you’ll lose a flat amount of MMR or Match Making Rating if you do choose to surrender, and sometimes it’s more MMR than completing a losing match. So, it’s a good rule of thumb to save Early Surrenders for extreme circumstances like a team member disconnect or someone is cheating.

AFK Penalties During Valorant Matches

What if you stop playing the game without officially leaving the match?

AFK (“away from keyboard”) players are frowned upon nearly as much as players who officially disconnect from a game mid-match. The main difference is AFK players will stay in a match to avoid early disconnect penalties and farm experience points, but their teammates must pick up the slack for the missing player.

Riot Games has a system implemented that monitors player behavior. Players who consistently disappear or drop out of games will now be penalized. Penalties may vary depending on the offense. They can include:

• Warnings
• Increased queue restrictions
• Denying XP for games determined were AFK’d
• Permanent bans

AFKing is a serious offense, so when in doubt, leave the game officially or ask your teammates to vote for a forfeit. You may receive a temporary ban for leaving mid-match, but the penalties are not as harsh as dropping from a game without officially leaving it.

A Word About Bans for Leaving Matches

You can count on incurring some type of penalty for leaving a match early. However, penalties vary depending on a variety of factors.

For example, if you play a competitive match and leave near the beginning (1-2 rounds), you may see a 2–4-hour queue timeout or ban. If you leave closer towards the end of a match and no one reports you, though, you may only see an hour restriction or no queue restrictions.

Things get serious when you’re a repeat “leaver” offender. Leaving more than twice a day for a few days may yield a “7 Days Only Comp Queue Restriction.” During this period, players will be unable to participate in competitive queues, but all other modes are open to them. You may earn an early reprieve from the restriction if you play other modes without quitting during the ban.

Once the 7-day ban is ended, you have a clean slate. If you decide to leave games again, the penalty escalates to a 320 Hour/13 Days ban. Players who frequently get the 7-day or 13-day ban are in danger of receiving a permanent ban from the game.

Choose Your Exit Strategy Wisely

Exiting a match mid-game is generally frowned upon in the online multi-player community, but some things are out of your control. If you have a genuine emergency, it’s better to officially leave a game rather than drop out of one and get accused of an AFK.

On the other hand, if you’re a team member short because someone disconnected or you feel like you can’t win a match, Early Surrender may be an option. Try to discuss it with your teammates first, though, instead of springing it on them. You’re more likely to get the consensus you want if you talk about it first.

Have you ever left a Valorant game mid-match? Did you use the Early Surrender option, or did you disconnect early? Tell us about it in the comments section below.