Valorant devs tease new game modes to break up competitive “stress”

New casual modes could soon be on the way to Valorant as Riot Games is looking for more ways to break up the stress of a lengthy competitive grind.

Riot’s tactical FPS currently boasts just three game types. There’s the standard plant and defuse gameplay found across casual and competitive playlists. You have your Spike Rush mode for some lightning-fast rounds. Now there’s also a deathmatch mode to help warm up your aim.

On top of these modes, players have access to a solo training space, though that rounds out every playable aspect of Valorant. For the time being, no additional modes are on the horizon, though developers have teased what’s in the works for future updates.

Rather than adding more traditional game types, Riot is looking to “flesh out” the systems around it, Game Director Joe Ziegler told USGamer. Here’s what the developers are working on to create more of a social experience around the competitive modes.

Riot wants more “social” game modes for Valorant

“Social downtime” is a key factor that Ziegler addressed. Riot wants to keep players engaged in the window between competitive matches. Whether it’s cooperative warm-up spaces or simple in-game areas to hang out, they want to promote new social features to keep everyone playing.

“Those are the spaces that I think we’re going to continue see growing around Valorant. More tools to help you compete, but also more tools to actually help you just a live a more full life inside of Valorant,” he said.

One of the main reasons that social features are being prioritized is to help alleviate stress, Ziegler explained. Going through a lengthy session often sees players trying to work their way through ranks and reach new peaks. This can obviously be a draining experience with little to break up the intense action.

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Riot wants to provide new social spaces to let everyone cool off, instead of pushing through “very stressful competitive games back-to-back.”

There’s no telling exactly what form these social experiences may take, though it sounds like multiple features may be on the way. Core game modes could still be on the cards for nearby updates, however, so expect to see a mix of casual and competitive additions moving forward.

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New modes aren’t the only thing Riot is working on either. With more and more Agents in the pipeline, developers also teased that a pick-ban system could soon be added to the FPS.