Toxicity and Smurfs: Playing Valorant in Low ELO Feels Hopeless Now

It’s been five years since Valorant launched, and yet, for players stuck in low ELO, the experience feels worse than ever. Smurfs ruin matches, toxic teammates kill the vibe, and the ranked grind? It feels pointless. Riot keeps dropping skins and agents, but somehow, the core issues in low ranks stay ignored. Every competitive game feels like a gamble. Are you getting actual teammates or just another smurf stacking with friends for easy wins? It’s exhausting, and it looks like players are hopeless now.

Well, I got stuck on an interesting Reddit thread discussion, where players were venting about the exact same issues. And the sad part? Most players don’t believe Riot is listening.

Smurfing and Unfair Matchmaking: The Core Problems

Let’s talk about the elephant in the server: smurfing and garbage matchmaking. If you’re in low to mid ELO, chances are you’ve already lost count of how many times your games have been wrecked by smurfs. One player on Reddit put it perfectly:

 

“I’m Plat 1 and completely hard stuck. No matter how much I try, I just can’t climb — and it’s not because I’m not improving. The matchmaking is absolutely broken.”

 

And they’re not wrong. When you’re consistently getting teammates two whole ranks below you, while the enemy is stacked with Plat 2s and 3s, this is certainly not fair. What’s the point of having a ranked system if the matchmaking makes it feel totally random?

 

Then comes the smurf problem. Every second or third match has someone dropping 40 kills like they’re in a custom lobby. And no, it's not that they’re just having a good game. These are high-ELO players farming lower lobbies for fun, absolutely stomping casuals and legit grinders. Meanwhile, the rest of us are stuck trying to coordinate with teammates who don’t use comms, ego peek angles, or treat every round like a deathmatch.

Another player shared how it took them three months to get out of Bronze and into Silver, and then another month just to barely break into Gold. That’s not a grind, that’s ELO hell.

 

 

AFKing and Toxicity

If smurfing wasn’t enough to ruin your ranked experience, let’s throw in the other two ingredients of low ELO pain: AFKs and toxicity. One player summed it up perfectly and honestly, it was darkly hilarious:

 

"I love being banned 1 week for AFK 3 rounds while my racist toxic Jett cusses out 5 generations of my family and gets slapped with a 10-minute ban or XP warning."

 

And it’s hard to disagree. Valorant has one of the most voice-reliant systems in any shooter, yet it’s also one of the most unmoderated. You queue into comp, hoping for a good match, and instead get teammates who flame within two rounds, refuse to communicate, or just start trolling after one lost pistol. And what can you do? Report them and cross your fingers.

At the end of the day, Valorant is supposed to be a game, something we play to enjoy, compete, and grow. Riot, we’re not asking for miracles. We’re asking for a system that actually protects players, especially the ones trying to improve and enjoy the game. Fix matchmaking so that Bronze doesn’t get tossed into lobbies with high-Plats. Because right now, it feels like the players who care most are getting punished the hardest.

Written By:  Ashish Jha, India Today Gaming