Riot Games has started issuing penalties in VALORANT for players detected using stream sniping and instalock tools as part of Patch 13.05. The update, released on September 1, also prepares the game for Champions Shanghai Pick’Ems and outlines a major Agent Gear progression change arriving later this month.
Riot says players caught using stream sniping or instalock tools can now receive temporary game bans, with repeated violations escalating to permanent bans. The company did not publish detailed detection methods, which is typical for anti-abuse systems, but the change marks a more direct enforcement step against tools Riot considers harmful to competitive integrity.
The new penalties build on Riot’s broader crackdown on unfair ranked behavior. In July, the company said it had improved systems for detecting practices including boosting, win-trading and stream sniping, with possible consequences such as account suspensions and reversions to rank, MMR and ranked rewards. Patch 13.05 expands that effort by explicitly naming instalock tools alongside stream sniping and confirming that bans are now being rolled out.
Stream sniping generally involves using another player’s live broadcast to gain information that would not normally be available during a match. Instalock tools, meanwhile, can automate or accelerate Agent selection in ways that give users an artificial advantage when attempting to secure a particular character. Riot’s decision to target both directly suggests the studio is focusing not only on traditional cheating software, but also on third-party tools that interfere with matchmaking and competitive fairness.
Patch 13.05 also brings back Pick’Ems for Champions Shanghai. Beginning September 10, players will be able to make Group Stage predictions through the VALORANT client or the web, earning points for correctly selecting advancing teams and additional points for predicting exact placements. Riot is also offering participation rewards, with predictions needing to be submitted before the Group Stage begins on September 24.
Outside competitive integrity and esports, Riot is preparing a significant change to Agent Gear progression. Patch 13.06, scheduled for September 22, will tie individual pieces of Agent Gear more directly to how much a player uses the associated Agent. Players will keep everything they have already unlocked, and Kingdom Credits will continue to be used for future gear purchases.
That upcoming change means Patch 13.05 effectively serves as a warning period for players currently unlocking cosmetics tied to Agents they rarely play. Riot is encouraging players to finish those progression tracks now if they want to secure specific items under the existing system. More details on the revised Agent Gear structure are expected alongside Patch 13.06.
The remainder of Patch 13.05 is comparatively light and focuses largely on bug fixes. Riot adjusted audio attenuation for sound sprays so they can only be heard from nearby, reducing the chance that cosmetic audio interferes with team communication. The studio says this behavior will become the standard for future audio sprays as well.
Several Agent-specific issues have also been addressed, including fixes affecting Chamber, Cypher, Deadlock, Fade, KAY/O, Omen, Sage and Waylay. Riot also corrected problems involving smokes continuing to block flashes after visually dissipating, Combat Report information and Ultimate voice lines persisting under certain conditions.
PC players receive an additional quality-of-life option in the Range. Practice mode can now spawn one, five or ten bots, with five becoming the new default. Riot has described Patch 13.05 as a relatively small update overall, while saying the upcoming 13.06 release will be considerably larger.
For Patch 13.05, the most consequential change is therefore happening behind the scenes rather than through weapon or Agent balance adjustments. By introducing escalating bans for stream sniping and instalock tools, Riot is broadening the types of third-party behavior it is prepared to punish directly, while Champions Shanghai and the Agent Gear overhaul set up the next major developments later in September.
