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Finding someone fair and nice in a competitive internet landscape is like finding a unicorn in hell. Even in casual matches, joining a voice chat is a coin-toss gamble at who you will encounter. Riot’s employees incentivize players by promising a special reward if they encounter someone like that in Valorant. Tales of getting the coveted Riot gunbuddy are often spoken in hushed whispers, yet not many have seen them in person. And yet, this does happen from time to time… all you have to do is be nice during the game and in voice comms.
A heartwarming story and an example to others
Valorant player who goes by Nunziu has come forward on Reddit to share an amazing tale about how they got a Riot gunbuddy. Interestingly, they were playing Unrated together with friends, so the environment was great to teach a new player the ropes when it comes to Valorant. Here’s how it went:
“I was playing unrateds with a couple friends, one is brand-new to the game, so I was basically trying to explain to them what his skills do during the game and just trying give calls throughout the game. Enemy team had an asc3 Reyna popping off so I started sweating it a bit to try making the game close. Enemy Reyna started giving me passive-aggressive vibes in all chat saying “nice immo buddy lol” whenever they’d kill me but I tried to genuinely be nice about it and told them they were really good and could easily get one too. We ended up winning 13-12 with my newbie friend getting the last kill and everyone getting super hyped about it on VC.”
“After the game ended our KJ who apparently is a Rioter hiding in plain sight added me and said “great game, i’m sending you a riot gun buddy for being a great teammate”. My friend also got a riot buddy.”
Can the Valorant community learn from this?
A question as old as, well, Valorant itself. Or online gaming if we’re going to stretch the analogy. The comments to this Reddit post have proven that there’s hope for us yet, with most people praising the OP and their friends. It proves that it’s important to teach new players in a calm and patient manner. That it’s good to be respectful and nice in voice comms and in chat. And that sometimes, you might just get rewarded for your contribution. It gives us all something to think about when we queue up for the next match. Because maybe, just maybe, one of your teammates or opponents is a Riot employee in disguise and you can earn a gunbuddy through your behaviour, if not through skill.
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