Riot has just recently confirmed a Public Beta Environment (PBE) test server à la League of Legends on their latest blog post.
This PBE server test will let Riot reveals new features and in-game improvements for several lucky users. Hopefully, the feedback will allow the devs to spot the missing bugs and how balanced things are before fully releasing it for the public.
Corrie Hardin, Riot's Senior Release Manager, said that the PBE will serve a similar purpose to the one in League of Legends.
This test will help the devs gather more information to capture users' performance and expose early bugs.
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What Will Valorant's PBE Test Server Bring On The Table?
It's still unclear what the PBE test server introduces, but it's safe to expect something massive coming from Riot.
Hardin added that several features will be coming and patches of the game will be targeted for a limited amount of time.
Thousands of players are expected to participate. This server analysis will be the first time Valorant introduce massive pre-release testing since its official launch last June. The latest pre-release testing was either made for internal or for a small segment of press & internet gaming personalities.
Among the PBE test server, Riot also tackled how they're dealing with smurfing.
Senior Producer Ian Fielding said that the company is taking action to combat it. They now have a 'behind-the-scenes system' that lets them track an individual's performance and notices when a player makes a 'highly disproportionate impact' in a game.
"We stop leveraging this system for Immortal+ players because there isn't a ton of room to smurf or play down when you are already near the top ranks," said Fielding.
This is definitely good news for the fanbase who wants a healthier game experience, because let's be real, smurfing sucks.
Read the full Ask Valorant weekly segment here.
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When Will We See Its Full Release?
The pre-release environment will be released 'sometime in the first half of 2021.' The dev is yet to announce how long this testing period will last or when the full-release will be scheduled. However, League of Legends usually takes two weeks to test before a patch's release, so it's safe to assume that into account.
Hopefully, this PBE testing will end in a massive revamping of the game's mechanism before its full-release for the public. Valorant is not immune to bugs, especially after a brand-new map introduced, so here's hoping for a more stable server.
Valorant is available on Microsoft Windows for free. To play the game, simply head over to Valorant's website at PlayValorant.com and create a Riot Game account if you don't have one.
