There’s nothing wrong with playing multiplayer games like VALORANT by yourself. Sometimes, players want to zone out and tap heads, and don’t want to queue with that friend who they can’t tell is really bad. Appearing offline is the perfect way to do that.
Riot hasn’t implemented an official in-game feature that allows players to appear offline in-game, but it is possible to do it via a completely free third-party program. This piece of software will allow you to appear offline while you play.
How to appear offline in VALORANT using Deceive
To appear offline in VALORANT, you’ll need to download and install Deceive on your computer, then set it up. Don’t worry, though, I found the whole thing to be a very straightforward process, and so will you.
It’s important to note Riot isn’t a fan of third-party applications. Deceive is a reliable application that has been around for years without issue. I know that from experience. There is always a risk that it could result in a VALORANT ban, though, so use it at your own discretion.
To make it even easier for you, I’ve broken it down into six simple steps:
- Download Deceive on Github.
- Once the program is downloaded, create a shortcut of Deceive.exe.
- Right click the shortcut of Deceive.exe with your mouse and click on “Properties.”
- As soon as you click Properties, a screen will pop and you’ll see there’s a field named “Target.”
- Add an extra space after “.exe” and type “valorant.”
- Press OK and run Deceive via the shortcut you added.
If you’ve followed all of these steps correctly, Deceive will run correctly. All you need to do after that is launch VALORANT. When the game is open, look over at your friends list and you should see an entry called “Deceive Active” on top of it. This is an indicator that the software is running and you’re finally offline in VALORANT.
You’re free to queue for competitive, unrated, deathmatch, or just chill out in the training range without getting pings from friends.