Client stuck on the loading screen, a cryptic error code blocking your login, or you get dropped mid-round? Here you find out in two minutes whether the Riot servers are really offline – or whether the problem is on your end at home.
To find out whether Valorant is really down, first check the official Riot status page: there choose your region and see whether there is a genuine outage or scheduled maintenance – or whether the problem is only on your side.
"Is Valorant down?" – everyone asks this eventually: the client hangs on the loading screen, a cryptic error code blocks the login, or you get dropped in the middle of a round. The good news: in most cases you can find out within two minutes whether the Riot servers are really offline or whether the problem is on your end at home. This guide shows you step by step how to check the server status properly, what the most common error codes mean and what you can do yourself.
Before you restart anything, a quick assessment pays off. Broadly, there are three situations: a genuine outage affects many players at once – nobody can get in, matchmaking is at a standstill, or entire regions are offline. Scheduled maintenance is announced, usually lasts a fixed window and often occurs around a patch. A local problem, by contrast, affects only you: your internet connection, your router, your client or the anti-cheat are not cooperating. The fastest way to tell these three cases apart is the official status page.
The reflex "the whole game is broken" is often misleading. That is exactly why it pays to take a breath and check first, before you spend half an hour pointlessly restarting. The order below saves you the most time – and nerves.
Riot runs an official status page that shows, separately for each game and region, whether everything is running. It is the only truly reliable source – everything else is guesswork. Here is how to proceed:
The right region matters. If you play in Central Europe, look at Europe – a reported outage in North America or Brazil normally does not affect you. If the status page is green but you still cannot play, the cause is very likely on your side. In that case the steps further down will help.
An important point many overlook: Valorant consists of several services that can fail independently. Sometimes only authentication is affected – then you hang at the login, even though ongoing matches keep running normally. Sometimes only the store is disrupted – you can play but cannot buy skins or load the shop. And sometimes only matchmaking stalls while the rest works. That is why it pays to look closely at the status page to see which service is marked red. This often explains why "something" is not working even though the game itself is running.
A large share of "the servers are down" moments are not errors at all, but scheduled maintenance. Riot regularly rolls out patches – new content, balance changes, bug fixes. Around these updates the servers are taken offline for a maintenance window. During that time you cannot get into the game, no matter how often you restart.
Such maintenance is announced in advance: on the status page, in the official patch notes and via Valorant's social media channels. So if you cannot get in on patch day, that is usually completely normal. A glance at the status page quickly confirms whether maintenance is currently running and when it is expected to end. The exact times differ by region, because maintenance takes place at each region's off-peak hours to affect as few players as possible.
Remember: if the status page reports maintenance, restarting is pointless. Save yourself the effort and simply wait out the window – afterwards everything runs normally again. Right after maintenance ends there can also be brief full login queues, because everyone returns at once. This usually settles by itself within a few minutes.
Valorant shows an error code when problems occur – usually with the prefix "VAL" (game/platform) or "VAN" (Vanguard, the anti-cheat). The code roughly tells you whether the problem lies with Riot or with you. Here are the most important ones at a glance:
The rule of thumb: codes like VAL 19 or VAL 62 point to a problem at Riot – then it is worth checking the server status. Codes around network, firewall and Vanguard (VAL 29, VAL 43, VAN codes) point to your system instead. The exact meaning of individual codes can shift slightly with patches; when in doubt, official support gives the most current explanation. For a persistent problem, always note the exact number – it is the fastest signpost to the solution.
You see this message especially often, usually together with a VAL code. It means the client cannot connect to Riot's platform services. There can be two causes. Either the Riot servers really do have a problem right now – then it is on the status page. Or your connection to Riot is disrupted, for example by Vanguard not running, by a firewall, a VPN or a brief network glitch. That is precisely why the first step is always: check the status page. If everything is green there, work through the self-help steps.
If the status page is green but the problem persists, it is almost always your system or your connection. Work through these steps in order – they solve the vast majority of all connection problems:
A handy side effect: the status page runs in the browser and opens just as well on a smartphone. This is worth its weight in gold when your PC is stuck on the loading screen or you do not even want to boot it up before you know whether it is worth it. Open the page on your phone, choose Valorant and your region, and you know within seconds. If you play often, bookmark the page. That saves you the search at the crucial moment and means you do not have to rely on dubious sources.
Sites like Downdetector or similar outage trackers are popular when Valorant is acting up. They show how many users are currently reporting problems and thus provide a quick mood picture. They are useful as a first hint: a sudden spike in reports points to a larger problem. But be careful – such sites are based on user reports, not on real server data. They do not distinguish between regions, confuse local problems with genuine outages and sometimes spike when only a small group is affected. So use Downdetector at most as a rough indicator and always rely on the official Riot status page for the truth.
Most problems resolve by waiting or restarting. But there are cases where you should contact official support: when an error code persists even though the status page is green and you have tried every step; when Vanguard simply will not start; or when it concerns account matters such as a supposedly wrongful ban (e.g. VAL 61). In such situations Riot's official Valorant support is the right place to go. There you find targeted instructions and can open a ticket if needed. Have your error code and a short description ready – that speeds up processing.
A common misunderstanding: "server status" and "server choice" are two different things. Status is about whether the Riot servers are running. Server choice is about which location you use for the best ping. If Valorant is running but you have high ping or lag, that is not an outage but a matter of connection and server location. How to find the best server, lower your ping and avoid jitter is explained in detail in our guide to server choice and ping. If you are brand new to Valorant, our beginner guide also helps you get started.
A legitimate worry: if you get dropped from a ranked game because of a server problem, do you lose RR? In principle the system distinguishes between genuinely leaving and a connection drop. If you get back quickly, you can often continue without penalty. In a large-scale outage affecting entire matches, Riot generally handles the affected games leniently. Even so: after a disconnect, try to get back into the match promptly. Everything else about ranks, RR and MMR is compactly covered in our guide to Valorant ranks.
Prevention: how to get back in faster
A few habits save you frustration in future. On patch day, keep an eye on the patch notes and the status page, then no maintenance surprises you. Make sure Vanguard starts cleanly by booting your PC before playing instead of waking it from sleep. Use a wired connection where possible – it is more stable than Wi-Fi and reduces timeouts. And if you use a VPN, test whether Valorant runs better without it. Small things, big effect.
And where does the tool fit in?
Valorant-Spind is a free Windows tool that reads the value of your skin collection locally from your locker and shows it in euros. It has nothing directly to do with the server status – but because it fetches skin data and prices via Riot's official services, it needs a working connection. If Valorant itself is not running because maintenance is active, just wait briefly until the servers are back online. After that the tool shows you your current locker value as usual.
In summary
If Valorant will not start, always check the official Riot status page first and choose your region. Green means the problem is on your side – work through restart, internet, firewall and Vanguard. A reported incident or maintenance means waiting is the only solution. Error codes give you valuable hints as to whether Riot or your PC is at fault. Outage trackers like Downdetector are only a rough indicator, and for persistent problems official support is the right address. With this order you find out within a few minutes whether Valorant is really down – and are usually back in the game quickly.
Servers back up? Off to the locker
As soon as Valorant is running again: Valorant-Spind shows you your skin value in euros and coaching from real matches – local, no login, free.
🎮 Download Valorant-Spind for freeThe fastest and most reliable way to find out is the official Riot status page. Choose Valorant and your region there. If it shows an outage or maintenance, the servers really are affected. If everything is green, the problem is usually on your side – then a restart and a connection check help.
Open status.riotgames.com, choose the game Valorant and your region (e.g. Europe). The page shows, separately by services like login, game, store and matchmaking, whether there are disruptions, degraded service or scheduled maintenance. It is the only truly reliable source.
The client cannot connect to Riot's platform services. This is either a server problem at Riot (then it is on the status page) or on your side: Vanguard is not running, a firewall or VPN is blocking, or the network hiccups briefly. Check the status first, then restart the client and the PC.
VAL codes concern the game and platform: VAL 19 and VAL 62 point to server problems, VAL 51 to a party/platform error. VAN codes concern the Vanguard anti-cheat and your system – VAN 9003 requires TPM 2.0 in the BIOS, for example. For VAN codes a PC restart usually helps, for VAL 19/62 a look at the server status.
Only to a limited extent. Downdetector shows user reports, not real server data, and does not cleanly distinguish by region. As a quick mood indicator it is okay, but the truth is always on the official Riot status page.
When an error persists even though the status page is green and you have tried all the self-help steps, when Vanguard will not start, or for account matters such as a supposedly wrongful ban. Riot's official Valorant support offers targeted instructions and the option to open a ticket.
