Have you ever loaded into a Valorant competitive match only to see one of your teammates never connect, leaving you down a player before the first round even starts? If you’ve wondered what is a remake in Valorant, it’s the feature built exactly for this frustrating scenario, designed to stop you from losing ranked rating (RR) for matches you never had a fair shot at winning. I’ve used this feature dozens of times over 3 years of climbing the ranked ladder, and it’s saved me hundreds of RR that I would’ve otherwise lost to disconnected teammates or glitchy queue bugs. Most new players don’t know the exact rules for triggering a remake, so they end up stuck playing 4v5 matches that are almost impossible to win unless the enemy team is massively lower rank.
What is a Remake in Valorant, and How Does It Work?
A remake is a special match cancellation option that only activates in the very early stages of a game when a player fails to connect or disconnects before any meaningful match progress is made. Unlike a surrender vote, which counts as a full loss for your team and deducts RR from every player, a successful remake erases the match entirely from all connected players’ records. You won’t gain or lose RR, your win/loss count stays the same, and your MMR isn’t affected at all. remakes only work in the first 2 rounds of the match, so you have a very small window to use the feature if you qualify. the disconnected player is the only one who faces any negative consequences for the remake — they’ll lose the full RR amount for a loss, get a leave penalty on their account, and may face temporary queue bans if they have a history of frequent disconnections.
Riot added the remake feature back in 2020 shortly after the game’s full launch, in response to thousands of player complaints about losing RR for matches they couldn’t win due to circumstances out of their control. It’s been adjusted a few times since to prevent abuse, but the core function has stayed the same: protect players from unfair RR loss caused by disconnected teammates.
Eligibility Rules for Triggering a Valorant Remake
Not every AFK or disconnect situation qualifies for a remake, and Riot has strict rules in place to stop players from abusing the feature to get out of matches they don’t feel like playing. You can only call a remake if all of the following criteria are met:
- At least one player on your team has been disconnected or marked AFK for the entire duration of round 1, with no reconnection attempts
- No player on your team has earned a kill, assist, spike plant, or spike defuse before the remake vote is called
- The vote is initiated before the start of round 3 — once the second buy phase ends, the remake option disappears entirely
- All connected players on your team vote yes to the remake — a single no vote will cancel the process completely
I’ve seen so many teams mess this up by rushing to get a first blood in round 1, then realizing their Jett never connected and they can’t call a remake anymore. Any in-game action that counts towards match progress invalidates your remake eligibility, so if you notice a teammate is missing before round 1 starts, don’t run out and fight the enemy. Just hang back near spawn until the end of the round, so you keep your remake option open. If the AFK player reconnects at any point before the vote passes, the remake is automatically canceled, and you’ll have to play the match out normally.
Step-by-Step Guide to Calling a Remake in Your Match
The process for calling a remake is simple, but you have to move fast to fit it into the narrow eligible window. First, check the agent select screen before the match loads to see if everyone locked in their agent. If someone didn’t lock in, they’re likely having connection issues, and you should prepare to check for their status as soon as you spawn on the map. Once you’re in the match, open the scoreboard right away to see if the missing player has a red disconnected icon next to their name. If they do, tell your team immediately to avoid getting any kills or objectives in round 1.
Wait until round 1 ends completely, then open the in-game chat box. Type /remake and hit enter to trigger the team vote. A pop-up will appear on every connected teammate’s screen asking if they want to approve the remake. Make sure you tell everyone to vote yes — a lot of new players panic and vote no because they’re worried they’ll get a penalty, which isn’t the case. If all votes come back yes, the match will end within 10 seconds, and you’ll be sent back to the main menu with no changes to your account stats. I’ve had teams where one player votes no just because they want to try playing 4v5, and that almost always ends with us losing 13-4 and losing 20+ RR each. If someone on your team is hesitant to vote yes, remind them that playing 4v5 against a similarly ranked team has a less than 10% win rate, per Riot’s own published match data.
Common Remake Mistakes to Avoid at All Costs
Even if you know the basic rules for remakes, it’s easy to make small mistakes that cost you the chance to cancel an unfair match. One of the most common mistakes is thinking you can call a remake if a player leaves after round 2. If a teammate disconnects in round 3 or later, you’ll have to either play 4v5 or surrender, both of which count as a full loss with RR deductions. Remakes only apply to disconnections that happen before any real match progress is made, so there’s no way to use the feature later in the game.
Another frequent mistake is leaving the match early before the remake vote passes. If you exit the game before the remake is finalized, the system will mark you as the disconnected player, and you’ll get the RR loss and leave penalty instead of the actual AFK player. Always wait until you’re sent back to the main menu before closing the game or queuing for another match. forgetting that remakes don’t penalize connected players is another big one — a lot of new players avoid voting yes because they think it will hurt their account, but that’s a myth that’s been circulating since the feature first launched. You can confirm this in Riot’s official Valorant support docs if you don’t believe it.
Finally, don’t waste time trying to call a remake if you’re playing in a custom game or spike rush match. The remake feature only works in competitive, unrated, and premier queue modes, and it’s rarely worth using in unrated anyway since those matches don’t affect your RR. If you’re playing a casual mode with friends, it’s usually more fun to just play the 4v5 or ask the enemy team to even the teams out instead of canceling the match entirely.
At the end of the day, knowing what is a remake in Valorant is one of the easiest ways to protect your RR and avoid wasting 30+ minutes of your time on a match you never had a fair chance to win. It’s not a feature you’ll use every time you queue up, but when you need it, it’s one of the most player-friendly tools Riot has added to the ranked mode. Just remember to check for missing teammates before round 1 starts, avoid taking any fights if someone is disconnected, and make sure your whole team is on board with the vote before you trigger it. You’ll save yourself a lot of frustration and lost RR in the long run.
