How to Appear Offline in Valorant

Valorant, Riot Games' highly popular tactical shooter, is all about teamwork and strategy, but sometimes you just want to play in peace without being seen by friends. While there’s no built-in option to appear offline, there are workarounds that allow you to play without showing up on your friends' lists. Below, we'll cover two effective methods to achieve this stealthy mode: using the Deceive tool and a command prompt (CMD) firewall block.

1. Using Deceive to Appear Offline

The simplest and most widely used solution is Deceive, a third-party tool that can make you appear offline in Valorant by severing your connection to Riot's chat servers while still letting you queue for games and play as usual.

How to Use Deceive:

1. Download Deceive from a trusted source, like GitHub or the official site.
2. Before launching Valorant, run Deceive. You can either double-click the Deceive icon or drag it into the Valorant launcher.
3. Once in the game, Deceive will make it so that you appear offline to everyone on your friends list, but you will still be able to play, join matches, and queue without any issues.

Important Considerations:

• Use at your own risk: While Deceive is widely used, Riot Games does not officially support third-party programs like this. That being said, there have been no reports of bans for using Deceive so far.
• Chat-only block: Deceive simply disconnects you from Riot’s chat service, so you can still play without being seen online.

2. CMD Method (Blocking Riot’s Chat Server)

If you prefer a more manual and built-in approach, the Command Prompt (CMD) method allows you to block the IP address of Riot’s chat server. By blocking the connection between your client and Riot’s chat server, you can effectively appear offline to your friends while still playing Valorant.

How to Use the CMD Method:

1. Open Command Prompt as an administrator by typing cmd in your search bar, right-clicking, and selecting Run as administrator.
2. Enter the following command to block Valorant’s chat server:

• netsh advfirewall firewall add rule name="valorantchat" dir=out remoteip=104.160.131.3 protocol=TCP action=block

Hit Enter. This command blocks Riot’s chat server, making you appear offline to friends but still allowing you to join games and play normally.

Re-enabling Chat:

• If you want to appear online again, simply use the following command to unblock the chat server:

• netsh advfirewall firewall delete rule name="valorantchat"

Important Considerations:

• Firewall modification: This method is a more advanced option as it modifies your system’s firewall, so ensure you’re comfortable using Command Prompt. The process only affects your chat connection, so you will still be able to play Valorant normally.
• Riot Updates: If Riot updates their chat server IPs, you may need to find the new IP address to continue using this method.

These are the two most effective ways to appear offline in Valorant. Whether you prefer using Deceive for an easy fix or the CMD method for a more hands-on approach, these methods can help you enjoy Valorant without being seen online by friends. Keep in mind, these solutions only disconnect you from the chat server and won’t affect gameplay, letting you dive into matches undisturbed.