Why does Valorant keep on freezing?

Like any other online game, Valorant has its fair share of bugs and glitches. One of the common glitches players experience when playing is Valorant freezing mid-game.

If you're one of the unfortunate ones who experience this random freezing while you play Valorant, here is the explanation behind the glitch and how to fix it.

Why does Valorant freeze and crash?

When playing Valorant, you may be one of the many gamers who experience random freezing, which might occur before you begin a game or even while in-game. Freezing once or twice may be fixed by restarting your game client, but your game may crash if the problem occurs frequently.

Several issues can cause Valorant to freeze and crash, such as an outdated graphics driver or a pending Windows update. Here are some causes and how to fix Valorant freezing:

Reason #1 Low PC specifications

One of the main reasons why the Valorant game freeze is because of your computer's hardware specifications. Although Valorant is one of the best free first-person shooting games, Riot Games still has recommended system requirements, which can be found on the internet. Therefore, your computer should satisfy all the minimum requirements to avoid Valorant freezing and crashing.

Reason #2 Outdated graphics card driver

Another cause of Valorant freezing is outdated graphics drivers. Every time an update becomes available, you should do it as they usually include performance improvements and bug fixes.

Here is one way how to update the graphics card driver:

1. Go to "Device Manager" using the search bar on your desktop
2. Click the arrow on the left side of "Display Adapters"
3. Right-click on the graphics card you are using, then select "Update Driver"
4. In the pop-out box, select "Search automatically for drivers"

You can easily follow the guide to update your graphics drivers if an update is available. If you're using an Nvidia graphics card, you can also use the Nvidia GeForce app to update your drivers.

After these steps, don't forget to restart your computer and see if the graphics quality improves.

Reason #3 Many applications running

Like other games, Valorant uses plenty of your computer's system resources, such as CPU, GPU, and memory. Therefore, if other programs are open while you are playing Valorant, there is a high chance that these background applications impact your computer's performance and will most likely result in random crashes.

Closing backgrounds can be done quickly using the task manager.

1. Press CTRL + ALT + DELETE, then open Task Manager.
2. In the Task Manager window, click the "Processes" tab to show you the list of running applications
3. Select programs you don't need while playing Valorant, then select "End Task" in the window's lower right corner.

Closing background applications can help you fix the problem of the Valorant freezing issue but be careful in choosing apps you don't need while playing or your computer does not need to function correctly.

Reason #4 Intermittent internet connection

Since Valorant is an online game, you need a good internet connection to play the game properly without lag. A slow or irregular internet connection might be one of the reasons why Valorant froze.

If you don't know how to check your internet connection, here is a step-by-step guide:

1. Open your browser, then go to speedtest.net.
2. On the homepage, click the "Go" button at the center to start the speed test.
3. After a while, the result of the speed test will be available.

You can get your internet connection's ping, download, and upload speed on the results page. On average, 10ms to 100ms is ideal for Valorant. If your ping is higher than that, you might experience lagging in-game.

Usually, a simple restart of your modem and computer will do the trick, but if nothing happens, call your internet service provider or upgrade your internet speed.

Reason #5 Wrong Valorant settings

The wrong Valorant video settings that can be easily fixed within the game are often overlooked as the reason for freezing. All you need to do is to set the "Display Mode" to Windowed. Generally, it fixes the problem for most gamers.

1. Open Valorant and go to the "Video" settings
2. Go to the "General" section, then set your resolution to custom
3. Set the "Display Mode" to Windowed.

If this doesn't work for you, you can easily switch it to default. We suggest you switch between each display mode to see what works best. TheGlobalGaming has a guide for the best graphics settings for Valorant that can help solve your problem.

If you have all tried this solution, but you still can't fix random freezing while playing Valorant, you can ask for help from Riot Games or a computer technician to see if you need to upgrade your PC.