Use this page when VALORANT's picture stops during a match but Windows can still open Task Manager. Lower VALORANT's Graphics Quality options, turn on Limit FPS Always with a cap below the frame rate the PC normally holds, and test the Practice Range for ten minutes. If the whole PC locks, restarts, or shows a blue screen, the failure is wider than this in-game freeze workflow.
When VALORANT's picture stops, press Ctrl + Shift + Esc. If Task Manager opens, end VALORANT and continue here. If Task Manager never appears, the whole PC is locked; record that difference and use Windows or the PC manufacturer's stability support instead.
2
Use Riot's low Graphics Quality baseline
Open VALORANT > Settings > Video > Graphics Quality. Set Material Quality, Texture Quality, Detail Quality, and UI Quality to Low; set VSync, Bloom, Distortion, and First Person Shadows to Off; set Anti-Aliasing to None and Anisotropic Filtering to 1x.
3
Cap the frame rate the PC must sustain
Open Settings > Video > General, turn on Limit FPS Always, and set Max FPS Always below the frame rate this PC normally holds during a busy fight. Enter the Practice Range for ten minutes; the useful result is continuous input and animation without a frozen frame.
4
Cool the PC before the next match
Exit VALORANT completely. Clear objects from the PC's intake and exhaust vents, place a laptop on a hard surface, and let a hot system cool before retesting. Fast fans, a hot case, and freezes late in a match point to a load or ventilation problem.
5
Update the GPU and Windows
Press Windows + R, enter dxdiag, and identify the GPU on the Display tab. Install its current NVIDIA, AMD, or Intel driver, then open Settings > Windows Update, install every update, restart, and repeat the same ten-minute Practice Range test.
6
Send Riot a repeatable freeze report
If VALORANT still freezes while Windows responds, run Riot Repair Tool as administrator and attach its zip to a technical ticket. Include the map or mode, how many minutes passed, the FPS cap, and whether audio and Task Manager still worked.
If it does not work
If VALORANT closes to the desktop instead of leaving a frozen picture, use the crash-to-desktop tutorial; it follows a different observable failure.
If the freeze begins only after restoring one higher graphics option, keep that option at the last stable setting rather than changing unrelated Windows services.
Do not set VALORANT to Realtime or High priority in Task Manager. Riot's current freeze article does not require that historical tweak.
ⓘ Sources and verification
Checked against official documentation on . Scope: VALORANT on Windows PC.
Source-checked against Riot's current VALORANT crash and freeze guidance. No freeze was reproduced during review.
