Developer explains why ego peeking in Valorant is a good thing
Are your teammates always calling you out for ego peeking your enemies? It’s not entirely a bad thing and might even be good, as one Valorant developer has explained.
You can’t be too cautious in tactical shooter games. One wrong move could spell victory for your enemies, so it’s good to tread carefully. But sometimes aggression is the key to unlocking wins. But it’s difficult to pick fights when you’re playing with nosy teammates who micromanage each move. Ego peeking is generally looked down on in Valorant. Teammates hold you back from picking fights, leading to fewer kills on the scoreboard. Valorant developer EvrMoar has something to say about it, and some players may not like it.
According to Valorant senior competitive designer EvrMoar, ego peeking high-ranked enemies increases your chances of getting more Rank Rating (RR) and, in turn, ranking up more quickly.
What is ego peeking in Valorant?
Ego peeking involves aggressively stepping out to take fights with opposing players. Ego peeking in Valorant is generally not considered a good practice, but it can be rewarding when done correctly, so ego peeking isn’t always bad. EvrMoar explains why aggressing towards high-ranked players can actually help.
In a thread, the developer explained that taking down higher-ranked players warrants greater RR. The system detects that you can kill a diamond player in the platinum lobby and then tries to push you to the same MMR as your enemy. Conversely, if you keep waiting for easy kills against Gold players, it won’t drastically impact your MMR. Simply put, ego peeking against high-skilled players translate into a quick rank-up.
Some players expressed their concern that this advice would lead bad players to give up an agent advantage. It’s crucial to polish your aim and read situations before taking EvrMoar’s advice. You may end up with a negative kill-death ratio by continuously trying to take down the enemy’s top fragger. Still, with good aim, ego peeking isn’t a bad practice.
The developer doubled on his advice by saying that ego peeking pushes your potential. Trying to go outside of your comfort zone to win duels can expand the game’s confidence in your abilities, which keeps MMR in motion. Conversely, avoiding duels or reducing playing time to save rank on the main account limits opportunities for movement. This makes it harder for the system to push MMR your forward.
Aggression helps the system pick it quickly when you perform better than usual. For example, if you get ten kills on a good day, winning streaks and getting more kills against skilled enemies will alert the system about a change in your performance. For this, you may be rewarded with a bonus RR.
However, this advice only applies if you’re a regular player with good aim who is held back due to fear of losing. Ego peeking without practice and proper game sense will lead to a losing streak for many players.
Fariha Bhatti is a long-time gaming writer who loves competitive FPS games and slots with particularly fun themes. She got her start playing classic games developed by SNK, from legendary fighting game series The King of Fighters to challenging platform franchise Metal Slug. She now spends most of her time playing Valorant and Counter-Strike 2 while working her way through new slot releases to find her next favorite. Fariha has been published at PCGamesN, TalkEsport and ONE Esports.
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