Unsilenced Phantom and Spectre discovered in Valorant single-player

Unsilenced versions of multiple Valorant weapons have been discovered in-game.

In Valorant’s single-player modes, players fight against computer-controlled enemies in a variety of sample missions. These objectives are available in The Range and are meant to serve a tutorial for tactical shooter novices. However, the enemy bots carry weapons that aren’t available in multiplayer Valorant.

Players are able to pick up the bot’s guns and use them for themselves. However, their Spectre and Phantom models are far from standard issue. Both guns lack silencers, which come automatically equipped with both guns when purchased in multiplayer. They also come silenced in the normal Range area. 

These models might be left over from the developmental stages of Valorant. Early concept art depicted both the Spectre and Phantom as silencer-optional guns. It’s possible that robot models were equipped with the early unsilenced guns as a proof-of-concept. The later addition of silencers might have slipped through the cracks during the bot creation process. It could also just be a sly wink from the developers to knowledgeable players.

It is impossible to remove the silencer in Valorant’s online multiplayer modes. The original optional silencer might have been inspired by Counter-Strike: Global Offensive’s M4A1-S. In CSGO, players can remove silencers for no real benefit besides confusing other players. 

What do suppressors do in Valorant?

While silencers are completely attached to their weapons in Valorant, they still have an impact on gameplay.

Unsilenced weapons create a bullet trail when fired, creating a visual indicator from the bullet’s impact to its source. In some situations, this can reveal the position of an enemy player. Scenarios where bullet trails matter include defending from multiple angles and spraying through smokes. For smart Valorant players, bullet tracers provide a significant information advantage in firefights.

Silenced weapons, which include the Spectre, Phantom, and Ghost, do not leave bullet trails when shooting. It’s a very slight advantage that’s almost impossible to predict during the buy period.