Valorant
Valorant
What’s the difference between MMR and RR in Valorant?
Fariha Bhatti
New players may find Valorant’s progress system to be a bit confusing. Do you need MMR to rank up or RR, or both? Here’s what sets both apart from each other. Valorant’s progress system is less complex than other FPS games due to transparency and simple rank-up progress. However, new players may find themselves confused over what’s the difference between MMR and RR. MMR and RR both contribute to rank …
Valorant
Leaked Valorant bundle Yeni looks like Forsaken
Fariha Bhatti
Leakers have shared the first look at the next Valorant bundle dubbed Yeni. Riot is bringing back the iconic hues of green made famous by the Forsaken collection. The leaked collection resembles Forsaken and Sovereign, two bundles that took the Valorant community by storm. A poster image of the next Valorant bundle dubbed Yeni has slipped through the cracks, encouraging players to stack up their wallets. The ocean green collection …
Valorant
Demon1 takes the lead as best player of Valorant Champions
Tokoni Uti
North American star Max “Demon1” Mazanov has become the highest-rated player at Valorant Champions, according to the latest statistics. Evil Geniuses player Demon1, who has been essential to the success of the team since his introduction, has accrued a 1.31 rating at Valorant Champions at the time of writing, according to data collected by VLR.gg. Demon1 has overtaken Fnatic player Emir “Alfajer” Ali Beder for the top spot, with Alfajer’s …
Valorant
All we know about Valorant map 10, Sunset
Fariha Bhatti
Teasers about Valorant map ten are picking up pace as the release date draws closer. Here’s all we know about Sunset. Valorant map ten is called Sunset, according to credible leaker ValorLeaks. It’s codenamed Juliett and will be revealed at the Valorant Champions finals, leakers have discovered. Teasers regarding Valorant map ten are plenty, all pointing toward Los Angeles as the central location. From the theme of VCT drops to …
Valorant
New Valorant teaser suggests map 10 could be in LA
Fariha Bhatti
Valorant is likely going back to its American roots, or at least the roots of the protocol’s founding members Viper and Brimstone. The new trailer featuring Cypher and Deadlock is set in a picturesque location that seems like La La Land, Los Angeles. This also aligns with previous leaks and hints that pointed at LA being the next location for the Valorant map 10. In the latest teaser, Riot has …
Valorant
Fnatic Alfajer is the highest-rated at Valorant Champions so far
Tokoni Uti
Fnatic’s sentinel has proven once again that he’s one of the best Valorant players in the world. At Valorant Champions, the largest and most anticipated event in the calendar, Fnatic player Emir “Alfajer” Ali Beder has consistently been the highest-rated player in the group stage of the tournament. At the time of writing, Alfajer has boasted a 1.37 overall rating, according to VLR.gg. He has the highest kill-death ratio of …
Valorant
Here’s how the Valorant Champions playoff bracket shapes up
Tokoni Uti
The final stage of Valorant Champions is set to begin in a few days with the playoff bracket decided. Eight teams from around the world have slugged through hard-fought matches to secure qualification to the playoff stage. Every matchup, barring one, will feature two different regions against each other. The first matchup of the playoff bracket will see European team Fnatic take on last year’s winner, LOUD. https://twitter.com/ValorantEsports/status/1690865426870538240 Fnatic has …
News
Leakers claim Riot is working on a Valorant movie
Fariha Bhatti
Valorant’s official cinematics always leave the fanbase asking for more and it seems that Riot has listened, according to the leaks. Riot sure knows how to build up lore with immersive, tear-jerking cinematics that always leave the players wondering just how awesome a Valorant anime would be. After Arcane, Riot might be cooking something for Valorant fans as well, according to the leakers. Valorant leaker and influencer Kingdom Laboratories took …
Riot to introduce year-long Valorant Challengers season and affiliate system
Tokoni Uti
Valorant
The developer and tournament organizers of Valorant is introducing a few changes to the Challengers system, Riot announced today. In a blog post published today, the head of Valorant esports Leo Faria said that Riot is planning to extend the duration of the Challengers season. Riot will also introduce a new affiliate system which will allow for the fluid transition of Challengers players to the international leagues. The length of …
EDward Gaming continues Champions run with victory over Giants
Tokoni Uti
Valorant
The best Chinese team in Valorant continues its run at Champions following an impressive victory over European team Giants. The star of the show was EDward Gaming player Zheng “ZmjjKK” Yongkang (Kang Kang) as he continued his impressive form at international tournaments. Kang Kang had fighting words for his opponents earlier in the tournament but later backtracked on his comments. EDward Gaming is now set to play in the playoff stage of …
40 Valorant tournaments announced across all major regions
Tokoni Uti
Valorant
Developer and tournament organizer Riot Games has announced a slew of new Valorant tournaments following the conclusion of the VCT regular season. Riot announced over 40 tournaments will be hosted across Europe, the Americas, and the Pacific regions to fill out the rest of the year following the conclusion of Valorant Champions later this month. Several tournaments from the previous off-season will return, such as the Tarik x Ludwig Invitational and …
Team Liquid first to be eliminated from Valorant Champions
Tokoni Uti
Valorant
Europe is the first to fall as Team Liquid has been sent home from Valorant Champions. Team Liquid, the winners of the EMEA regional league during the main season, were the first to be eliminated from the most anticipated Valorant tournament in the calendar following a loss to Brazilian team LOUD. The first elimination match was a back-and-forth contest between two of the regional titans from EMEA and the Americas. LOUD …
EDG Kangkang is fearless at VCT Champions, calls his opponents “trash”
Tokoni Uti
Valorant
The superstar Valorant player for EDward Gaming (EDG) blasted his opponents at VCT Champions during an interview after his first match. EDG player Zheng “ZmjjKK” Yongkang (Kangkang) expressed his confidence in his team following the victory over European team Giants Gaming in the opening match of Group A at Valorant Champions. “I would say the main goal for us at this tournament is to play our own game,” he said. …
What is the affiliate system set to be introduced in tier two Valorant?
Tokoni Uti
Valorant
Over the past few weeks, developer and tournament organizer Riot Games has contacted Valorant organizations in Challengers to discuss an affiliate system next year. So, what is it? The plan that was discussed with teams, which is yet to be formally released to the public, discusses a system where teams in the international leagues have the option to partner with a Valorant Challengers team to bring players up to the …
Latest Valorant bundle Daydreams is cheap and cute
Fariha Bhatti
Valorant
Valorant players will be pleased to find out that the latest skin bundle, Daydreams, is fancy yet affordable. Recently, Riot Games has rolled out exorbitant gun skins that cost a pretty penny. While these expensive skins are worth the money — considering the rarity and animations — not everyone can afford them. So, after releasing the Champions 2023 bundle, which would leave a massive strain on your wallet, Riot is …
Sources: Several NA VCT teams expected to downsize Valorant efforts in 2024
Tokoni Uti
Valorant
A few of the top competitors in North American Valorant are expected to reduce the spending on the teams next year, multiple sources told WIN.gg. The downsizing comes amid a difficult period for esports organizations. Several teams are losing money, with salaries becoming exceedingly unsustainable. As a result of the move, teams such as Cloud9 and 100 Thieves, which both participate in the VCT Americas league, are expected to reduce …
“The format proposed by Riot does not include pro organizations:” The Union slates Valorant Challengers f…
Tokoni Uti
Valorant
Another organization has departed competitive Valorant following the revised Challengers system after the preliminary details sent to teams. The Union, two-time champions of the Brazilian Challengers circuit, have withdrawn from competitive Valorant and placed the team on the bench. With the team unable to secure qualification to the VCT Americas partnered league, the organization would have been forced to return to Challengers. But The Union had harsh words for the …
Riot cracks down on tobacco products used at VCT Champions
Tokoni Uti
Valorant
The tournament organizers of VCT Champions have issued penalties to teams found to be using tobacco products at the events, according to multiple participants. After allegedly using snus at the event—a product often employed as a tobacco substitute by placing it between the upper lip and gum—participants turned to social media after they were punished by Riot Games. During the Group D playoff match between DRX and Natus Vincere, the European …
LOUD aspas “not healthy,” missing conference at VCT Champions
Tokoni Uti
Valorant
On August 6, 2023, superstar Valorant player for LOUD Erick “aspas” Santos was absent at the post-match press conference following the team’s defeat to DRX at VCT Champions. One of the best players in the world, aspas, is unwell and “not healthy,” but it’s “nothing serious,” according to LOUD teammates Matias “Saadhak” Delipetro and Felipe “Less” Basso. The news follows LOUD’s dramatic loss to DRX in their opening match of …
“He doesn’t get as hot-handed:” Fnatic coach on Derke improvements
Tokoni Uti
Valorant
On August 6, 2023, the head coach of Fnatic Valorant praised star player Nikita “Derke” Sirmitev for his improvements since he joined the team. When asked about his team by the community, head coach Jacob “mini” Harris said that Derke keeps his cool in matches, a trait that he’s improved upon since joining. “[Derke] doesn’t get as hot-handed or hot-headed in officials,” he said on Twitter earlier today. https://twitter.com/minijake_/status/1688400894822694912 Mini …
Riot Games has long looked to expand its footprint beyond the success of popular MOBA League of Legends, and one of its biggest successes to date in this regard is the tactical shooter, Valorant. Blending traditional first-person shooter elements with unique and flashy hero abilities, Valorant seeks to combine the best attributes of tactical shooters and hero shooters into one cohesive experience.
Based on player feedback, the game has largely succeeded in accomplishing those aims. It’s not an easy balance, and it’s one that is arguably still tenuous, but Riot Games seems to be doing as good a job of it as most fans have hoped for.
What type of game is Valorant?
Valorant is a first-person shooter that represents a unique blend of the tactical shooter and hero shooter subgenres. There are some games that represent similar gameplay elements, but not many that offer the exact experience that Valorant puts forward to players.
The tactical shooter genre is often considered to have been defined by the release of the original Counter-Strike, a multiplayer mod for famed single-player PC title Half-Life that later became a standalone game of its own. While most multiplayer FPS games to that point emphasized prolonged battles between opposing players zipping around the game at high speeds, Counter-Strike slowed things down significantly and made players much more susceptible to each other’s firepower, requiring players to take a more tactical approach to play.
That slower and more tactical approach, combined with the lightning-quick nature of action when it does occur, proved reliably popular. That popularity can still be seen today with the ongoing success enjoyed by the Counter-Strike franchise, and it’s this gameplay type that represents the core of Valorant. It’s no accident that former Counter-Strike developers were drafted by Riot Games to help create Valorant during the game’s formative stages.
What differentiates Valorant from CS and other tactical shooters it that each of the game’s characters, called agents, wield a number of unique abilities. Some are typical for tactical shooters, like flashbangs and smokes, while others are wildly different, such as an ability that transports two players to an isolated dueling arena for its duration.
These agent abilities are more reminiscent of hero shooters, a subgenre that arguably got its start with the Team Fortress games but has best been popularized by Blizzard title Overwatch. The abilities, combind with the tactical considerations that are at the core of Valorant, separate it from most any other FPS experience available for play.
How does Valorant esports work?
Like many other popular competitive shooters, Valorant does have a thriving esports scene. That scene is differentiated by the way it’s run and controlled by developer and publisher Riot Games. Riot uses a model based on the success of its League of Legends esports scene, which sees the globe’s competitive players and team’s separated by region. These regions play out their own competitions in their sections of the world before coming together at regular intervals for international tournaments featuring the best teams from each individual region.
While League of Legends once boasted a variety of regions and regional types, Riot sought to simplify that model when setting up esports for Valorant. The game has only a handful of major regions, and these regions are held as largely equitable, each sending their best teams to international events leading up to the year-end VALORANT Champions event.
