Valorant
Valorant
Toxic Valorant players will now get insta-mute penalty
Fariha Bhatti
Riot Games is no longer letting the trolls get off the hook so easily. With new real-time text evaluation, players must think twice before chatting. Valorant has a serious toxicity problem, which persists despite Riot’s efforts. But that hasn’t stopped the developer from taking serious measures to nip it in the bud. Now, Riot is tackling toxic players in real-time thanks to a new tech. Taking to social media, Riot has …
Valorant
OfflineTV Valorant Invitational reveals its winners
William Davis
OfflineTV revealed the winners of the group’s SoloQ Valorant Invitational. The event, hosted by DisguisedToast, was played across three dates. It consisted of 30 players divided into five tiers with six players per tier. Teams included one player from each tier, and the teams were shuffled after each round. Day one and two, the teams played five round-robin games. Players got points based on match wins, round wins, and kills. …
Valorant
Valorant players demand melee gun buddy after odd bug
Fariha Bhatti
Gun buddies are strictly for weapons but one Valorant player somehow got a charm on his melee, and the community loves it. Valorant has numerous in-game cosmetics, but gun buddies are the cutest and most affordable. Those who can’t purchase the pricey skins opt for unique weapons charms to add some colors to their default skins. Unfortunately, these tiny buddies are only available for guns, not knives. However, an odd …
Valorant
All we know about Valorant release on Xbox or PlayStation
Fariha Bhatti
Riot’s shooter was an instant hit among PC users, and now console players are wondering if Valorant would be available on Xbox and PlayStation. Valorant was released in 2020 as the biggest FPS game of the year. It quickly became the go-to shooter for players who had given up on other popular titles. In 2023, Valorant is competing with FPS giants, but players want more. Currently, Valorant is only available …
Valorant
Valorant players feel that cheating has become “terrible”
Olivia Richman
Cheating in Valorant is getting worse than ever. Valorant players are coming together to complain about how bad the cheating in Riot’s free-to-play shooter has become. Cheating has always been prevalent in Valorant and other popular games, but a lot of players feel it’s getting worse despite the use of Vanguard anti-cheat. Recently, Valorant players discussed the worsening problem on Reddit. A Valorant player recently took to Reddit to see …
Valorant
How to play Valorant’s latest Sentinel Deadlock
Fariha Bhatti
Deadlock is the 23rd agent in Valorant, bringing a unique barrier in her toolkit. Here’s how to use each of her abilities. Valorant’s latest sentinel has a high learning curve, but she’s worth the extra effort. Deadlock’s toolkit is promising in both low and high-ranked games, locking enemies in their tracks and making them easy targets for the duelists. With some practice, players can master the latest sentinel on the …
Valorant
Use this Sova lineup to grab intel across map on Haven
Fariha Bhatti
It’s now possible to keep an eye on Valorant map Haven’s C-site while holding A, but only if you’re willing to learn the Sova Recon lineup. Recon agents in Valorant are brimming with unlocked potential. They require tons of time in custom maps and range to perform to their fullest. But some basic lineups are so simple even green players can pull them off. This latest A-to-C Sova lineup is …
Valorant
How to get Valorant Premier Ignition rewards
Fariha Bhatti
Valorant Premier Ignition is cut-throat, but participants can get valuable rewards out of it even if they don’t win. Valorant’s in-game esports circuit is officially beginning, but Riot is testing the system one last time before rolling out the first stage. Premier Ignition is the first open tournament since the new mode came out of beta. The tournament will be open to all eligible participants. However, Premier will be highly …
How to get the rare Ignite Melee Capsule in Valorant
Fariha Bhatti
Valorant
It’s official! The Valorant Ignite melee is now available for everyone to purchase. Valorant China was announced with an exclusive replay feature and a knife bundle, which had everyone salivating. Fans had expected that the visually pleasant fire-themed melee would also be limited to Chinese servers, but now Riot has cleared the confusion. The Ignite capsule will be purchasable for all, but there’s still a catch. On July 13, Riot …
Valorant’s rarest China melee to become available for all
Fariha Bhatti
Valorant
Since Valorant China’s announcement, players have their eyes fixated on the exclusive “Kitana” melee. After leakers’ claim it may not be as exclusive, Riot has now confirmed Fire Fan will be making it worldwide on July 14th. Valorant players are always on the lookout for time-limited, rare cosmetics, even if they have to pay a huge amount for them. The exclusive items are worth every penny. Besides being a flex, …
Ken from the Barbie movie is grinding Valorant
Fariha Bhatti
Valorant
Valorant fever has reached the cast of the hotly anticipated Barbie movie as Ken #2 reveals he’s grinding ranked to master a new support character in Riot’s FPS Valorant. Simu Liu is known for playing Shang Chi in Marvel Cinematic Universe. But now, the superhero has made a massive switch to Barbie’s pink fantasy universe. Second to Ryan Gosling, Simu Liu is playing Ken #2. But he’s not just an …
This Deadlock Barrier trick allows you to boost on top of walls
Fariha Bhatti
Valorant
Deadlock’s toolkit is a tough nut to crack, but this one Barrier Mesh trick is highly valuable yet easy to execute. Valorant’s latest agent 23 comes with viable traps and a tornado ultimate that pulls enemies to their death. Unlike Chamber, her traps are a tad trickier to use, but they are worth the effort and practice. However, some Deadlock tricks are so easy even green Valorant players can pull …
Valorant pro TenTen fired for being racist towards Indians
Fariha Bhatti
Valorant
NORTHEPTION has fired Valorant professional player TenTen for being racist in a competitive game. Japanese Valorant organization NORTHEPTION has permanently terminated their star player TenTen for mistaking Indonesian pro Saibani “fl1pzjder” Rahmad as Indian and then being blatantly racist against Indian players multiple times in a single game. Racism, unfortunately, is a common issue in Valorant. Despite Riot’s effort to curb the toxicity, players squeeze in their subtly racist remarks …
Omen can now break the game on Team Deathmatch
Olivia Richman
Valorant
An Omen player has found a game-breaking glitch in Team Deathmatch that gives the stealthy agent a huge advantage. Team Deathmatch is a fun elimination-focused limited time mode in Valorant that allows players to utilize their agent’s abilities to get the upper hand in combat. While the game mode has been a lot of fun, some players have found some fatal flaws that are causing serious mayhem. The latest is …
Valorant players want to disable skins due to toxic beggers
Fariha Bhatti
Valorant
Skins are a major part of Valorant, but not everyone can afford them. Fortunately, sharing is possible, but even generous players are sick of dropping skins. Skins have become almost necessary in Valorant, thanks to the highly notable placebo, which may sometimes impact aim and headshot percentage. For this reason, those who don’t own skins have become almost desperate, asking for their favorite gun every single round. While skin drops …
Use this trick to master GravNet of Valorant agent Deadlock
Fariha Bhatti
Valorant
Deadlock is the latest addition to the Valorant agent lineup, and she’s quite tricky to master. Thankfully, this easy Deadlock trick can help master at least one of her abilities. GravNet is a device that forces enemies to crouch and slows them simultaneously. It’s pretty powerful if tossed in the middle of a duel, destabilizing the shooter’s crosshair. It’s also quite valuable for keeping enemies away from a planted Spike, …
Valorant China launches with exclusive melee and replay system
Fariha Bhatti
Valorant
Valorant is finally coming to China, Riot has confirmed. But that’s not all: Valorant China will have exclusive features the player base has been asking for months. Valorant was released globally in 2020, but it was only in 2022 that the Chinese government’s National Press and Publication Administration (NPPA) greenlit Valorant to be published nationwide. Since then, players have eagerly waited for it to release, and now Riot has confirmed …
CSGO players accuse Valorant of copying Deagle animation
Fariha Bhatti
Counter-Strike
CSGO players are accusing Riot of copying the infamous Deagle inspect animation for the latest Neo Frontier sheriff. Valorant skins are as popular as its major competitor Counter-Strike: Global Offensive skin store. While Valorant cosmetics may not be lucrative, they are a visual treat thanks to vibrant colors and immersive VFX. However, Riot has never shied away from taking a page from CSGO’s book. CSGO players think the Valorant developer …
Valorant patch 7.0 goes live with Deadlock and new Deathmatch
Fariha Bhatti
Valorant
Players can now play Deadlock in Valorant in brand new TDM mode, going live in patch 7.0. Valorant TDM mode and Agent 23 have been in the works for months now. After a slew of teasers and trailers, Riot has announced patch 7.0, which includes Valorant Agent 23, new game mode TDM, progression system, and bug fixes. Here’s everything that’s coming in Valorant patch 7.0. Agent 23 will become playable …
Neo Frontier bundle in Valorant is dropping jaws with futuristic Axe
Fariha Bhatti
Valorant
Like every episode, Riot is rolling out a shiny new skin collection for Valorant Episode 7. The Neo Frontier bundle turns antique guns into futuristic skins. Riot likes to add an immersive backstory or a mind-blending theme for each Valorant skin bundle. Most skins are inclined toward Valorant’s futuristic dystopia, and only some showcase the vintage weaponry. This time, the developer is blending them both in Neo Frontier. Neo Frontier …
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.
