Valorant
Valorant
What determines your division in Valorant Premier?
William Davis
Valorant is giving its players the opportunity to participate in a real competition with Valorant Premier. Because not every player is on the same level, Valorant Premier has a division system. Valorant Premier is similar to Clash in League of Legends, except it’s much bigger. For a limited time, players get the opportunity to come together as a team and compete in a flash tournament. This new mode allows players …
Valorant
VCT Summer 2023 schedule explained
William Davis
The competitive year for Valorant is just getting started. The VCT Summer 2023 schedule is packed from May all the way through August. 2023 is a special year for competitive Valorant with the beginning of the International Leagues. During the VCT Summer 2023, fans will enjoy the first International League playoffs, the Masters Tokyo, and the first Championship in China, among other events. Before any global event, the International Leagues …
Valorant
Players urge Riot to ban agent insta-locking app
Fariha Bhatti
Imagine being able to insta-lock Jett from your loo break. As wild as it may sound, it’s now possible with the Recon Bolt app, and players are not happy. Sometimes, the Valorant queue can be so long that you must wait for long minutes to find a game. Players often get water, food or take a toilet break in the meantime. But these breaks come at the cost of risking …
Valorant
Exclusive Valorant Prime Gaming player card released
Nicholas James
A new set of Valorant Prime Gaming rewards has dropped, allowing fans to get their hands on the gorgeous new Caught One player card. Amazon Prime Gaming is an ongoing rewards system for people who are subscribed to the Amazon Prime service. Tons of games offer free rewards, often refreshing regularly, that players can claim. In order to access Prime Gaming rewards, you’ll need an Amazon Prime subscription. The latest …
Valorant
Radiant Entertainment System is Valorant’s most expensive bundle
Fariha Bhatti
Radiant Entertainment System may be a bit over the top for some, but it’s definitely up there with the Spectrum bundle as one of the best Valorant skin collections. Riot Games has unveiled Valorant’s third Ultra bundle, and it’s worth all the wait. The retro arcade-style bundle has music, pizzazz, and animations, but it’s not cheap. It’s Valorant’s most expensive bundle to date. Riot has lifted the curtain on Radiant …
Valorant
Valorant agent 23 teaser hints at the missing agent 08
William Davis
Valorant agent 23 is still months away, but Riot Games has chosen to whip fans up with a surprise teaser image. Riot’s tactical shooter is maintaining its pace of releasing a new agent every four months. Gekko’s recent release completely rocked the meta, and the developer still has plenty of time to create a suitable follow-up. Even though Valorant agent 22 isn’t expected to come out until July 2023 at …
Valorant
All we know about Valorant Premier Global open beta
Fariha Bhatti
Riot Games has finally confirmed the release date of the Valorant premier mode that’d take competition “beyond Radiant.” Valorant players love a challenge. So after hitting Radiant, players often restart their grind, aiming for the red badge with only certain weapons or agents. Clearly, for some ranked demons, Valorant competitive is easy breezy. Now, Riot has announced a new in-game tournament system for these exceptionally skilled players who’re cut out …
Valorant
Valorant Arcade Bundle teased
Nicholas James
The next Valorant Arcade Bundle has been teased, causing a lot of intrigue with skin collectors. Here’s what fans should be able to expect from the latest Valorant skin bundle. Arcade is one of Valorant’s many fan-beloved skin lines, inspired by the red and white Super Nintendo-style aesthetic of retro gaming. Reminiscent of an old-school arcade shooter’s equipment, the line has been a hit with players of the game. Fans …
Valorant pro competes in online tournament from a hospital bed
Olivia Richman
Valorant
You’ve heard the term “ball is life,” but maybe it should be “game is life,” specifically Valorant. A competitive player recently brought his setup to the hospital to compete in an online tournament. Niko “polvi” Polvinen is a pro Valorant player that’s currently competing for OnlyFins, an organization-less Finnish team. The team has been dominating C-tier online tournaments in Europe, proving that the squad is willing to grind in hopes …
Does the Night Market change in Valorant?
Fariha Bhatti
Valorant
Night Market has returned to Valorant, but as always, a section of players are dissatisfied with the random goodies in their thrift store. These players are now wondering if it’s possible to change the Night Market. Night Market regularly appears in Valorant once every two months. Players would notice a new card appear on the menu for the Night Market, Valorant’s infamous thrift store. This stays for nearly 19 days, …
Valorant agent 22 leaked codename hints at abilities
William Davis
Valorant
Valorant agent 22 is already in development, but certain leaked info may have given fans an extra-early sneak peek. Valorant’s roster has ballooned since its launch, with tricky Gekko marking the 21st agent to enter the fray. However, Riot Games is already hard at work on a follow-up. Data miners have uncovered details for the next Valorant agent, and while details are scarce, what we know could mean a lot …
Did Valorant copy CSGO patterns for the Black Market knife?
Fariha Bhatti
Valorant
Valorant Black Market Bundle has a one-of-a-kind melee that confirms Riot took inspiration from CSGO to put this collection together. Riot Games recently introduced the Black Market bundle in Valorant, featuring skins that change appearance on each side. One of the skins in the bundle, the Attacker Vandal, received criticism for its mahogany wood exterior that some players felt resembled CSGO’s AK-47, leading to players labeling the bundle as “CSGO …
Valorant patch 6.07 makes it easy to destroy Sova’s recon
Fariha Bhatti
Valorant
Sova is one of the deadliest intel-gatherers in Valorant because of the tiny size of his recon. But the latest change in patch 6.07 will make it less of a pest. Valorant has six initiators, but few are good at breaking intel. Fade, and Sova often go neck and neck, but typically, Sova gains an edge for the small size of his utility that blends into the map. Even the …
Valorant dev explains why attack-defense skins aren’t possible
Fariha Bhatti
Valorant
The Black Market bundle has given Valorant players a glimmer of hope for the possibility of attacker-defender-sided skins, but the developer has explained why it’s a challenge. Valorant has over 300 skins in total that collectors love to buy. Some players even own almost every bundle available in Valorant, which stacks up to an insane amount of money. But unfortunately, they can only use one skin at a time. Currently, …
Valorant patch 6.07 unveils harsher penalties for AFKs, queue dodgers
Fariha Bhatti
Valorant
Riot Games is increasing penalties for queue dodging and AFK behavior in Valorant patch 6.07. Valorant patch 6.07 marks the return of Bind into the map pool, with significant changes to its layout. The new-look Bind has wider entrances and a different exit for the teleporter. But that’s not all. Patch 6.07 further sidelines the AFKs and queue dodgers in Valorant with stricter penalties. Patch 6.07 introduces faster punishment for …
Ludwig’s org temporarily signs ex-CLG female Valorant roster
Fariha Bhatti
Valorant
Ludwig Ahgren’s Moist Esports is now entering Valorant Game Changers with a female roster of its own. Streamers are entering the esport with all guns blazing in 2023, signing some of the top players in the scene. Refreshingly, these streamers aren’t entirely focused on male esports but are using their money to help bolster the less recognized side of female Valorant. Recently, Disguised had a short run in VCT GC, …
Fans think the Valorant Black Market bundle is a CSGO copy
Fariha Bhatti
Valorant
Did Riot Games just roll out Counter-Strike: Global Offensive’s Ak-47 dupe? Decide for yourself. Riot Games is big on skins, releasing a new bundle every other act. While the developer can be innovative with new designs, some of their latest releases have been perceived as lackluster and unexciting. However, it seems Riot is all set to break the monotony with the Black Market skin bundle. The Black Market bundle will …
What is an illegal molly in Valorant?
Fariha Bhatti
Valorant
Valorant has its fair share of bugs and glitches that players love exploiting in ranked games. But what exactly makes a molly illegal in Valorant? Ranked players get away with many things, like toying with illegal mechanics, bugs, and glitches. But that’s not the case in the official Valorant tournament. Instead, pro players can be slapped with severe punishments and sometimes even get disqualified for using banned lineups. Recently, an …
How to buy a Valorant gift card thanks to LoL
William Davis
Valorant
Cosmetic items might not improve your gameplay, but they certainly make you look cool when you have a clutch play. To buy them, you need money or a gift card. Here is everything you need to know about a prepaid gift card for League of Legends and Valorant. A prepaid gift card is an easy way to buy Riot’s in-game currency if you don’t have a credit card. These can …
Bind is back, Icebox out for the next Valorant map change
William Davis
Valorant
Bind and Icebox are polar opposites in the mind of the Valorant community, so many will be pleased to see the return of el classico. After months of anticipation, Riot Games has finally confirmed that Bind will return to Valorant’s map pool. The developer has already confirmed major gameplay changes for the map for its return, and fans will finally be able to test them out later this month. To …
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.
