Valorant
Valorant
After Raze and Killjoy ship, Valorant calls Sage “mommy”
Fariha Bhatti
Valorant recently confirmed that Killjoy and Raze were queer in a romantic post of the two sharing a kiss. Now, the developer is feeding the community by calling Sage “middle-seat mommy.” The Valorant community is deeply in touch with the game’s lore. Each map and agent is connected with a deeper storyline of the mirrorverse and the dispute after the Radianite. But it’s not all about bloodshed and betrayal. Lore …
Valorant
The best Valorant player in the world is 14 years old
Fariha Bhatti
A 14-year-old Valorant player has proved that age is just a number by claiming the top spot on the Radiant leaderboard. Valorant’s rank ladder is no picnic. Climbing from one rank to another has become even more challenging in Episode 6, but skilled players won’t feel a difference. However, things get interesting in Immortal and Radiant, where rank isn’t enough. Instead, the best players in the world compete for the …
Valorant
Valorant VCT partnered team skins to be released 2023
William Davis
VCT partnered team skins might come to Valorant sooner than players expect. Data miners have discovered early indications that team skins are in development by Riot Games, who is yet to confirm the information. Valorant has a new look in 2023. The competitive side of the game has been reorganized to make room for the International Leagues. These are three on-LAN leagues covering different regions with 10 permanent teams each, …
Valorant
Tarik is at the bottom of his own Pro City ranking
Fariha Bhatti
Pro City by Tarik may have sounded crazy initially, but it’s in full swing, and players love it. But the creator himself is repping a position at the bottom of the leaderboard. Valorant’s tragic ranked situation has led many to turn away from the game entirely. Those who stayed true to the game had their loyalty tested when crypto-throwers plagued the queues with wagering, win trading, and match-fixing. This situation …
Valorant
How to join Tarik’s private Valorant Discord
Fariha Bhatti
As if cheaters and smurfs weren’t enough headache, Valorant has a brand new problem in crypto-throwers. Valorant streamer Tarik “tarik” Celik has a solution of 10-player private leagues, but it doesn’t solve the predicament in the long run. Valorant ranked is plagued with all sorts of problems, but Riot makes notes of solving them immediately. However, crypto-betting is in full swing, and Riot is yet to comment. But players are …
Valorant
Fan-made medieval Breeze looks like CSGO map Inferno
Fariha Bhatti
A Valorant player has reimagined Breeze in Medieval Engineers, causing it to resemble multiple different CSGO maps. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is a classic shooter, but it’s not medieval-old. Still, a Valorant player’s rework of Breeze in the Medieval Engineers game looks like an amalgam of Inferno and Cobblestone, the two iconic maps. Breeze is a modern location set on a picturesque island. Rock music, cutting-edge tech, and greenery surround the …
Valorant
Valorant players are exploiting Lotus’ broken doors
Fariha Bhatti
Lotus is a new map in Valorant, which is why players had expected glitches. But its rotating door is actually littered with bugs. Valorant’s map nine is complex and challenging, but players are eventually finding their footing. Since it’s still new, bugs were given. However, players have noticed game-breaking glitches with Lotus’ revolving doors. The loud barriers are providing select agents with wall hacks. Right before patch 6.01, Riot toned …
Valorant
Valorant agent Killjoy’s Nanoswarm bug is a menace on Lotus
Fariha Bhatti
Whenever Riot releases a new Valorant map, Killjoy is often the first to bug out. On map nine Lotus, her Nanoswarms have become a serious threat to the defenders. The latest Valorant map, Lotus, is a labyrinth. Crammed with rat corners, alleys, and secret passageways, Lotus won’t make it easy for defenders to hold ground. As if the confusing layout wasn’t enough, Killjoy’s toolkit is acting unintentionally against the defenders. …
Valorant’s Lunar New Year bundle Luna comes with a cute bunny
Fariha Bhatti
Valorant
Valorant is celebrating the Lunar New Year with a blue gun bundle dubbed Luna. Riot Games’ FPS, Valorant, was the ultimate game-changer with its unique twist of character-based abilities. But that wasn’t the only thing that set Valorant apart from its competitors. Affordable skins with over-the-top animations and visuals made a splash among skin enthusiasts. Since Project: A, Riot has rolled out more than 60 purchasable bundles — and it’s …
Here’s how you can save a replay in Valorant in 2023
Fariha Bhatti
Valorant
Valorant was released in 2020, and after the growth and diversification of the agents, maps, and game modes, Valorant is still missing a replay feature. But fret not. There are alternate ways to save replay in Valorant. Valorant was released more than two years ago, but it’s still far from perfect. Riot’s FPS experiment is still missing some crucial features to the health of esports. One of them is a …
Riot explains how losing a Valorant game can still help rank up
Fariha Bhatti
Valorant
Losing in Valorant doesn’t mean you have wasted 30 minutes on the game. According to the developer, the system is constantly tallying MMR — even when you lose. Valorant is getting more challenging with each episode, but the developer continues to tweak the RR system to reward the players. Understanding how MMR and RR work in Valorant can help you rank up quicker because winning isn’t all there is to …
Valorant pro ShahZaM claims Sentinels picked shroud only for “hype”
Fariha Bhatti
Valorant
It’s never a dull day in North American Valorant, where drama and beef is always brewing. This time around, former Sentinel skipper Shahzeb “ShahZaM” Khan is at the center, claiming shroud was picked merely for the “hype.” shroud had long ago stepped away from competitive play, switching to streaming as his full-time career. But, he returned to competition in a jaw-dropping announcement that set the Valorant community ablaze. In 2022, shroud …
sinatraa is returning to pro Valorant after two years in 2023
Fariha Bhatti
Valorant
Former Overwatch pro and Valorant star Jay “sinatraa” Won is returning to Valorant in 2023, but it’s not in Sentinels. Sentinels’ former lead initiator, sinatraa is preparing to resume his pro Valorant career after a hiatus of two years. The popular streamer and pro player was barred from official Valorant events in May 2021 following sexual assault allegations. After two years, sinatraa is set to pick up where he left off, …
Ranking up in Valorant Episode 6 will be easier, but only if you’re good
Fariha Bhatti
Valorant
Valorant developer is changing the rank ladder progress, helping deserving players to gain more Rank Rating (RR). Whoever said Riot is purposefully squeezing players into low-rank queues was wrong. Instead, the Valorant developer is keen on streamlining the ladder by removing stringent rank-up requirements. So, in Episode 6, skilled players should find it much easier to get their desired rank badge without teammates hindering their progress. Previously, ranking up in …
Here are all 7 Valorant maps in rotation for Episode 6
Fariha Bhatti
Valorant
Valorant Episode 6 Act 1 has begun, and with it, a new season for the rank grind is here. Here are all seven playable maps in the current act. Valorant Episode 6 will run for the next six months, meaning players must learn the existing map pool by heart to stay on top of their game. However, unlike Project A, Riot Games has taken a new approach to the map …
Here’s how crypto-betting in Valorant is ruining ranked games
Fariha Bhatti
Valorant
Valorant throwers now have a solid reason to ruin ranked games and it’s even more dangerous. Every online multiplayer game has a litany of problems like cheating, griefing, and trolling— and Valorant is no exception. Thankfully, Riot is in close touch with the community, which is why severe problems get resolved quickly. But, still, savvy players are relentless in their quest to ruin games for others. Players typically throw games …
Valorant agent Omen’s red one-way smoke removed in patch 6.0
Fariha Bhatti
Valorant
Valorant patch 6.0 brings many changes, but Split’s layout tweaks and an Omen nerf take the front row. Each Valorant episode brings some sort of meta-shift. Sometimes it’s through new characters and maps, and other times it’s a complete economic overhaul. In Episode 5, Riot announced map rotation, meaning Split is returning — but there’s a twist. Minor tweaks will change how the map plays out. Paired with an Omen …
Valorant bundle Araxys features futuristic headshot machines
Fariha Bhatti
Valorant
Valorant Episode 6 Act 1 is packed with new and exciting content, but the Araxys skin bundle undoubtedly steals the spotlight. Each Valorant episode begins with either a new agent or map and a brand-new skin bundle with over-the-top animations. Riot sticks with a theme for each phase, which is also evident in the skin collection for the said episode. This time, the game developer is feeling futuristic. The battle …
Here’s your first look at Valorant map Lotus with a new gimmick
Fariha Bhatti
Valorant
Valorant map nine, dubbed Lotus, has officially been unveiled with a brand new gimmick that would spice up gameplay. Valorant map Pearl entered the pool without special features, a first for FPS players. Gimmicks set each map apart from another — think teleporters and ropes — adding a fun gameplay twist to the layout. Riot is bringing them back in map nine, Lotus. Set in India, Lotus is a disputed …
Valorant EP 6 cinematic hints at an Indian map with three sites
Fariha Bhatti
Valorant
Fans may think Haven is a bit too much to handle, but Riot is sticking to the unique map plan — at least if the Valorant episode 6 cinematic is to be believed. Typically, a 5v5 FPS map is set with two sites divided by a middle area. But Riot has been experimenting with unique layouts, and most of them have been successful. Bind’s no mid, and Fracture’s split spawn …
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.
