Valorant
Valorant
When is Split returning to Valorant? Here’s what we think
Fariha Bhatti
Split may not have been the most popular Valorant map before, but it sure became a favorite after Riot removed it from the active pool. So, when is it coming back? Valorant Episode 5, Act 1 locked the active map pool at seven. Riot Games decided it no longer wants to field all maps in rotation as they may overwhelm new and old players. Learning eight maps when one of …
Valorant
Enabling 2FA in Valorant can get you a free Keep It Safer gun buddy
Fariha Bhatti
Riot Games has been pretty generous with in-game cosmetics this year, and now it’s going all out by rewarding players with free weapon adornments. Prime Gaming subscribers, VCT viewers, and regular Valorant players already benefit from freebies, but Riot has new plans to reward those extra cautious with their accounts’ security. To guard the accounts with exorbitant skins and progress, Riot introduced 2FA (two-factor authentication), but a few were actually …
Valorant
Harbor’s stubborn Cove is destructible, here’s how to counter it
Fariha Bhatti
Harbor’s bulletproof bubble stands out from the rest of his water-based kit for its potency, but Cove comes with an easy counter. Harbor’s action-packed teaser featured abilities powered by a cuff that appeared overpowered at first glance. In actuality, Valorant agent 21 is pretty well-balanced. The water bender harnesses energy from a rare artifact on his wrist to aggress enemies and keep them at bay. While the rest of his …
Valorant
Here’s how pro players are using Fade’s watcher on Bind
Fariha Bhatti
Fade’s eye is powerful, but can quickly lose value when tossed out randomly. Here’s how to use Fade’s eye on Bind to beat high ELO opponents. Fade’s watcher, officially named Haunt, is similar to Sova’s dart in many ways. It reveals enemies that look at it, lasts for a limited period, and can be destroyed. However, it’s slightly better due to its large size. Fade’s eye can cover larger areas …
Valorant
Riot Games unveils a cleaner Valorant UI for patch 5.08
Fariha Bhatti
Valorant patch 5.08 will be a big one, revamping the game’s overlay to the core. Harbor has already been announced for Valorant’s next act. Patch 5.08 was already loaded with new content, including agent 21, and new skins, but Riot has even more to offer. The developer has teased changes coming to the overall UI/UX of Valorant. With the darker theme, the developer aims to make screens look cleaner and …
Valorant
Here are the potential abilities of Valorant agent 21 Harbor
Fariha Bhatti
Agent 21 Harbor is out in the open, but Riot is still keeping his toolkit tucked away. Still, there’s plenty to glean from the official trailer of Harbor. On October 12, Riot Games unveiled the official trailer for the Indian fugitive Harbor, allowing players a detailed peek into his biking maneuvers. Mounted on a heavy bike, Valorant agent 21 slices through congested alleys, chasing away Realm operatives. Why is he …
Valorant
Here’s your first look at Valorant agent 21, Harbor
Fariha Bhatti
The upcoming Valorant agent is named Harbor, according to a credible leaker. Here’s your first look at the Indian water bender. Valorant’s 21st agent is a water-based controller who’s a former Realm employee. While his background and origin were in the open, his name was still unknown. Players know him as Varun Batra, Mage, water bender, and whatnot. But a recent media file may have dropped the official name tag …
Valorant
Player disqualified for cheating in VCT reveals they lied about gender
Fariha Bhatti
VCT Game Changers has been littered with controversy and drama so far. Riot recently disqualified a team for cheating, but the story has taken a new turn. In 2021, Riot Games announced a new program to supplement the competitive season by creating new opportunities and exposure for marginalized genders within Valorant. Since then, there has been a quantum leap in the number of women in esports and competitive Valorant in …
This OP wall bang spot on Icebox will always get first blood
Fariha Bhatti
Valorant
Riot Games’ tactical shooter has many secrets that almost feel like exploits. This new Icebox wall bang discovered by a player almost seems like a wallhack. Valorant’s paper-thin walls can easily be exploited to get an advantage over opponents. Various predictable points in-game allow for smooth through-the-wall taps that can soften opponents or even net free kills. Some wall bangs are so spot-on that a casual player may confuse them …
This is the best way to open Fracture’s B-site with Viper
Fariha Bhatti
Valorant
Fracture recently got a face-lift, and while it was always Viper’s home turf, the new changes make the agent’s kit more appealing. Viper’s poisonous toolkit shines on complex layouts where your usual controller may slack off. She’s equipped with a vertical wall that redefines the smoker category in Valorant, which is why she’s one of the best agents to run on Fracture. Riot recently licked Fracture into shape, making it …
Woman accused of killing sister over a boyfriend in Valorant
Fariha Bhatti
Valorant
A 21-year-old woman is reportedly in police custody for stabbing her younger sister over a long-distance boyfriend in Valorant, reports have revealed. Fatiha Marzan was arrested on a first-degree murder charge last week and accused of killing her younger sister, 20-year-old Sayma Marzan, in Southern Charm Drive, the Orlando Sentinel reported. According to the arrest report, Fatiha used a “dagger-style knife” to stab Sayma multiple times in the heart for …
Controversial VCT Killjoy bug has finally been fixed
Fariha Bhatti
Valorant
Infamous Killjoy bug from Valorant Champions 2022 playoffs that sent the fans into a frenzy has finally been fixed. Riot Games has always been quick to combat problems in Valorant, whether it’s cheaters or a pesky bug. However, a sneaky Killjoy glitch had been plaguing the games under Riot’s nose. Few players knew it well, but they brushed it off as a negligible snag in the machine. It was proven …
Valorant agent 21 might be able to block bullets with a screen
Fariha Bhatti
Valorant
Riot Games has added a Valorant agent as NPC for the first time in the practice range, bearing crucial information regarding Varun Batra, rumored agent 21. So far, we know Valorant agent 21 is an Indian character who thoroughly enjoys a good plate of samosa chat. We also know that he’s a controller, likely named Varun Batra, who might have similar abilities to Viper. Official teasers have confirmed the category …
Crimsonbeast bundle in Valorant is reminiscent of Elderflame
Fariha Bhatti
Valorant
Riot Games has rolled out brand new Crimsonbeast skins in Valorant that players say are basically the budget Elderflame. Elderflame was Valorant’s most expensive bundle until Riot Games rolled out Spectrum with audio customized by popular DJ Zedd. Still, the hell-dragon-themed skins remain top-tier and the number one choice of both professional and casual players. Unfortunately, they’re way out of the price range of most players. Players can now fulfill …
Has Reyna become too powerful after patch 5.07 buff?
Fariha Bhatti
Valorant
Patch 5.07 leaks were concerning for the veteran Valorant players who had seen Reyna in her full glory. But the official release confirms Reyna isn’t becoming all-powerful. Duelists in Valorant aren’t all equally mighty. Some excel at creating space while others are self-sufficient Radiants. Reyna falls into the second category, but Riot had previously taken away plenty of her powers to clock her back in Valorant’s power circle. But, it …
Riot reveals a new feature to punish casual toxicity in Valorant
Fariha Bhatti
Valorant
Riot Games is now keeping track of even the slightest mischief in Valorant through a new disruptive gameplay-based behavior indicator. Not all misdemeanors in Valorant are worthy of a permanent ban. Riot has put a system in place that slaps players with soft bans, timeouts, and light punishments for breaching rules that don’t necessarily threaten competition. However, repeated toxicity that’s not precisely cheating drives new players away and ruins the …
Valorant still doesn’t have a timeout feature for ranked games
Fariha Bhatti
Valorant
Two years after the game’s release, Valorant still doesn’t have tactical timeouts for ranked games, and it’s a problem. Valorant was released in June 2020 as a heavily competitive first-person shooter. While it successfully dethroned plenty of strong contenders, Valorant still lacks crucial features available in rival titles. From a replay system to timeouts, a lot is missing that would improve the player experience. Patch 2.09 made it a tad …
Riot is testing a collection randomizer to better flex Valorant skins
Fariha Bhatti
Valorant
Riot Games is toying with a skin randomizing feature in Valorant PBE that players have been continuously asking for. Valorant bundles are extravagant, unique, and expensive. It’s quite unfortunate that players pay big money for skin but are forced to put them on the proverbial shelf as soon as a new bundle arrives. But Riot may be working on a solution. Currently, Valorant doesn’t have a feature that lets players …
Was Riot Games behind Carlos’ resignation from G2 Esports?
Fariha Bhatti
Counter-Strike
The Carlos Ocelote-Andrew Tate debacle seemed to have concluded with his resignation at G2 CEO, but a report hints at Riot’s involvement in the big decision. The controversial public figure and former boxer Andrew Tate is clearly not welcomed on the internet. After being de-platformed from Facebook, Instagram, and Tiktok, Andrew Tate’s presence was reduced to rare clips posted on unofficial accounts. In light of these events, Carlos’ celebratory video …
New Valorant mobile leak suggests open beta is close
Fariha Bhatti
Valorant
Fresh Valorant mobile leaks suggest that Riot Games’ handheld FPS is currently being tested privately. With Valorant, Riot Games plans to follow in the footsteps of Overwatch, PUBG, Apex Mobile, and more with a mobile version of its tactical shooter. The developer announced a handheld version of its blockbuster FPS title Valorant, but no one knows the release date. According to Riot executive Anna Donlon, the game should be good …
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.
