Valorant
Valorant
Stats show Valorant Episode 5 ranked is easier, silvers rank up
Fariha Bhatti
Overhauled ranks have had quite an impact so far, as an updated Valorant rank distribution in 2022 shows. Most players are still lingering in Silver, but the ascension has become smoother. The nine rank badges in Valorant aren’t easy to unlock. Each level challenges players to hone their skills in order to hop up to the next one. Players must continue to improve in order to rank up the ladder …
Valorant
Sage can drive the enemy team nuts with this Barrier Orb play
Fariha Bhatti
Sage may not have deadly utility to help her in Valorant’s post-plant meta, but her Barrier Orb is equally powerful. Agents like Viper, Brimstone, and Kay/O have top-tier kits, but low-ranked players pick them for the incendiaries. These agents enjoy massive success in Valorant’s post-plant meta. Molotovs flying in can secure an easy round win compared to aggressive and difficult duels. Sage has become an unlikely addition to the post-plant …
Valorant
Cooldown announces free £1,250 Valorant 1v1 tournament
William Davis
Aspiring Valorant players in the United Kingdom can 1v1 for £1,250 for free in a new tournament being presented by The Cooldown. Esports watch party host The Cooldown has announced a grand finale for its £1,650 1v1 Valorant circuit. Players near inner London will be able to compete in-person at swanky gaming bar Meltdown. The top eight players will receive shares of a cash prize totaling £1,250. Valorant Royal Singles …
Valorant
Sentinels eliminated from VCT NA Qualifiers, was shroud good?
Olivia Richman
Fans have been hyped about FPS veteran Michael “shroud” Grzesiek joining the Valorant roster of Sentinels ahead of the VCT NA Qualifiers. While viewership of Sentinels’ matches were high thanks to the addition of the former Counter-Strike pro, the team’s performance didn’t live up to expectations. Sentinels recently faced 100 Thieves in the last chance qualifiers and fans had high expectations, but shroud and his squad fell short and were …
Valorant
First look at Reaver 2.0 bundle reveals new unique melee
Fariha Bhatti
The highly awaited Valorant skin bundle Reaver 2.0 has been unveiled, and it’s everything fans had expected and more. Reaver is one of the oldest skin collections in Valorant, but it’s still relevant in Episode 5. The deep purple gun skins left a lasting impression on players with its immersive theme and sound elements that had an electric feel. Fans have long been requesting that Riot bring the iconic Reaver …
Valorant
Neon receiving huge changes to ult in Valorant patch 5.03
Fariha Bhatti
Valorant patch 5.03 is a big one, as it brings much-needed agent balances to Neon and Chamber. Leaks had already revealed that the all-powerful sentinel Chamber was in line to receive some massive nerfs. Alongside dialing him down, Valorant developers are also focusing on Neon’s Overdrive. The duelist is picked for her ultimate, which can be very impactful. The new changes will ideally keep Neon viable but make her tougher …
Valorant
Developer explains why ego peeking in Valorant is a good thing
Fariha Bhatti
Are your teammates always calling you out for ego peeking your enemies? It’s not entirely a bad thing and might even be good, as one Valorant developer has explained. You can’t be too cautious in tactical shooter games. One wrong move could spell victory for your enemies, so it’s good to tread carefully. But sometimes aggression is the key to unlocking wins. But it’s difficult to pick fights when you’re …
Valorant
Fans put CSGO skins on Valorant weapons and it’s amazing
Fariha Bhatti
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive’s iconic Asiimov skin has inspired Valorant players and yielded an exquisite fanmade Asiimov Vandal. Valorant skins seem as cheap as chips compared to top-end cosmetics in CSGO. Some weapon skins in CSGO can cost an arm a leg, eventually becoming a commodity. Players can potentially trade in these skins to make money in real life, whereas cheap Valorant skins are pure virtual items. However, the animated weapons …
Here are all 7 Valorant Episode 5 maps, ranked by difficulty
Fariha Bhatti
Valorant
The seven maps in the active pool of Valorant are all challenging, but some are easier than others. Here’s how each map ranks based on difficulty. Riot Games recently settled on the magic number seven for Valorant’s map rotation. After the addition of Pearl, the game had eight maps, prompting the developer to remove Split. One of the original maps was initially unique in its inclusion of ziplines to, adding …
Cypher is still good in Valorant with this sneaky Pearl setup
Fariha Bhatti
Valorant
Cypher isn’t the most popular sentinel in Valorant, but his camera is still irreplaceable. This new Cypher setup spot on Pearl might convince you to give him another shot. Pearl is one of the largest Valorant maps and its complex alleys make it tough to deal with. The underwater labyrinth challenges players to gain map control quickly. While defenders may struggle to rotate, attackers have a tough time playing post-plant. …
The complete guide to playing Breach in Valorant
Fariha Bhatti
Valorant
Breach entered the highly disciplined Valorant protocol with a lengthy rap sheet, but he’s too much fun not to like. His powerful kit adds to the long list of reasons players pick the Initiator in Valorant, and this Breach guide will help you find success. Not all Initiators are so fast-paced, making them less attractive for players who love to be out in the line of fire. Breach’s well-engineered kit …
Learn how to play Brimstone, the top shot-caller in Valorant
Fariha Bhatti
Valorant
The original team leader, Brimstone, is one of the best smokers on the roster. His simple toolkit, when used correctly, nets wins at a high level of play. Riot Games has effectively balanced the Valorant protocol by slotting 20 agents into four classes. While sentinels, initiators, and duelists are often responsible for executing plays, controllers help put a plan in place and provide support. The four smokers are viable on …
Sova’s darts can help protect the Spike on Pearl
Fariha Bhatti
Valorant
Just as Fade took the spotlight on Pearl, Sova has stolen it back with clever usage of his bow and arrows. The latest Valorant map Pearl is encircled in glass, protecting the futuristic city from the ferocious ocean. The unique Pearl layout doesn’t have any gimmicks that drive the gameplay, but it’s undoubtedly a tricky location for agents. Only a few characters are truly successful on Pearl, and Fade tops …
Reaver 2.0 bundle is real, and it has a fancy karambit
Fariha Bhatti
Valorant
Valorant’s most iconic bundle to date, the Reaver skin line is returning. Leaked images show that Reaver 2.0 has the potential to break the Valorant market. Recent skin bundles in Valorant have been underwhelming, with a few exceptions. Popular collections’ spin-offs have likely roped more business for Riot Games than new releases. RGX 11z, Prime 2.0, and Magepunk are excellent examples of sequels that tempted many to invest in cosmetic …
Who is Varun Batra, Valorant’s potential agent 21?
Fariha Bhatti
Valorant
The Valorant Public Beta Environment has teased a crucial character in the lore who could be from India. Is Varun Batra the next Valorant agent 21, Mage? Riot Games is big on diversity when it comes to Valorant protocol. The lineup has characters from different parts of the world. From Ghana to Germany, the developer has added various languages, references, and agents into the mix. Neon’s release ended up being …
Valorant is likely getting Fortnite-style emotes for each agent
Fariha Bhatti
Valorant
If you thought animated sprays were a lot, Riot Games might be considering Fortnite-like emotes for Valorant agents. Valorant is a highly competitive shooter that requires dedication and skills. To win at a high level, players must give their all. But Riot Games has added plenty of Easter eggs around Valorant maps that add a fun touch to the otherwise grueling games. Shiny skins, animated sprays, and cute plushies are …
Riot is finally delivering big nerfs to Chamber
Fariha Bhatti
Valorant
The swank Sentinel has finally landed under Riot’s nerf hammer, and Valorant players are elated. Leaked Chamber nerfs sound promising enough to clock him back after the agent has come to dominate the game. The French agent has been getting a lot of hate recently for his golden guns, workable TP, and slowing gadget. Chamber was a jack of all trades, simultaneously aggressing onto enemies while managing flanks. He played …
Raze can open Bind teleporters from outside and it’s amazing
Fariha Bhatti
Valorant
Bind’s teleporters can be a menace if the enemy team won’t stop exploiting them but it’s possible to open them from the outside thanks to Raze. Pearl is Valorant’s first map not to have a unique feature that directly impacts gameplay. Before Pearl, Riot Games gave each map a gimmick that changed how teams navigated the map or forced players to use unique strategies. Ziplines, three bombsites, and two middle …
The ultimate Valorant agent tier list for Episode 5
Fariha Bhatti
Valorant
The latest Valorant episode has plenty of strong agents, which may create a paradox of choice for the players. This ultimate tier list would help you pick the best agent for Episode 5 in each category. Valorant Episode 5 Act 1 is fast-paced, with 19 agents spread across four categories. In theory, no agent is unviable, as Riot has carefully curated kits that are situationally viable. However, some agents have …
CSGO is a “joke” next to Valorant’s difficulty, says shroud
Fariha Bhatti
Valorant
The ceaseless comparisons between Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and Valorant aren’t stopping soon. Micheal “shroud” Grzesiek has fanned the old discussion again, calling CSGO a joke compared to Riot’s shooter. Before Valorant entered the fray, CSGO ruled tactical shooters. Riot’s take on the genre was transformative and provided Counter-Strike with its first real competitor. While players have many hot takes on which is better, shroud’s word has weightage due to his …
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.
