Valorant
Valorant
All we know about the new Valorant map Fracture so far
Fariha Bhatti
Riot Games is gearing up to roll out the seventh location to expand the Valorant pool, and it’s already more impressive than other maps. After a delay in releasing Episode 3 Act 2, Riot Games has indicated that new updates are coming in hot. The developer hasn’t officially commented what the next act has in store but teasers suggest a lore-heavy map is in the making. Riot Games has revealed …
Valorant
Pokimane reveals her biggest obstacle in ranking up in Valorant as a woman
Fariha Bhatti
Popular streamer Imane “Pokimane” Anys has opened up about the biggest obstacle in her way to becoming an Immortal in Valorant. Twitch streamer Pokimane is one of the prominent names in Valorant content creation. Despite her dedication to the ranked grind, the streamer has failed to hit the Radiant rank. It has a lot to do with the in-game harassment and bullying, Pokimane has revealed. https://twitter.com/imane/status/1431353998863446023 The problem of toxicity …
Valorant
You might get a rare Valorant gun buddy if you find a Riot dev
Fariha Bhatti
Valorant’s most coveted cosmetic, the Riot fist bump buddy, isn’t completely unobtainable. There’s an easy way to grab it but it involves a lot of communication. Tiny gun buddies are Riot’s crack at weapon key chains that come in cute colors and designs. While they’re comparatively cheaper to get hold of, only a few can equip the Riot fist bump gun buddy. However, an employee at Riot Games has revealed …
Valorant
Next Valorant act will make ranking up easier for stuck silvers
Fariha Bhatti
Climbing the ladder in Valorant might become easier in upcoming acts, Riot Games has hinted. The developer specifically noted that the Silver ranks are over-populated and is gearing up to change that in the coming Act. The new changes will make it easier for players to climb ranks and move to higher levels. It’s no child’s play to hit Radiant rank in Valorant, but many players find it hard to …
Valorant
Recon bundle crashes Valorant market, store disabled by Riot
Fariha Bhatti
Riot Games has disabled the Valorant store just two days after delivering brand new bundle Recon. Valorant hadn’t received an update to its skin collection in a while so when Riot Games finally broke the spell and rolled out Recon, players naturally went wild with their Valorant Points. It seems that the store has crashed due to heavy traffic, prompting the developer to shut off the store temporarily. https://twitter.com/PlayVALORANT/status/1430648425054314497 Riot …
Valorant
Secret hole on Ascent can help damage enemies across doors
Fariha Bhatti
Ascent’s automatic doors can be annoying in post-plant situations but a secret tip could help you damage enemies even when they’re bolted. Riot Games has distinguished each Valorant map from another with unique scenery, upbeat themes, and a feature that introduces a new mechanic to the game. For Ascent, the developer rolled in automatic doors that heavily impact after-plant situations. Players have discovered a way to play around these loud …
Valorant
Miyagi aim training could be what unlocks your next Valorant rank
Fariha Bhatti
Do you ever see your high-skilled teammates click enemy heads and wish that you could do the same? Turns out, recklessly shooting bots in practice isn’t always enough to get you there. One of the most convenient ways to train aim is to hop in practice range and shoot at bots. However, players often take the timer too seriously, which counters the true purpose of the training. Crisp aim can …
Valorant
New Valorant Recon skin line features amazing butterfly knife
Fariha Bhatti
Valorant patch 3.04 has arrived with a brand new skin bundle that has fans of Counter-Strike intrigued. Riot Games has been caught in a catch-22 recently, with fans criticizing the publisher for both releasing too many skins and for not releasing them frequently enough. After two weeks without a new skin bundle, the Recon collection has been unveiled and it’s easy to see why Riot took its time. The developer …
Regional price changes are coming to Valorant for all skins and products
Fariha Bhatti
News
Riot Games has announced significant regional price changes coming to Valorant in September. Players in certain regions may want to stock Valorant Points before September since a price hike is on the horizon. The developer has confirmed that product rates would change in the coming days due to the currency fluctuations in some regions. In a blog post, the developer has revealed a list of changes coming to Brazil, Latin …
Game-breaking Killjoy trick makes it impossible to defuse spike
Fariha Bhatti
News
Killjoy’s kit has been used in unexpected ways lately and this new post-plant setup is another addition to the list, with out-of-bounds Nanoswarm grenades making it impossible to defuse the spike. Killjoy may not be a DPS hero on paper, but she’s still capable of blowing up enemies. A pair of grenades can bleed an enemy to death and Killjoy mains use this to their advantage. The current post-plant meta …
New Valorant map Canyon teased and it may come out soon
Steven Rondina
Valorant
A big update is coming to Valorant and Riot Games wants to get fans talking about it. The official Valorant Twitter account released a teaser image smattered with text in various languages. Though no information past that was given, it seems to be a clear hint that a new map is set to be added to the game. The text on the image is Valorant’s standard scattershot ominous jargon, with …
Killjoy is keeping teleporters open with her swarm grenades
Fariha Bhatti
News
Bind teleporter bugs are back and this time Killjoy’s kit is the culprit. Riot Games’ approach to Valorant maps is all about individuality. Each map has a unique feature that sets it apart from the others. Some of these qualities serve a particular side in winning, while others are just here for artistic purposes. Valorant’s Bind is like no other map due to its teleporters but they’re also the root …
Is it bad to switch between Vandal and Phantom?
Fariha Bhatti
News
The unceasing Vandal versus Phantom debate is still is in force after a year into Valorant’s release. However, players have now become more flexible. The Vandal versus Phantom argument is as old as the game itself. Players firmly believed that you should either be a Vandal user or a Phantom one. But, as the game matures into a cut-throat first-person shooter, the player base is also learning newer things. Many …
Which are the best and worst maps in Valorant?
Fariha Bhatti
Valorant
Valorant has six playable maps in the active pool, and each map has a unique feature that sets it apart from the rest. While many other hero shooters have seen hero pools become generally homogenous regardless of the environment, Valorant has seen specific maps force players outside their comfort zone when it comes to agents. That said, some maps are simply more entertaining than others due to design and features. …
Raze’s satchel can launch bot to blast enemies at elevated spots
Fariha Bhatti
News
Raze’s satchel can be your secret weapon to detect enemies and damage them. Aggressive duelist Raze isn’t just a damage dealer. She makes for an incredible initiator too. Her Boom Bot effectively garners intel and then blasts into the face of enemies, making them vulnerable. However, it has much more to offer when combined with her other powers. A clip shared by a Valorant player Contz shows that Raze can …
How to get the Among Us sus crosshair in Valorant
Fariha Bhatti
News
Crosshair contributes tons to your performance. While some players roll with a good ol’ dot, many Valorant players are now opting for “sus” square crosshair. Valorant allows players to customize their crosshairs according to their liking. You can create different shapes and sizes using the provided options to suit your playstyle. Many stick with the classic cross but newer players are having fun with Valorant settings. The new Among Us …
Here’s the best way to use Killjoy’s ultimate in Valorant
Fariha Bhatti
News
Killjoy’s ultimate may be dangerous, but it’s not indestructible. Killjoy is regarded as one of the best agents in Valorant, primarily due to her Lockdown ultimate. The sentinel can jam a large area with her ultimate that strips agents of their abilities and slows them. While her powers are impressive, they are not unavoidable. A player has discovered a counter for a common attacker Killjoy ultimate spot, which might just be …
Insane Sage wall on Bind provides her with a foolproof one way
Fariha Bhatti
News
Despite her calm persona, Sage can sometimes be an annoying agent to play against, this sneaky wall on Bind proves. Released as part of Project A protocol, Sage has managed to cement her foot as one of the most consistent agents in Valorant. She doesn’t have a stellar pick rate but plays an instrumental role on most maps and lineups. Safe to say, some locations are impossible to win without …
This is how to mute a player or lower voice volume in Valorant
Fariha Bhatti
News
Playing solo Valorant games can be a chore, especially when you have toxic teammates. Fortunately, you can use the mute feature to enjoy your games more peacefully. Games that require team coordination aren’t easy to win solo. Apart from focusing on your own gameplay, you’re required to communicate with teammates to defeat the opposing squad. While it sounds simple enough, an easy game can become a real ordeal if your …
Raze player gets hilarious 2-on-1 clutch win from the grave
Olivia Richman
News
Pubstomper Raze is even able to get multiple kills when the agent is no longer alive. A competitive Valorant player shared a hilarious clip from one of their ranked games where they got a clutch win after being eliminated. The Reddit clip immediately got attention from the Valorant community due to the ridiculousness of what happened. “This has to be the best accidental win I’ve ever had in a comp …
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.
