Valorant
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This Sova lineup is unstoppable when defending on Haven
Fariha Bhatti
Winning on Haven is a grueling task without intel-gathering agents like Sova and Cypher. This simple Sova dart shows how much of a difference-maker the agent is on the map. Sova carries an arsenal of valuable surveillance equipment that comes in handy, particularly on large maps like Breeze, Ascent, and Haven. A team player like Sova helps to gather intel and direct the squad. While valuable on the attacker side, …
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This Cypher setup on Ascent makes wall-bang incredibly deadly
Fariha Bhatti
The steep learning curve of Cypher’s complex kit may demand many solo custom sessions, but knowing the tricks is a huge benefit in high-ELO games. Unlike other agents, Cypher’s kit doesn’t allow players to eyeball lineups on the go. Instead, players may need to invest some time into playing on practice servers to learn the key tricks for Cypher, such as this new setup by Redditor khemyc to trap enemies. …
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These are the best ways to practice and improve aim in Valorant
Fariha Bhatti
Have you ever watched your teammates hit incredible shots during a game and wished that you could do the same? It’s not impossible. A bit of aim training can help you to get much better at Valorant. Practice makes perfect. But what if you practice something wrongly without knowing it? Bad practice is a real thing, and it’s likely part of the reason why many players struggle to improve. If …
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Valorant raises $5.5 million for charity with Give Back Bundle
Olivia Richman
Valorant players have raised more than $5.5 million for the Riot Games Social Impact Fund. The Give Back Bundle was available for players to purchase from June 22 through July 8. Each skin from the bundle was worth 1,755 VP, which translates to $20 USD. The full bundle was 6,382 VP, a 10% discount from the combined price of the individual items. Players made their purchases knowing that 50% of …
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Elige explains why peeker’s advantage in Valorant isn’t entirely bad
Fariha Bhatti
Peeker’s advantage in Valorant is a hot issue both among professional players and the casual base. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive pro Jonathan “EliGE” Jablonowski has shared his thoughts on the subject and his fans are torn. There has been a lot of controversies around peeker’s advantage in Valorant. Some players think it’s ruining their tactical experience and Riot Games isn’t doing enough to minimize it. The community isn’t a fan of …
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Viper is OP on Breeze, can take over sites without help
Fariha Bhatti
Breeze is effectively Viper’s home turf as the poisonous agent is undefeatable in this wide-open map. Another new setup shows how Viper can overwhelm a site solo in the right hands. Handling large maps in Valorant is no cakewalk. Most agents are best suited to the tight quarters found on locations like Bind and Icebox. Fortunately, the roster has the feisty controller Viper, who is exceptional at blocking out larger …
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A talented Valorant player created a realistic 3D Killjoy statue
Fariha Bhatti
This 3D statue is the closest you’ll come to see the real Killjoy in her natural habitat. Bubbly Sentinel Killjoy quickly became the primary agent of many players after entering Valorant protocol. Her mechanical turrets, twin swarms, and deadly Lockdown qualify her to be one of the most powerful agents in Valorant. Besides these qualities, Killjoy has an upbeat aura that one artist has successfully captured in a 3D statue. …
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Players are knifing enemies through objects in Valorant
Fariha Bhatti
Wall bangs are cool but not when you get stabbed through a metal door. Shooting through fragile walls is a pretty common tactic in first-person shooter games. Some weapons are powerful enough to hit an enemy through the wall but this surefire tactic has become ridiculous in Valorant. A player has found a potential bug that allows you to stab through the doors on Ascent. Many players have criticized Valorant …
Valorant pro shows off an insane wall bang spot on Breeze
Fariha Bhatti
News
This new wall bang spot will make your enemies think twice before planting the Spike. Wall banging is a common tactic that players utilize to wound enemies through walls and other materials from a safe position. This tactic can either be used to damage the opponent or to keep them away from a particular position. Fortunately, Valorant has plenty of paper walls that you can shoot through and catch enemies …
This molotov lineup shows why Viper is OP on Icebox
Fariha Bhatti
News
Icebox may not let controllers deliver to their full potential but Viper’s kit can be an exception on this cold tundra map. Tight choke corners, small entryways, and limited areas… Icebox has everything that makes a Controller’s kit less viable. However, Viper is proving that she’s deadly on all Valorant maps, choke points or not. A recent lineup discovered by a Redditor named Formicone will make point B permanently closed …
Valorant players are banding together to find better teammates
Fariha Bhatti
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The solo queue experience in Valorant isn’t pleasant for everyone. Some players have discovered a new way to make it bearable. Imagine being able to queue with players who specifically complement your play style, pick agents according to team requirements, and communicate well. All of this is now more possible with the help of a new website created by Valorant players. Winning solo ranked games isn’t a cakewalk, especially in …
Valorant’s Night. Market returns , offering cheaper skins
Fariha Bhatti
News
Grab your wallets, because it’s time to hit the Valorant’s Night. Market for some new skins. Riot Games has once again rolled out the official discount store that offers luxurious skins at a lower price. Valorant’s Night. Market is now live for all players to grab their dream cosmetics. Night. Market will go live on July 28 at 5pm PT, and ends August 10 at 5pm PT pic.twitter.com/Z5VtBN3Tii — VALORANT …
Former CSGO pro NBK slams Valorant ranked system, and here’s why
Fariha Bhatti
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Counter-Strike: Global Offensive veteran Nathan “NBK-” Schmitt may have transitioned to Valorant for good, but it doesn’t mean he likes everything about his new “main game.” Valorant’s ranked mode has gone through quite an overhaul in Episode 2, but higher level players such as NBK still think that it is lacking. The former Counter-Strike: Global Offensive pro recently expressed his disappointment in the ranked system. I need to sustain a …
Hiko explains why Valorant esports scene is better than CSGO
Fariha Bhatti
News
Valorant is a new esport yet it has managed to flock a ton of former Counter-Strike: Global Offensive players. Spencer “Hiko” Martin recently explained what makes Valorant esports better than the CSGO pro scene. The first-person shooter realm had primarily been dominated by CSGO for a long time, until recently. Riot’s shooter Valorant quickly nabbed a large chunk of CSGO’s player base, becoming a healthy competitor in 2021. Hiko was also …
Enemies won’t be able to spot these OP Cypher Spycam lineups on Haven
Fariha Bhatti
News
Tackling enemies on Haven isn’t an easy feat. The large map can be a menace but not when you have Cypher’s lineups memorized. The Morrocan spy Cypher may not deal a lot of damage but he can help his deadly teammates garner kills and keep enemies at bay. Newly discovered lineups on Haven prove that Cypher is instrumental in winning a game on the extensive map. Like all unique Valorant …
Valorant getting new LoL-themed skin line with unique Vandal
Fariha Bhatti
News
Riot Games is building on the League of Legends narrative in Valorant with the new Sentinels of Light skin bundle release. Earlier, the developer revealed that the sister game League of Legends’ biggest event Sentinels of Light would also enter Valorant. The brand new skin line pays homage to Sentinels, an order of protectors who fight against darkness. Venced a la ruina con el paquete de diseños Sentinels of Light, …
Valorant patch 3.02 combats clipping and fixes some big bugs
Fariha Bhatti
News
Valorant patch 3.02 has landed, and it brings crucial agent fixes as well as some peeking nerfs. After delivering the massive 3.0 patch, developer Riot Games is still evaluating the impact of those changes. This latest Valorant update repairs broken kits and the bugged volume slider that has bugged players. We fixed the team voice volume slider! All that and just a bit more in Patch Notes 3.02 here: https://t.co/N9qKM0SHAV …
shroud announces return to esports, reveals new Valorant roster
Olivia Richman
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Streamer Michael “shroud” Grzesiek announced that he was returning to the esports world a few days ago and now he has announced a stacked lineup for the Valorant Champions Tour open qualifiers. Shroud was originally a professional Counter-Strike: Global Offensive player before turning to full-time streaming. Fans often asked if he would ever return to the competitive side of gaming but shroud never seemed too interested. But on July 17, …
shroud confirms he will play in the Valorant Champions Tour
William Davis
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Michael “shroud” Grzesiek dropped a bomb on his stream when he confirmed his participation in the Valorant Champions Tour. The streamer and former Counter-Strike: Global Offensive pro player is one of the most popular personalities on Twitch. His last professional CSGO match was at CSGO’s PGL Major Kraków in 2017. He is most likely competing in the open qualifiers for Valorant Champions Tour: North America Stage 3 Challengers 2. That …
This Killjoy Nanoswarm play on Haven is sneaky and deadly
Fariha Bhatti
News
Killjoy shines on the three-site Valorant map Haven, especially on the defender’s side. This new lineup can help her stay viable on the attack as well. A Valorant player has discovered a new lineup for Haven’s A tower, which is both sneaky and reusable. Bagging rounds on the attacker side will become much easier with this Nanoswarm play. Death-dealing turrets and ‘nades come in handy on all maps, so Killjoy …
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.
