Valorant
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Valorant player recreates Icebox as a realistic map in 3D
Fariha Bhatti
Valorant’s icy tundra Icebox is even more haunting in high-definition. The fourth Valorant map released at the end of Episode 1 was a unique addition to Valorant’s summer theme. It brought horizontal zip lines and an abandoned tundra blanketed in snow, two things Valorant never had before. The stark scenery of Icebox always had dark undertones, but a more realistic version of the map is positively spine-tingling. A player named …
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Yoru rework will include updated agent abilities and visuals
Fariha Bhatti
A Yoru rework has been brewing for a while now, and a Valorant developer has finally revealed a reason behind the delay. After the underwhelming release of Episode One: Act Three’s overhyped hero Yoru, the developer promised to rework the duelist alongside Viper, who saw a similar fate after the game’s release. Riot Games successfully managed to bring Viper to the top of the pick charts since, but Yoru is …
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Valorant fan creates tool to easily change entire skin loadouts
Fariha Bhatti
Imagine being able to create your own loadout that you can quickly change before a game. Well, this tool designed by a Valorant player lets you enjoy all your skins. Valorant bundles are extravagant, unique, and expensive. It’s quite unfortunate that players pay big money for a skin, but are forced to put them on the proverbial shelf as soon as a new bundle arrives. Currently, Valorant doesn’t have a …
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Patch 3.03 adds wall bang update, Viper’s accidental buff fixed
Fariha Bhatti
Patch 3.03 bears bad news for Viper players who were having a field day after an accidental buff. The new patch update is finally here and while it’s not a big one, it certainly brings some major changes for regular Valorant players. The brand new update significantly nerfs Viper’s ultimate, adds advanced crosshair options, and fixes several other bugs in the game. After installing patch 3.01, players noticed a pleasant …
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Weird bug causes corpses to disappear, Sage players can’t revive
Fariha Bhatti
Bodies are disappearing in Valorant and Sage players aren’t happy. Currently, Sage is the only healer in Valorant who can bring back the dead. But a weird bug is undermining her ability to resurrect teammates. Many players have encountered a glitch that’s causing dead bodies to disappears when Sage tries to revive it. Bodies disappearing is a common thing, often happening as a result of poor internet connection. However, many …
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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 …
Valorant raises $5.5 million for charity with Give Back Bundle
Olivia Richman
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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 …
This Kay/O point B retake setup on Split is super quick and effective
Fariha Bhatti
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First released as an initiator but handled as an aggressive duelist, the 16th agent Kay/O is high-octane in retake situations. Kay/O is still finding their place in the decorated Valorant roster, where agents often get pulled out of their categories to serve different purposes. For instance, Yoru makes for a great initiator despite his duelist tag. The latest agent, Kay/O, finds themselves in the opposite situation due to a high-tech …
Viper can help teach you how to defend yourself against Kay/O
Fariha Bhatti
News
Still getting Kay/O fragments thrown at you across every map? There might be a way to get a read on common molotov spots. The war machine Kay/O is still new to Valorant. While initiator mains are perfecting his lineups, the rest of the players are figuring out how to contest Kay/O’s kit. As it turns out, Viper help teams work around Kay/O’s molotovs. Duelist-initiator hybrid Kay/O is exceptionally strong due …
Valorant players can hide your utility on this secret spot on Breeze
Fariha Bhatti
News
Breeze is the latest addition to Valorant’s map pool and players still haven’t unleashed all the secret spots. The sixth location, Breeze, introduced plenty of fresh features to the dull Valorant map pool. With its beachy scenery, palm trees, and vast, open area, Breeze has everything that other maps lacked. It turns out it also has a secret spot that can hide tossable utility. Agents like Killjoy and Viper have …
Elige explains why peeker’s advantage in Valorant isn’t entirely bad
Fariha Bhatti
News
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 …
Viper is OP on Breeze, can take over sites without help
Fariha Bhatti
News
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 …
A talented Valorant player created a realistic 3D Killjoy statue
Fariha Bhatti
News
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. …
Players are knifing enemies through objects in Valorant
Fariha Bhatti
News
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
News
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 …
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.
