Valorant
News
Here’s how Skye’s flasher hawk can help fake a Spike defuse in Valorant
Fariha Bhatti
The infamous Raze fake defuse introduced by Guild Esports’ Yacine “Yacine” Laghmari can be recreated using a cheaper ability of a different agent. Skye is an underrated Valorant agent in low-level queues but is the first choice of professional Initiator players. Her flasher hawk is generally used to blindside the enemies but a player has found a new use for the bird. Tapping the bomb to trick enemies is a common tactic …
News
This Jett dash trick lets her kill enemies from the sky
Fariha Bhatti
Jett remains the most “insta-picked” agent in Valorant, and this new dash trick only cements that further. Valorant’s speediest agent Jett can dominate large maps with her mobility-focused kit. However, her dash can also be impactful in catching enemies huddled in smaller areas. A Valorant player has discovered a new, easy, and effective dash lineup on Ascent. Valorant’s duelist roster is crammed with five viable agents, but Jett has managed …
News
Shroud explains why he prefers hold over toggle ADS in Valorant
Fariha Bhatti
Are you confused about toggling your scope or keeping it on hold? First-person shooter expert Michael “shroud” Grzesiek has an answer. On his recent streamer, the former Counter-Strike: Global Offensive professional player demonstrated the difference between the two scope settings in Valorant and explained that “hold” for Marshall and Operator is “absolutely insane.” Unlike other shooter games like CSGO, ADS (aim downsight) or scoped shooting is quite popular in Valorant. …
News
This newly discovered 1-way wallbang on Split is totally unfair
Fariha Bhatti
Split is “literally unplayable” now. Players are ranting after discovering this new wallbang spot that is downright unfair. Split, one of the original Valorant maps, has been bug-free since its release. However, a player discovered a wallbang spot on the map which is seemingly too good to be intentional. “Wallbangs” are common in shooters, allowing players to damage enemies who are hiding behind cover. With the help of the right …
News
Riot hotfix addresses bug that let players ride Sova’s dart across
Fariha Bhatti
Sova players in Valorant have been exploiting a hilarious dart bug and Riot Games has finally shut down the trolls. The rocket dart bug has now been fixed. Valorant players recently discovered a weird glitch in the game, which lets them ride Sova’s dart to different corners of the map. Unfortunately for the trolls, the developer has already patched up the broken bow and arrow. On June 7, a Valorant …
News
Valorant agent 18 name leaked, unique abilities teased
Fariha Bhatti
Valorant’s cast recently expanded with the addition of cyber initiator Kay/O, but it seems Riot Games is firing on all cylinders to load up the roster. Data miners and leakers have already rummaged through the game’s files and discovered some details regarding the 18th Valorant agent. Floxayy and ValorLeaks, who have unearthed information ahead of major Valorant updates in the past, found the code name for a potential new agent. …
News
New League of Legends skins released, Viego is in Valorant maps
Fariha Bhatti
Riot Games has delivered a brand new skin bundle dubbed “Ruination” and it’s unlike any other Valorant collection you’ve seen before. League of Legends’ historical event Sentinels of Light will also be reflected in Riot Games’ shooter Valorant in the form of a skin bundle called Ruination. The dark-themed skins will be available to shop after the Patch 3.01 update. Riot Games has revealed a trailer for premium Ruination skins …
News
Valorant leaks suggest battle royale mode is in development
Fariha Bhatti
Valorant is reportedly getting its own Batte Royale, according to a leaker and dataminer who works in PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds. A sizable chunk of Valorant’s player base comes from battle royale games and an insider name PlayerIGN has pleasant news for them as he reports that a Valorant battle royale is already being tested. Rumor: #Valorant’s battle royale is being tested by a small group of players as of last week.In …
Valorant patch 3.01 fixes Skye and Sage bugs, account levels
Fariha Bhatti
News
Valorant patch 3.01 is live, and while it’s not as massive as the last update, it does tackle some significant bugs. Riot Games transformed ranked queues with the addition of Kay/O and weapon changes in Patch 3.0. In the recent update, the developer cleaned up some of the bigger bugs that have lingered since then. Many players had reported a bug with Sage’s wall that allowed her to boost teammates …
Valorant ranked distribution shows most players stuck in Silver
Fariha Bhatti
News
Are you a hard-stuck Silver in Valorant? The ranked distribution in patch 3.0 may make you feel a little better about your rank. Constant tweaks to Valorant matchmaking ranking have made it harder for less skilled players to keep on track while climbing. Stats by Valking has revealed that about 35.3% of players in the current patch are stuck in Silver, the highest percentage number of any rank. The ranked …
Tarik starts a Twitter war by saying Valorant is harder than CSGO
Fariha Bhatti
News
Tarik “tarik” Celik’s recent jab on Twitter has revived the old debate between Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and Valorant players who are always eager to argue which game is the best. Former CSGO professional and popular Valorant streamer tarik took Twitter to express his opinion regarding the difficulty level on both shooters. However, his light tweet managed to spark a whole new drama within the first-person shooter community. Sorry to my …
Valorant may be getting LoL crossover with Ruination skin line
Fariha Bhatti
News
League of Legends is about to begin its enormous Ruination event and it may appear in Valorant as well. A new skin line has been leaked, which hints that the League of Legends universe is officially coming to Valorant. The skin bundle was first teased in Kay/O reveal, in which the new agent was sporting a glowing, blue Guardian. League of Legends’ Sentinels of Light event will begin on July …
Which is better, Phantom or Vandal? TenZ gives his answer
Fariha Bhatti
News
The Phantom versus Vandal debate is far from over. Tyson “TenZ” Ngo has once again fired the conversation by explaining why Phantom is mechanically more powerful. Sentinels’ professional player TenZ may switch his mouse sensitivity like clothes, but the Phantom has remained his top pick since the game’s release. Amid the debates over which rifle is more OP, the pro player has explained why he thinks everyone should prefer Phantom. In …
Is shroud returning to pro play? Top streamer considers VCT
Fariha Bhatti
News
Michael “shroud” Grzesiek may be returning to the competition, but it would be in an entirely new tactical title this time around. The popular streamer has a long account in esports as one of the most popular professional Counter-Strike: Global Offensive players of his time. In his recent stream, shroud has confirmed that he’s looking to compete “casually” in the upcoming Valorant Champions Tour: Open Qualifiers 3. shroud quit competitive …
Cypher camera bug is providing him with wall hack on map Breeze
Fariha Bhatti
News
The Morrocan spy Cypher has been using his intel-gathering devices for nefarious motives, a Valorant player has discovered. Cypher is tasked with accumulating information for his aggressive duelists on maps where watching flank and area coverage can be a challenge. However, a new glitch discovered during a game of Valorant Champions Tour shows that his camera has a wallhack-like bug devised in it. Imagine y’a une cam de cypher tu …
Weird Valorant audio bug is confusing players on Ascent
Fariha Bhatti
News
Valorant players have come across a weird audio bug on map Ascent that could potentially be game-breaking in ranked matches. Sound is key in tactical shooters for gathering information that teams can action on. A player discovered that you can mislead enemies on Ascent by walking on the ledge of the catwalk. Patch 3.0 was a big one that added a new agent, overhauled the economy, and changed a lot …
Skye’s flasher hawk can shield you from Raze’s ultimate rocket
Fariha Bhatti
News
Valorant players have discovered a new exciting mechanic where they could destroy Raze’s expensive rocket with Skye’s cheap flasher hawk. Raze’s Showstopper is one of the deadliest ultimates in Valorant, recently landing her on the developer’s nerf radar. However, players have found a new way to tackle her Showstopper. Skye is one of the underrated agents among casual players but her toolkit is popular among Valorant professionals who pick her …
This easy tip might help you land more headshots in Valorant
Fariha Bhatti
News
Are you tired of whiffing easy shots in Valorant? A new trick could drastically improve your crosshair placement. Developer Riot Games has bolstered Valorant’s gunplay to great effect in a recent patch update. With running accuracy getting a nerf and weapons becoming cheaper, players finally have a chance to flex their crisp aim after all of their time spent practicing. However, poor crosshair placement can ruin your games and make …
shroud discusses how Kay/O will change Valorant’s ranked meta
Fariha Bhatti
News
Professional Valorant players have frequently ranted about the poor ranked experience, but Michael “shroud” Grzesiek thinks Kay/O’s kit is designed to fix things to some degree. The War Machine Kay/O dropped with a bang with his sleek, holographic dagger and flashbangs reminiscent of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. Popular streamer shroud is already a massive fan of the new Initiator, and he believes that Kay/O will change ranked forever. “Nobody knows how to …
Jett’s dash is still breaking Cypher’s tripwire after patch 3.0
Fariha Bhatti
News
Valorant Episode 3 Act I brought tons of tweaks to the game and nerfs to overpowered agents. But, players are reporting that Jett’s kit hasn’t changed at all. Episode 3 isn’t your regular patch update. Instead, it included massive changes for ranks, agents, and weapons, but still, a nerf to Jett’s dash had the attention of all the players. However, players are complaining that Jett can still utilize her Tailwind …
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.
