Valorant
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autimatic switches to Valorant and joins T1, azk to the bench
Nicholas James
After its disappointing North American Challengers run, T1 has made the move to bench Keven “AZK” Larivière and bring on former Counter-Strike: Global Offensive world champion Timothy “autimatic” Ta. Let’s get to work.Welcome @autimaticTV to T1 VALORANT! pic.twitter.com/dOLZBLJbXB — T1 (@T1) February 4, 2021 The American was a part of the first North American organization and roster to win a major in CSGO, emerging victorious at the ELEAGUE Boston Major …
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Riot bans Valorant’s top-ranked European player Nisay for hacking
M Alzamora
Riot Games has banned the top-ranked player on Valorant’s European leaderboards following three days of suspense. Yasin Nisay, a professional Valorant player formerly of Beşiktaş Esports, received the ban after grabbing the number one spot in Valorant’s European leaderboards. Nisay denied having cheated in Riot’s first-person shooter in a Twitlonger, while also claiming that Turkey’s First Strike Tournament couldn’t provide him with any evidence that he had cheated during its …
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Raze ultimate continues to be buggy after Valorant patch 2.02
Olivia Richman
Raze might take the crown for most buggy agent from Omen after Valorant patch 2.02. Valorant players are still trying to understand a clip shared to Reddit that seems to depict a Raze activating her ultimate, Showstopper, and blasting it into the direction of agents on the enemy team. But for some reason, the rocket never lands or damages anyone. It’s unclear why this happened, but one user quickly pointed …
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Raze ultimate can boost you to a secret sniping spot on Ascent
Fariha Bhatti
Valorant duelists are often expected to explode into bomb points by using their aggressive abilities. But this new Raze setup shows that she can make an impact in new and different ways. Valorant has divided agents into categories based on what they typically bring to the table. The responsibility to rush in and bag kills often fall on a duelist’s shoulders thanks to their deadly toolkits. However, players with subpar …
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Gen.G Jessica opens up on challenges of being a female streamer
Olivia Richman
Jessica Kim has been blowing up on Twitch lately thanks to a deal with Gen.G and a switch to playing video games like Valorant. But it hasn’t been a walk in the park, either for Jessica or many of the other female streamers she’s become close with during this time. “The amount of shit we have to get through is just insane. The comments, the misogynistic men in our chat; …
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New Glitchpop 2.0 skin bundle has just dropped in Valorant
Olivia Richman
“Glitchpop is back, but this time with good guns.” Valorant developers went on the popular YouTube channel HITSCAN to discuss the game’s newest skin line with RyanCentral and Mysca. Glitchpop 2.0 is a continuation of an earlier weapon skin line, but this time with all-new weapon skins. This includes skins for the Vandal, Phantom, Operator, and other popular and powerful weapons. According to the developers, the initial Glitchpop line focused …
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New bug with Raze’s Boom Bot will blow out your headphones
Fariha Bhatti
It seems that Raze’s Boom Bot needs a patch as players have discovered another ridiculous glitch. Riot Games is still polishing up Valorant by keeping an eye on discussions regarding bugs and glitches. This is generally standard practice for most new multiplayer games, but it’s still been a bit of a rocky road. Since the game’s release, the developer has patched up various game-breaking issues that squeezed the fun out …
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New strategy allows secret spying on attackers at Split’s A site
M Alzamora
Riot Games has tried to keep boosts and one-sided lines of sight out of Valorant, but one player discovered a way for players to peek into a vent on Split. The powerful position allows players an early warning if enemies decide to come through the middle of the map, and makes the map’s A site even more difficult to crack. Spilt can be a difficult map for defenders, especially when …
G2 ardiis shows how Sova can destroy Killjoy’s ultimate on Haven
Fariha Bhatti
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In a recent match against Team Liquid, G2 esports’ Ardis “ardiis” Svarenieks showed that he’s been spending a lot of time mastering Sova’s arrows, and gave aspiring players a great example to follow. The Grand Final of the Red Bull Homeground tournament saw Team Liquid go up against one of the most prestigious teams in Valorant, G2 Esports. The Oscar “mixwell” Cañellas-led squad swept the title of Homeground champions, and …
Valorant patch 2.02 nerfs running accuracy, changes ranked
Fariha Bhatti
News
Valorant patch notes 2.02 are finally out with fixes for various bugs, shifts in the competitive ranking, and a running accuracy nerf. Riot Games has delivered second patch notes after the arrival of Episode 2, which focuses more on tactical aspects on the game. The developer has fixed various bugs, updated the competitive ranking system, and made changes to the game’s weapons. Players have recently discovered various bugs in Valorant …
These Brimstone Molotov tricks will win you rounds on Haven
Fariha Bhatti
News
Controllers are crucial for opening up sites in Valorant and this Brimstone Molotov lineup shows just how powerful they can be. Valorant controllers are pegged as the ultimate support, largely thanks to their smokes. With their ability to block sights, attackers can easily win control over bomb points with minimal difficulty. However, duelists outshine them post-plant, forcing the smokers into the backdrop. Consequently, controllers have become the least-picked class of …
ScreaM wants shooting, skills to be more important in Valorant
Olivia Richman
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Team Liquid’s ace Valorant player, Adil “ScreaM” Benrlitom, is known for his incredible accuracy and mind-blowing headshots and he wants those skills to translate better to Valorant. In a tweet on Monday, ScreaM expressed that he wanted Valorant’s shooting mechanics to matter a bit more. Instead, the game’s “slow movements, tagging, and aim punch” have made the game “easy for everyone.” ScreaM wrote that he hoped the next few patches …
Valorant glitch makes Breach’s ultimate launch his enemies away
Olivia Richman
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The Valorant community has experienced a lot of game-breaking bugs in the game of late. But the latest glitch discovered by players was a bit more on the comedic side. A Valorant player shared a clip from his recent match that showed Breach’s ultimate leading to some unintended hilarity. While watching Ascent’s A site, the player managed to eliminate two opponents that had attempted to push the site. He continued …
This is how agents open bugged Bind teleporters from outside
Fariha Bhatti
News
Bind’s teleporters are no longer a safe detour to use when flanking enemies. Recent exploits hint that teleporters are in dire need of developers’ attention as issues with them are meddling with game’s meta. Each map in Valorant has a distinctive feature, marking them all as unique. On Bind, Riot Games has added one-way teleporters that have lately started to open both ways. Most recently, Yoru joined the team of …
Raze can open Valorant Teleporters from outside with her Boom Bot
Fariha Bhatti
News
Teleporters on the map Bind are meant to expedite rotations in a secure way. However, a new glitch where Raze can break into the Teleporter from outside may stop enemies from using it entirely. Riot Games has added a unique feature in all of the Valorant maps that set these locates apart from one another. In Bind, the Teleporters connect two bomb points, allowing agents to rotate faster. For defenders, …
This Phoenix lineup lets him clear out bomb sites on Ascent
Fariha Bhatti
News
When it comes to duelists, Valorant’s fiery Pheonix isn’t statistically the best. This new lineup might help change that. Phoenix is the least-picked duelist, with a pickrate of just 6.7%. While other duelists enjoy aggressive abilities that let players frag out, Pheonix has a balanced toolkit capable of executing plays. His seemingly plain and tedious kit requires some work to deliver its full potential. Phoenix’s Molotov “Hot Hands” could help …
This is what happens when you blow 2,000 Killjoy nanoswarms
M Alzamora
News
Competitive gaming can get a little stale sometimes as players repeatedly play on the same maps, pick the same characters, and use the same weapons round after round. But while most players take a break from competitive play with a different game, one player took a completely new approach to mixing things up. The user settled on Killjoy, Valorant’s defensive specialist who comes equipped with remotely detonated nanoswarm grenades and …
Riot developers shine light on upcoming ranking changes
Olivia Richman
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The latest Ask Valorant blog discussed some much-needed changes that will be coming in just a few patches. Last month, Riot informed fans that the shooting accuracy of running agents would see a decrease, especially with rifles. This was a much-needed change, as players that ran recklessly into the action were often rewarded with pretty good accuracy in a game that’s supposed to be about strategically guarding sites and holding …
Indian Valorant pro Xhade confesses to cheating in Valorant
Fariha Bhatti
News
Valorant professional player Abhay “Xhade” Urkude has confessed to cheating in ranked matches following a ban commissioned by Riot Games. Indian Valorant team Paratroop’s Sentinel Xhade was disqualified from The Esports Club Invitational after receiving a an during the tournament. Initially, the player was adamant that he wasn’t complicit in any shady business. However, his teammates and a few Indian professional players pestered him to speak the truth. In Paratroops’ …
These Sova arrow lineups will get you an advantage early in the round
Fariha Bhatti
News
Valorant’s initiator Sova is easily one of the most viable playmakers in high ranked lobbies. Here’s how his Recon Bolt makes him an important asset for any team. A duelist may launch on enemies with blinding flashes, but teammates’ support can make them inviolable. A little information can help a duelist perform to its full potential. Sova’s toolkit allows him to gather information, assisting his teammates in opening sites. With 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.
