Valorant
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Valorant’s Night. Market is back and better than ever
Fariha Bhatti
Riot Games has surprised players with the unexpected return of Night. Market into the game. Valorant’s Night. Market has returned just two months after its premiere in December. The discount shop initially went live in December as part of the holiday update, and players assumed that it was a one-time thing. However, the shop has returned to Valorant, allowing players to get some of the game’s premium skins. Riot Games …
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G2 Esports’ Lothar encourages players to abuse Cypher exploits
M Alzamora
A serious bug that lets Cypher’s camera destroy Sage’s Barrier Wall still works in Valorant, and now a major streamer is encouraging players to exploit the tactic. Since Valorant’s patch 2.0 in January, under-played agent Cypher has been able to take Sage out of the game by making her Barrier Wall ability almost completely useless. G2 Esports’ Jakub “Lothar” Szygulski just found out about it though, and he’s trying to …
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Drama surrounds TSM vs. Sentinels scrims after trolling claims
Fariha Bhatti
North America’s Valorant scene has tons of budding rivalries that fans can latch onto, but TSM and Sentinels’ storyline tops them all. Team tussles and backstories are a classic part of any competitive game. Casual, back-and-forth banter between teams is a crucial element that attracts fans to watch the games and follow the scene. Riot Games’ tactical shooter is still in its formative days as an esport, but TSM and …
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Excel building new Valorant team around G2 Esports’ Davidp
Nicholas James
Excel Esports is set to join the Valorant esports circuit according to Esportmaniacos. The team is reportedly built around former G2 Esports in-game leader David “Davidp” Prins. The Belgian has been under contract with G2 Esports since his benching in December 2020, but is currently allowed to negotiate with other teams. I can’t wait to reveal you guys what’s my future gonna be, I am over motivated about the work …
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T1 kicks brax, AZK from Valorant lineup after signing autimatic
Nicholas James
The revolving door to T1’s Valorant team continues to spin with the news that Braxton “brax” Pierce and Keven “AZK” Larivière are leaving. This comes after the signings of former Cloud9 Counter-Strike: Global Offensive star Timothy “autimatic” Ta and a new coach. Today we say our goodbyes to @brax1wnl and @AZKcs_. Thank you for being such an integral part of T1 VALORANT – best of luck in your future endeavours …
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How to forfeit a Valorant match during the game
Fariha Bhatti
Surrendering a game of Valorant wasn’t possible until a few months ago but not every match is fun and games. Taking in-game inconveniences into consideration, Riot Games finally introduced an option to forfeit a game. The tactical shooter’s developer has actively been working on nourishing a wholesome community. With the help of stringent chat rules and immediate bans, Riot Games has so far remained successful in its venture. However, in …
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These Viper wall lineups prove she’s a viable agent on Split
Fariha Bhatti
Viper may be the least picked agent, but smart use of her abilities can easily win rounds. Her poisonous screen lineup proves her viability as a Controller. Initially released as a hotshot controller with a fierce persona and a deadly kit, Viper quickly became a likeable agent. However, Riot filled up the roster with agents who could do everything that Viper could and more. Her pick rate dropped drastically, dragging …
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100 Thieves’ Asuna tops NA Valorant Leaderboard, secures two spots
Fariha Bhatti
100 Thieves’ Peter “Asuna” Mazuryk has emerged as the best player in North American region, as shown on Valorant leaderboard. The player secured two spots on the top with an excellent rating. Riot Games’ tac-shooter has all the right ingredients for a cut-throat first-person game. The developer’s recent addition of regional leaderboards only added to the competitive experience of its shooter. Players are sparing no effort to climb ranks and …
Pokimane blasts hater who accused her of boosting in Valorant
Olivia Richman
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After leaving the OfflineTV Rust server, Imane “Pokimane” Inys started playing Valorant on Twitch, but not everyone believes that the popular streamer has any skills in Riot’s tactical shooter. It all began when a clip of Pokimane playing Valorant went viral on Twitter. The clip showed Pokimane walking through Viper’s wall only to come face-to-face with an opposing Jett. Pokimane’s reaction was to dramatically scream bloody murder. Who knew Valorant …
Watch Valorant’s Omen destroy a team with this one-way smoke
M Alzamora
News
It’s been a rough start to the year for Omen mains, but if players can master his Dark Cover, there’s a place for the Agent on any team. Omen has slipped down tier lists ever since Riot Games released Yoru, Valorant’s other shadowy agent, in the game’s huge 2.0 patch. But even after Riot took aim at the game’s most elusive agent, Omen has a special skill that should keep …
This Sova arrow lineup on Icebox makes opening A Site easier
Fariha Bhatti
News
Riot Games’ recent addition to the Valorant map pool is just as tricky to master as it is unique. Sova may be to help make Icebox a bit easier to play. The cool secret excavation site brings unique horizontal zipliners to the game. A snowy blanket coupled with tight corners is what sets this map apart from the rest. Months after its release, players are still figuring out their way …
Cloud9 signs top player on NA Valorant leaderboards, poiz
Nicholas James
News
Cloud9 has added one of the top-ranked North American players on the official Valorant leaderboards, Michael “poiz” Possis, to its Cloud9 Blue roster. The organization brought him in as a sixth man, signing him to the bench for the time being. We said we were poised to make an announcement and here it is.Please welcome @poizFPS to #C9BLUE as our 6th member! #LETSGOC9 pic.twitter.com/7u9lRlFG55 — Cloud9 (@Cloud9) February 5, 2021 …
autimatic switches to Valorant and joins T1, azk to the bench
Nicholas James
News
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 …
Riot bans Valorant’s top-ranked European player Nisay for hacking
M Alzamora
News
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 …
Raze ultimate continues to be buggy after Valorant patch 2.02
Olivia Richman
News
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 …
Raze ultimate can boost you to a secret sniping spot on Ascent
Fariha Bhatti
News
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 …
Here’s how Valorant animated stickers can help you get extra kills
Fariha Bhatti
News
In a competitive game like Valorant, players must use the best of their abilities to climb ranks. Recently, players have found a new way to employ stickers and sprays to catch enemies off-guard, meaning abilities aren’t always needed. Valorant’s growing popularity among the first-person shooter fans has birthed new and weirder tricks in the game. While some are unearthing bugs to gain an edge over enemies, other players are improvising …
Fnatic enters pro Valorant with a new European roster
Fariha Bhatti
News
Fnatic has finally revealed its anticipated Valorant roster, led by Jake “Boaster” Howlett. Valorant is still in its embryonic stages in terms of esports, but the professional scene’s growth has been exemplary. A plethora of notable esports organizations have entered Valorant to establish a fresh competitive ecosystem, and Fnatic is the latest to follow in the footsteps of other legendary teams. The organization has exploded into the Valorant scene with …
Patch 2.02 brings new music to every map in Valorant
Fariha Bhatti
News
Riot Games has adopted a new artistic way to add some additional polish to Valorant, as each map will now welcome players with a soothing tune following the patch 2.02 update. Regular patches have ensured that Riot’s tactical shooter remains relatively free of bugs and glitches, but improvements in quality of life have played a key role in keeping the players hooked. Realistic characters, coupled with pleasant scenery, indicate that …
Gen.G Jessica opens up on challenges of being a female streamer
Olivia Richman
News
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; …
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.
