Valorant
News
Killjoy can secretly place nanoswarm inside Split’s bomb boxes
Fariha Bhatti
Valorant’s Killjoy is possibly the deadliest agent in Split’s B site. A new find shows that her nanoswarm ability alone is enough to keep enemies at bay. Split’s B site may be tough to crack open for attackers due to an enclosed entrance and a tight middle area. However, it’s the easiest to field post-plant. With the right utility, agents can use the site’s corners to confuse their enemies attempting …
News
Prism II, Horizon skin bundles leaked in-game, now available
Nicholas James
New Valorant skin bundles Prism II and Horizon were leaked on the Valorant store and by established Valorant leakers. These skin bundles are now available to purchase on in the in-game store. Each bundle has five guns that the cosmetic will be available to purchase for, with no new animations, customizable effects, or melee weapons attached to either bundle. The Horizon skin line is going to be available to purchase …
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Cloud9 Blue signs young CSGO pro leaf to its Valorant roster
Olivia Richman
The winds of change are blowing for Cloud9’s Valorant team. Cloud9 Blue is welcoming Nathan “leaf” Orf to their Valorant roster. The skilled FPS player was a stand-in on the team for three different tournaments, but now he’s officially part of the main squad. “I’d probably like to be one of the top players in the game. I definitely think I have the capabilities to be so,” leaf said in …
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koosta officially leaves CSGO to join Gen.G Valorant team
Nina Forneloza
Kenneth “koosta” Suen is moving from Counter-Strike: Global Offensive to Valorant, Gen.G has announced. Koosta is the fifth member to join the Gen.G Valorant team, and this move completes Gen.G’s Valorant roster ahead of the Valorant Champion’s Tour. He replaces Kevin “PLAYER1” Champagne. Fans quickly took to Twitter to express their support, though a few also expressed disappointment to see the player departing CSGO. Koosta entered the CSGO scene in …
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Valorant pro Steel reveals how to rank up quicker in Valorant
Fariha Bhatti
100 Thieves in-game leader Joshua “steel” Nissan has revealed the secret tip that helped them win Valorant: First Strike. To carry out this trick, all players need is a microphone. Taking to Twitter, the Canadian pro stressed on the importance of using voice chat in-game. Iron to Radiant in 15 minsHow we won first strikeThe #1 Pro Tip that RITO does NOT want you to know pic.twitter.com/cxw0AbYYAH — 100T steel …
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WSOE Valorant tournament participants and schedule are set
Nicholas James
The World Showdown of Esports, an esports tournament organizer, is kicking off its entrance into Valorant with a $10,000 online tournament. Attention Agents//Join us on January 26th for #WSOE Online V: @PlayVALORANT! Want a shot at the $10K prize pool? Open qualifiers begin on January 18th!????Register here: https://t.co/aSY4nkbJro????More info: https://t.co/Cw3YDAlouV pic.twitter.com/hSAaje92cz — WSOE (@WSOE) January 7, 2021 The tournament has an online open qualifier with a double-elimination bracket. All matches …
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Giants Gaming signs Prodigy Orgless and former FPX player Meddo
Nicholas James
Giants Gaming has signed a full European roster ahead of the Valorant Champions Tour, starting in less than a month’s time. The team consists of four players from the Prodigy-represented squad Orgless as well as former FunPlus Phoenix player Johan “Meddo” Renbjörk Lundborg. The players from Orgless that are joining include Vincent “Happy” Schopenhauer, Daniil “pipsoN” Mesheryakov, Aaro “hoody” Peltokangas, and Ričardas “Boo” Lukaševičius. The only player not joining from …
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dizzy returns to stream Valorant after a six-month absence
M Alzamora
Coby “dizzy” Meadows announced that he will return to streaming after taking an extended break after the passing of streamer Byron “Reckful” Bernstein. The former Counter-Strike: Global Offensive competitor turned Apex Legends star took a step back from competition and his personal streaming career back in June after the sudden death of Reckful, an event that had a major impact on the young player. Dizzy explained that he’s spent the …
G2 completes Valorant roster with former Fortnite pro Zeek
Fariha Bhatti
News
G2 Esports has finally rounded out its Valorant roster with the addition of former Fortnite professional Aleksander “zeek” Zygmunt. The organization announced the signing of its fifth player ahead of the Champions Tour, Valorant’s biggest event of 2021. Unlike other retired Counter-Strike: Global Offensive veterans on G2’s Valorant squad, zeek has a decorated background in Fortnite. HE’S UNREAL ????Welcome @G2zeek! pic.twitter.com/tHgKL63rn7 — G2 Esports (@G2esports) January 18, 2021 The 19-year-old …
Here’s how to blow open Ascent’s B site with Yoru without help
Fariha Bhatti
News
Valorant agents with flashes have always been a menace, but new agent Yoru overpowers them all with a kit that makes him possibly the deadliest duelist in the game right now. Not only that, but the 14th agent has upstaged Omen in terms of his ability to teleport. This combination gives Yoru the ability to pull off maneuvers no other agent can. Opening bombsite B on Ascent is not an easy …
This Raze super boost is breaking Valorant’s Ascent map
Olivia Richman
News
Wait, that’s illegal! Valorant players are concerned with a Raze “super boost” and they are calling on Riot Games to fix it. Boosting is nothing new in tactical shooters, but this particular trick is game-breaking. A Reddit user called Nikkyy discovered the boost on Ascent. In a now-closed thread, the player showed how to access the rooftops around the map with Raze. It might not be the easiest trick, but …
These three players might replace TenZ at Cloud9 Blue
Nicholas James
News
With Cloud9’s superstar Tyson “TenZ” Ngo stepping down from the roster, there is a massive hole to fill for the team coming into the Valorant Champions Tour. Replacing TenZ is no small matter, as the player has carried the team to multiple top finishes and helped it qualify for many of the early tournaments in Valorant’s competitive circuit. This change is also on top of Cloud9’d recent acquirement of Nathan …
Yoru players can break into defenders’ spawn with this lineup
Fariha Bhatti
News
With the launch of Valorant Episode 2 comes a brand new duelist in the form of Yoru, who can sneakily teleport inside Ascent Defender’s spawn from far away. Valorant’s shadow agent Omen has totally been upstaged by Yoru’s much similar (but better) toolkit. Earlier, Omen alone carried the power to slither around the map, making incredible plays. Yoru enters with the Gatecrash ability that is much deadlier. All of Yoru’s …
Valorant pro subroza shows how best to use Yoru’s flash
Fariha Bhatti
News
Valorant Episode 2 adds Yoru as the 14th agent on the decorated duelist roster. Riot’s shooter now has plenty of flashers, but Yoru’s Blindside can be especially tricky to combat for his enemies when it’s used correctly. While the game was not necessarily in need of another flasher, Yoru’s pop flash may have an edge to it. Winning a duel against Yoru can be tough when he can vanish out …
Omen teleport quietly nerfed in Valorant’s patch 2.0
M Alzamora
News
While Valorant’s Patch 2.0 brought changes to Omen that were designed to tone down his power, there was another change to the agent that Riot left out of the patch notes. Riot Games made a significant change to the hitbox of Omen’s teleport ability, Shrouded Step. The ability now requires players move further out from cover than they did before the Valorant 2.0 patch. Now, it looks like Shrouded Step’s …
Valorant coach fRoD leaves T1 due to “difference of ethics”
Olivia Richman
News
T1’s Valorant team has parted ways with coach Daniel “fRoD” Montaner. On Wednesday night, fRoD took to Twitter to announce his departure, stating that he was no longer with T1 due to a “difference of ethics and opinions” on how the Valorant team was supposed to be run. It is unclear what caused this tension within the team. T1 has not made any roster changes since September 2020. “Wish the …
Riot Games suing Valorant cheat creators after wave of bans
Nina Forneloza
News
Valorants anti-cheat engine Vanguard cracked down on multiple popular cheating services, leaving hackers feeling scammed out of the very expensive services they paid for. The mass ban comes just one day after news broke that Riot Games and Bungie sued two cheat makers for producing hacks for Valorant and Destiny 2. The Vanguard and Riot Games teams have banned thousands of accounts associated with cheating, and the fallout is massive …
Valorant bug lets Cypher quickly destroy Sage walls with camera
Fariha Bhatti
News
Valorant patch 2.00 comes with tons of trivial glitches, but Cypher’s ability to ignore Sage’s Barrier Orb could be game-breaking. Valorant Episode 2 comes with game-breaking bugs that not only destroy Sage’s wall but facilitate Cypher to make discreet moves. New glitches in Valorant let Cypher’s Spycam slip through Sage’s Barrier Orb without making a noise. The camera can also break the wall immediately upon interaction. The exploits existed before …
TenZ steps down from Valorant esports to focus on streaming
Fariha Bhatti
News
Valorant pro Tyson “TenZ” Ngo will no longer be a part of Cloud9 Blue’s active roster. The star player has announced he is taking an indefinite leave from the game’s esports scene. The 19-year-old spent seven months on Cloud9 Blue’s roster after being transferred from Cloud9’s Counter-Strike: Global Offensive division. TenZ is set to remain under the Cloud9 umbrella, but as a streamer. The original member of #C9BLUE @TenZ_CS has …
Riot Games and Bungie sue cheat maker for costing them millions
Fariha Bhatti
News
Riot Games has teamed up with Bungie to put an end to a cheating business of a software company found to be producing hacks for Valorant and Destiny 2. A report by Polygon alleged that a website called Cameron and GatorCheats is complicit in generating “a portfolio of malicious cheats and hacks.” Lawyers for Riot and Bungie have joined forces to take down the website sellings hacks for Valorant and …
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.
