Valorant
News
New Valorant agent Shatter has exploding clone, more abilities
M Alzamora
Leaked files show that Riot Games is hard at work on Shatter, the character many believe will be the next agent released for the shooter. Information and teasaers from offical Riot accounts, a hidden image in an Instagram story, and files from the game itself show that the studio is preparing to release Valorant’s 14th agent. The teases began when Riot suddenly posted desktop backgrounds for players to download on …
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Ninja accuses rival team of cheating, angers Valorant community
Olivia Richman
After beating Tyler “Ninja” Blevin’s Valorant team in the Knights Before Christmas Invitational, Built By Gamers (BBG) was accused of cheating by the popular streamer. A clip of BBG’s Tristan “Critical” Trinacty possibly locking onto a Time In player was being shared around social media. As more people voiced concerns that Critical was cheating, BBG ended up being disqualified from the Knights Before Christmas Invitational, which was run by the …
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This is why Killjoy’s pick rate is higher than other agents
Fariha Bhatti
When the best agents in Valorant are discussed, Killjoy is often disregarded. However, stats show that the genius of Germany is an underdog that is slowly making her way to the top. Revealed in August, Killjoy is still relatively new to the game. The agent didn’t enjoy the hype that it deserved as Riot showered the game with significant updates that took away the spotlight from Valorant’s tech-savvy sentinel. Valorant’s …
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Valorant ranked matchmaking changes have smurfs throwing games
M Alzamora
Highly skilled players creating new accounts to play against lower-ranked players isn’t a new thing, but Valorant’s recent change to how players gain access to competitive matches has had a bad side effect. Valorant’s latest changes shook up the way new accounts qualify for the game’s competitive mode and were obviously meant to combat smurfing, expecting smurfs wouldn’t want to invest a load of time into the game just to …
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These Sova drone lineups in Valorant can crack open defenses
Fariha Bhatti
Sova is one of the most-picked agents in Valorant in both high and low ranks thanks to his ability to open up bomb sites. His kit has all the right tools to help a duelist dash into position and get opening kills. The initiator has his Shock Bolt, Owl Drone, Recon Bolt, and Hunter’s Fury. His abilities allow him to cause substantial damage to the enemy team and gather information, …
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You can make Icebox easy with these great Viper jump throws
M Alzamora
Viper may not be picked often in Valorant, but that hasn’t stopped her fans from finding ways for her to make a major impact.Even after several passes over Viper’s kit, Riot’s venomous agent is still all about planning ahead. Valorant’s community recently found a new jump throw for the agent on Icebox that forces enemies to try to defuse the Spike in the open while taking damage and contracting the …
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Valorant reveals new ranked gun buddies as Episode 1 rewards
Olivia Richman
You’ll soon be able to end 2020 with gun buddies that show off your Valorant rank. The first episode of Valorant is coming to a close. But that doesn’t mean players should stop grinding up the competitive ranks. Riot recently revealed on Twitter that players will receive gun buddies in Episode 2 based on the rank they ended up at by the end of Episode 1. “Keep climbing before your …
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Valorant data miners uncover new top tier ranked leaderboard
Olivia Richman
Valorant’s points-based ranked ladder for its high-tier competitors is closer to release than players may think. In October, Valorant game director Joe Ziegler told fans of Riot’s tactical shooter that a leaderboard based on points would be added for players at the top levels of the game. At the time, Ziegler tweeted that there wasn’t an arrival date for this update, but assured players that Riot developers were actively working …
Ninja posts strong debut in Valorant esports at JBL Quantum Cup
Steven Rondina
News
Tyler “Ninja” Blevins is mostly known as a streamer but he has more than his share of esports bona fides. Ninja has enjoyed success in esports competitions in Halo, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, and Fortnite. Now he seems ready to make a potentially serious run in Valorant. Ninja has been streaming the game quite a bit but has also been competing in tournaments. While his presence has largely been viewed as a …
Cloud9 Blue drops shinobi from roster after First Strike flop
Fariha Bhatti
News
Cloud9 Blue will be dropping its in-game-leader Josh “shinobi” Abastado after a disappointing performance in Valorant First Strike North America. The North American organization bid farewell to its Valorant captain in a video montage featuring some of his better moments with the team. The player has confirmed that he is now seeking new opportunities. It’s a terrible day for rain… ????Today we part ways with the one who has led #C9BLUE …
Riot teases new upcoming Valorant agent with mysterious image
Olivia Richman
News
Riot has officially teased the 14th agent for popular tactical shooter Valorant. Riot uploaded three new wallpapers to the Valorant media page that showed the silhouette of an unknown agent. Even though Valorant developers didn’t officially announce the new wallpapers, a Valorant lore account on Twitter saw the wallpapers and informed the Valorant community earlier today. ❗️AGENT 14 Full Silhouette❗️#VALORANT https://t.co/sT4NETpEs5 pic.twitter.com/cLDdXSPITQ — VALORANT Lore // Art // Cynprel (@valorant_lore) …
Valorant releases first ever holiday skins ahead of winter event
Nina Forneloza
News
Valorant has released a new set of holiday-themed skins ahead of the recently announced Snowball Fight Team Deathmatch, which runs from December 15 to December 29. The Winterwunderland skins are 1,275 VP for the Vandal, Phantom, Ghost, and Marshal, and 2,550 VP for the melee skins. A bundle costs 5,100 VP and includes all three of the Valorant melee variant levels, which are red, green, blue, and rainbow. Skins are …
G2 reportedly benches Davidp after First Strike loss to Heretics
Fariha Bhatti
News
The untouchable quintet of G2 Esports’ Valorant division has finally taken a loss in the First Strike European finals against team Heretics. The loss resulted in G2 immediately dropping David “Davidp” Prins from the active roster, according to a report at 1pv.fr. The report initially stated that both Jacob “pyth” Mourujärvi and Davidp were dropped from the G2 roster. However, it was later clarified that Pyth would be staying. …
Snowball Fight Deathmatch brings holiday spirit to Valorant
Olivia Richman
News
“Ready to have a Snowball Fight with your friends (and likely your foes)?” Every time the holiday season rolls around, most major competitive games try to have some fun with the winter spirit in mind. Valorant is no different. For its first winter celebration, Riot Games is introducing Snowball Fight Team Deathmatch to Valorant. This limited-time game mode will run from December 15 to December 29, and was introduced in …
Valorant First Strike NA peaks at more than 300,000 viewers
Olivia Richman
News
Valorant fans couldn’t get enough of Riot Games’ First Strike action this past weekend. While First Strike featured action from multiple competitive regions, North America was by and far the most popular competition. The region boasted over 300,000 viewers during the main event’s 21 hours of air time. Europe’s competition was the second most viewed region. But that event only had 106,000 viewers at its peak, which is almost 200,000 …
Valorant pro receives death threats for teabagging at event
Steven Rondina
News
Controversy has erupted around Valorant’s North American First Strike event. Michael “dapr” Gulino of Sentinels says he was slammed with harsh criticism for fans due to his teabagging of Joshua “steel” Nissan. dapr states that this was harsh enough that he received death threats for the move: got a death threat cus i tbagged in a video game poggers — dapr ✨???? (@daprcs) December 6, 2020 dapr’s teammate Shahzeeb “ShahZaM” …
FaZe Clan’s Babybay talks “troll” Breach pick in First Strike
Nina Forneloza
News
The final weekend for Valorant’s First Strike tournament is coming to a close, and for Andrej “babybay” Francisty, the tournament is over after FaZe Clan’s tough loss to the Sentinels. The matchup was promising in the beginning, with FaZe creeping up on the Sentinel’s lead halfway through the first map, but babybay’s performance was lacking, and his kill ratio was suffering. In the second map, babybay pulled an unexpected pick …
Heretic’s NiesoW on First Strike: “I don’t care who we play against”
Olivia Richman
News
Underdog team Heretics has been shaking up Valorant’s First Strike EU main event over the past few days. Yesterday, the Valorant community was shocked to see Heretics come out on top after a close back and forth against Team Liquid. Today, Heretics came back and defeated top team G2 Esports. But Dustyn “niesoW” Durnas doesn’t see it as that surprising. While G2 and Team Liquid are well-known organizations, the Valorant …
Valorant pros left unpaid by Pulse Series event organizers
Olivia Richman
News
It’s been three months and Valorant teams and talent still haven’t received payment for participating in the Pulse Series event in September. Commentator Dustin “dusT” Mouret was the first to come forward about the concerning situation. dusT claimed that Pulse Esports Arena owes him and other talent “a good chunk of change.” Originally reported by Dot Esports, dusT stated that the payment was due around October 22, but he’s yet …
Valorant First Strike commentators diss the Overwatch League
Olivia Richman
News
The Valorant First Strike EU quarterfinals have been entertaining fans all day. But a lot of viewers have taken to the Twitch chat to voice their preference for North American Valorant players. This might be due to that region’s larger list of big personalities, including Matthew “Wardell” Yu and Yassine “Subroza” Taoufik on TSM, former Overwatch League MVP Jay “sinatraa” Won, and Andrej “babybay” Francisty on FaZe Clan. Their flashier …
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.
