Valorant
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Former Overwatch pros aKm, uNKOE announce move to Valorant
Nina Forneloza
After the Dallas Fuel announced an almost complete purge of its Overwatch League roster, Dylan “aKm” Bignet followed by declaring his intent to transition to Valorant, a move that came shortly after Benjamin “uNKOE” Chevasson announced the same. uNKOE’s decision to switch to Valorant seems to be due to more ominous reasons alluded to in his tweet announcing his departure from OWL. “I’m not ready yet for a Twitlonger, will …
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Riot announces First Strike NA prize pool, qualifier details
Nina Forneloza
Valorant’s North American qualifiers details and prize pool have been released, as eight teams will compete for a $100k prize pool. There will be two NA qualifying tournaments which will whittle down the starting total of teams to a final eight. These eight squads will then compete in the NA regional final for the lion’s share of the $100k prize pool. Competition begins on October 26 and will conclude on …
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Riot releases Valorant First Strike rules and details
Nina Forneloza
Riot Games has revealed the rules and new information about its first global esports event, First Strike. This is the first event that is being held by Riot Games in conjunction with many third party organizers for the regional events. This tournament will serve as a first-look for many teams, including teams from regions that aren’t heavily represented like the Middle East and Brazil. The First Strike: NA Qualifiers are …
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Shroud predicts that Valorant will become the top FPS esport
Olivia Richman
“Valorant’s just gonna hit, and it’s gonna hit hard.” Former Counter-Strike: Global Offensive pro turned Valorant streamer Michael “shroud” Grzesiek believes that Riot’s tactical shooter will become the bigger esport, especially once live tournaments return and teams from North America and Europe can compete together. “It has the perfect recipe right now,” shroud said. “If Valorant nails the timing of coming to LAN and tournaments are popping off, it’s going …
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Fans are angry, increasingly toxic over new Valorant map Icebox
Olivia Richman
The Valorant community has been quite prickly about the early arrival of Icebox. Icebox arrived earlier than expected, dropping with the start of Act 3. While the news was met with excitement from Valorant players who wanted new locales and some possible teases of future Valorant updates, Icebox has started to frustrate many players. Icebox is a bit different from previous maps, which were all quite simple and straightforward. The …
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Sentinels’ Sinatraa suffers freak eye injury while working out
Olivia Richman
Former Overwatch League MVP and current Valorant superstar Jay “Sinatraa” Won had a bit of a mishap earlier today. Sinatraa shared a “little update” on Twitter on October 15, attaching a shocking photo of his very bruised and bloodshot eye. According to Sinatraa, he injured his eye with a resistance band while working out yesterday. While he “went fully blind for three hours” and had to get some stitches, there’s …
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Spyder is newest addition to T1’s Valorant team
Nina Forneloza
Former Overwatch League player Jung-woo “Sayaplayer” Ha, now known as Spyder, is the newest addition to T1’s Valorant team. Spyder is a former member of the Florida Mayhem OWL team. He was a prominent hitscan player, specializing in Widowmaker and McCree. Spyder has played with the Mayhem since the birth of the OWL in 2018. His Widowmaker was one of the best in the league all three years running, and …
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The new Valorant map Icebox might be hiding a secret event
M Alzamora
With the release of Valorant’s Act III, Riot has unveiled Icebox, a brand new map for the tactical first-person shooter. And it might have more to it than players realize. Icebox is already different from the game’s other maps. It combines tight corridors and twisting hallways with verticality that the game’s players haven’t seen before. But a quick tour around the frozen facility hints that there are some things to …
Valorant patch notes reveal surprise deathmatch overhaul
Nina Forneloza
News
Valorant has released its new 1.10 patch notes, which include the addition of a new map, an expected overhaul to ranked play, and a surprise change to the deathmatch game mode. The Act 3 patch adds the much anticipated new map, Icebox. Included on the map is a zipline that players can use to move quickly across the map’s area, or as a strategic vantage point. The map won’t be …
DaZeD reunites with brax on T1 Valorant esports roster
Nina Forneloza
News
T1 has confirmed the signing of Sam “DaZeD” Marine as the newest member of its Valorant roster. DaZeD is a former Counter-Strike professional esports player who was banned from competing in official majors due to his participation in the iBUYPOWER match-fixing scandal in 2014. He also played for teams such as Denial Esports and Quantic Gaming. DaZeD switched to competitive Valorant earlier this year, a move that fans were already …
Valorant is officially getting a server in the Middle East
Nina Forneloza
News
Riot Games has announced that on October 14, Valorant will expand its servers to the Middle East with the launch of newly dedicated servers for the region. Arabic language support will also be added to the new tactical first-person shooter and will be available across all regions. This comes shortly after an Arabic Valorant website was launched on October 1, sparking fan interest and rumors of the possibility of a …
When will pausing be added to Valorant? Developers give answers
Nina Forneloza
News
A new Ask Valorant has been released and it gave fans answers on some of the game’s lingering questions. The most significant topic addressed for most Valorant fans regarded in-game pauses. While pausing in games is something that fans often take for granted, no clear answers were given in terms of how Valorant will handle this seemingly basic function. “You should allow an in-game pause per team, because sometimes we …
Valorant’s First Strike Europe open qualifier dates revealed
M Alzamora
News
Riot Games has announced the dates and eligibility requirements for First Strike Europe. First Strike is Valorant’s first major tournament, and the developer is making sure that it’s available to almost everyone, starting with players in Europe. The tournament’s online open qualifiers will begin on November 9 and run until November 22, leaving plenty of time for teams to practice and form up. It isn’t just one large qualifier, either. …
Valorant Act 3 battle pass includes weapon skins, sprays, gun buddies
Olivia Richman
News
Valorant Act 3 is coming October 13, bringing a new battle pass along with it. The battle pass will cost 1,000 Valorant Points, which is about $10 if players don’t already have the points. The battle pass will last the entirety of the season, meaning it will be available until Episode 2 in 2021. Per usual, the battle pass will feature 50 tiers, plus Epilogue tiers, that players must unlock …
Everything you need to know about new Valorant agent Skye
M Alzamora
News
Riot Games released a trailer for the hotly anticipated new Valorant agent, Skye. But even though the video only shows gameplay, details have emerged on Syke’s new abilities, ultimate, and the agent’s Contract skins. Skye will be Valorant’s next agent. Skye’s kit makes her a jack of all trades, helping teams find and eliminate enemies while also helping them stay alive. Skye’s pickrate will likely be high even after the …
The most important callouts to know for Valorant’s maps
Olivia Richman
News
When Valorant was first introduced by Riot, it was hard for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive fans not to see the similarities between the two tactical first-person shooters. The similarities have become even more apparent now that CSGO players have gotten their hands on the ability-filled new game. One thing that’s remained consistent between both titles is the importance of communication. Players must learn the ins and outs of each map and, …
Common mistakes Valorant players make, and how to fix them
Olivia Richman
News
When players first pick up Valorant, it can seem pretty straightforward. Run to the site, use abilities to block off pathways, and then plant the spike. But players who want to climb the ranks or play competitively have to keep a bit more in mind when they enter a match. There are a lot of things new players may not be aware of. Luckily, most are easy fixes and will …
Valorant Episode 1 Act III will introduce new agent
Olivia Richman
News
Valorant fans were excited when Riot announced a new map for Act III. Developers originally stated that Icebox would be coming in Episode 2, but surprised players with its early release to avoid an “empty episode scenario.” It seemed like a good move, considering Valorant players only had three maps to cycle through previously. The exciting development made players even more hyped for what Act III will have in store …
Valorant Act 3 will include new winter-themed map Icebox
Fariha Bhatti
News
Valorant’s map pool will finally get some new scenery as Riot has announced the addition of a new map, Icebox. The developers dropped a teaser trailer on social media that featured some interesting clips from the new locale. Take on the tundra when Icebox drops with Act III. pic.twitter.com/Mu7OzbLHXF — VALORANT (@PlayVALORANT) October 6, 2020 Icebox will be the second addition to Valorant’s standard map rotation after Ascent. Initially, the …
All the key points and features in Valorant’s new map Icebox
Olivia Richman
News
After weeks of teasing, Valorant finally introduced a new map called Icebox. Icebox will be coming to Valorant when Act III begins next week. The snow-covered map features a giant battleship on one side of the map, pulled into a dockyard with large shipping containers. There’s a big building with multiple floors on the other side of the map, complete with ropes that appear to act like ziplines. Parts of …
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.
