Valorant isn’t the latest tactical FPS shooter on the market, but it’s the newest alternative for those that admire CSGO. Riot Games Inc has developed the Valorant Game, and it certainly borrows some elements from its classic predecessor. However, it’s not without adding its own unique spin to the 5v5 asymmetric shooter gameplay. Let’s know everything about Riot’s 5v5 FPS Game!
Valorant Game – FPS Shooter of the Decade?
The Valorant Riot Game seems like it’s here to stay with how it’s progressing + its beta launch. The game earned top viewership on Twitch, where it was streamed by notable streamers of the platform for drop keys. Since then, even a year after its official release, it still takes over 80k viewers per hour on Twitch.
Moreover, its vast player base exceeds 14 million monthly players apart from its multi-million Riot Valorant eSports series tournaments. Such promise is expectantly backed by its Valorant Lore, progressing Act after Act bringing new Valorant Agents & more! So it may as well become the next FPS Shooter of the Decade amidst AAA Battle Royale game titles.
Read More: Valorant vs CSGO
Valorant Game Agents
It’s criminal to mention Valorant Agents and not discuss them in detail, as they are the heart of the game. Valorant Agents within the Riot Valorant Game are playable characters you can pick before entering a game match.
Here’s the key element to remember about playing Valorant, apart from its tactical FPS aspect:
“Every Valorant Agent carries unique special Abilities of their own that the player can use during the game rounds.”
Initially, new players will have up to Eight Valorant players to play Unrated games. The other Agents will need to be unlocked by playing the game or using VP (Valorant Points – Game currency).
Valorant Agent Classes
There are currently 16 unique Valorant Agents that players can pick, with Chamber (Sentinel) slated to arrive on 16th November. Each Valorant Agent is individually classified into either of the four classes:
Sentinels
- Sage
- Killjoy
- Cypher
Sentinels agents will suit players who prefer playing defensively as their abilities offer site and rotation control. Those agents are crucial to any game as their abilities can offer committed support to a team, like preventing flanks and site push.
Controllers
- Astra
- Viper
- Brimstone
- Omen
Such agents perform the job of disrupting the opposing team’s stronghold at a spike site or any other location. Using their abilities, you can enter dangerous territories with relative ease to set up their team for successful plants/diffuse.
Initiators
- KAY/O
- Skye
- Sova
- Breach
Pushing a spike site can be trickier than said, so initiators can help you challenge angles more proficiently. Their abilities can help you push away enemies to avoid casualties when approaching a spike site. Sometimes, their abilities can also perform the task of gathering intel like what Cypher does.
Duelists
- Jett
- Reyna
- Raze
- Phoenix
- Yoru
Duelists are responsible for delivering the most impact in games as their abilities allow them to be ‘self-sufficient fraggers.’ Ideally, any 5v5 team should at least have one Duelist on each side to prevent one-sided matches. There’s also a running joke about competing with an All Duelists team; give it a go if you like.
Depending on their Agent Class within the Riot Valorant Game, their abilities can do things like deploy smoke spheres, mollies, flashes, etc. Collectively, these agents spice up the typical asymmetric FPS shooter genre by adding immense uncertainty when we factor in their abilities.
Valorant Agent Abilities
The range of Valorant Agents abilities goes beyond deploying Flashes, Molotov, and Smoke Spheres. For instance, Jett can chuck knives with lightning speed using her Blade Storm ability, and Killjoy can initiate Lockdown. Likewise, every single agent possesses One Ultimate Ability + One Signature Ability and Two Special Abilities, bringing the total to Four.
It’s noteworthy to learn that the Ultimate Abilities of Valorant Agents will require collecting charges by Kills/Deaths or Orbs. On the other hand, the Signature abilities can recharge independently while the other abilities demand a purchase.
Valorant Game Modes
The Valorant Riot Game offers numerous game modes to players for enjoying 128-tick server-based FPS gameplay in different styles. These game modes don’t necessarily stray from the gunplay but add more fun to it.
Players pose as Attackers or Defenders to plant and detonate or defuse the Spike or kill all enemies. Though, some game modes may not involve the Spike objectives yet follow the Attackers & Defenders gameplay.
Unrated
The most played Valorant Game mode, Unrated, offers the Classic Valorant FPS gameplay without affecting your game rank. Players can earn up to 5,000 XP by playing one Unrated Valorant Match, which also helps complete Battlepass missions. The earned XP from these games, including the Competitive Games, also helps to unlock Valorant Agents.
Competitive
It is the second most played game mode, involving playing for attaining a Rank. There are eight rank categories through which players can progress their skills, irrespective of whichever agents you play.
A new valorant player must play four unrated Valorant matches before they can access the Competitive Game round. It helps the system determine your starting rank, meaning starting from the base rank isn’t always the case.
Additionally, winning a match adds RR points, whereas losing it deducts them more, contributing to defining your MMR Rating.
Spike Rush
The Spike Rush, as the name suggests, is a comparatively quicker game round. To win, be the team that obtains 4 successful spike detonations.
Playing this game mode also contributes to completing the Valorant Battlepass missions. Furthermore, the game offers special orbs on the map, collecting which can provide special abilities to you or your team.
Deathmatch
Any FPS game is incomplete without offering a Classic Deathmatch mode, and Valorant doubles on it by eliminating Abilities use. The Deathmatch game round is pure gunplay and respawning until a player becomes the first to earn 40 kills. Beware, your kills could be stolen.
So, pick the best weapon as the buy range is unlimited. You also get armor+ammunition renewal when you collect the + that’s left behind after a player’s death.
Escalation
It will provide players on both sides with identical weapons which they should use to obtain kills. Scoring more kills will unlock the next weapon and allow your team to gain easy victory by having better weapons than the opposing team. You cannot buy weapons or abilities, and the earned XP from these matches will add to Agent Progress & Battlepass Progress.
Replication
It is the newest game mode that is available randomly, like Escalation and Snowball Fight. In Replication, players can pick the agents they would like to play with, and the Queue will then pick one agent from the 5 choices.
The chosen agent will be the one played by the whole team, meaning you can play as 5 Jetts against 5 Reynas. Notably, no other game mode than Replication allows playing as identical agents in the same team.
Snowball Fight
Imagine shooting snowballs! The Snowball fight game mode offers precisely the same with added abilities you can pick from the map. Like every other game mode except in Deathmatch, Snowball Fight allows players to pick their respective agents. Both teams will then enter the Icebox Map, and lo! Let the snow fight begin!
Custom
It wasn’t offered initially, and it lets players play 1v1, 2v3, and so on matches as per their choice. The custom game mode allows various tweakable parameters like enabling cheating or having observers. Mostly, this game mode is used for Tournament games, so you too can host one of your own!
Valorant Game Maps
There are seven maps in Valorant:
| Fracture |
| Breeze |
| Icebox |
| Bind |
| Haven |
| Split |
| Ascent |
The Valorant Riot Game is doing wonders by offering newer maps for those put off by Bind & Split. These maps differ from each other not only in dimensions but also in structure.
Some maps offer interactive items that players can access that may or may not define the game’s outcome. Yet, among all the maps, watch out for Radianite Boxes that are penetrable. Such boxes help steal kills with astonishment and glory while also making it difficult to defend a spike site.
Valorant Game Weapons & Armor
On the protection side against the raining bullets and diverse abilities, Valorant offers more than most games. It boasts an impressive range of weapons & shields, keeping things simple yet challenging, so never take any gunplay lightly. You can acquire them by spending in-game credits at the pre-round Buy Store.
Valorant Weapons
Players can buy 17 different weapons that each have unique recoil and spray patterns. These weapons also differ in cost and make besides the damage they apply to the opponents. All in all, there are Six Classes of Weapons.
| Sidearms | SMGs | Shotguns | Rifles | Sniper | Heavy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Classic | Stinger | Bucky | Bulldog | Marshal | Ares |
| Frenzy | Spectre | Judge | Guardian | Operator | Odin |
| Sheriff | Phantom | ||||
| Ghost | Vandal |
Valorant Game Shields
There are only two types of Shields that you can purchase to protect yourself a little extra beyond 100 HP.
- Light Shield – 25 HP – 400 Credits
- Heavy Shield – 50 HP – 1,000 Credits
It’s also helpful to remember that some Valorant Agent abilities can increase the HP while others can temporarily add Armor.
Also Read: New Valorant Skins
Valorant Store
The Valorant Riot Game is also earning a name for itself in the Store department by featuring amazing Collectibles. These collectibles can be equipable Player Cards, Player Titles, Gun Skins, Gun Buddies, and Sprays.
Players can obtain most or all of them depending on the available Bundles on Sale on the Valorant Store. Besides selling Skin Bundles, the Valorant Store also features random individual gun skins for sales and melee items.
Valorant Night Market
The Night Market in Valorant becomes the talk of the town each time it appears because it features special discounts. The discounts can be on the heavier side, depending on the class of the Gun Skin. So, be on the lookout for it. It appears next to the Store option with a Tarot card-like icon.
Read More: Valorant Night Market
Valorant Game Battlepass
It is a fantastic way of acquiring collectible items by playing the game. Simply earn XP to unlock the Battlepass items available for free or pay 800 VP to unlock more rewards. Typically, completing a Valorant Battlepass offers up to 5 gun skins, 4 sprays, 2 Player Titles, 2 Player Cards, and 2 Gun Buddies.
Anyone unwilling to buy the individual Gun Bundles for sale should invest in the Valorant Battlepass to acquire collectibles.
Valorant Game Settings
The developers have seemingly left no stone unturned to make the game as wondrous as they come. The Valorant Riot Game features some useful settings that allow audio & gameplay enhancements while keeping the gameplay fair for everyone.
Besides offering different screen resolutions and frame rate locking capabilities, Valorant provides a max network buffer to prevent lags.
Valorant HRTF Audio
The audio is a crucial element in any Tactical FPS, which is why Valorant offers HRTF audio settings. It processes directional audio straight to sound devices allowing players to hear footsteps accurately, run reloads, etc., from a distance.
Valorant Game Crosshair Settings
Beyond offering aesthetic customizations, Valorant players can also maintain and switch between 10 Crosshair settings on the fly. Players can also adjust these valorant crosshair settings to gain real-time firing & movement error feedback besides customized sniping & ADS scope settings.
Valorant Polling Rate Buffer
Gamers prefer using RGB Things…Okay, jokes aside, using high sensitivity polling rate mice is a must for most tactical FPS players. Often, most games don’t support it or cause performance issues when using such mice. For eliminating such issues, the Valorant game offers dedicated settings to enable a high-polling rate buffer.
GLHF!
Valorant Game ascends most tactical shooters on the market with its plans to bring more lore, additional agents, maps & skins. It’s exciting to see where the game is headed with Episode 4 Act 1, which arrives in December 2021. That’s right around the time it hosts the First Global Annual Valorant Champions Event- The VCT Champions.
So play, prepare and gear up to wage war on Valorant grounds and grow your rank to become a Radiant! Happy Gaming!