Valorant Guide
Riot Games2020PCFPSRating: 80
Valorant is a free-to-play tactical hero shooter by Riot Games. Two teams of 5 attack and defend objectives, with agents having unique abilities. The game combines precise gunplay with ability-based tactics, featuring a ranked mode, regular updates, and a thriving esports scene.
🎮 Beginner Tips
- Aim is king: Practice in the range — headshots deal bonus damage; only certain weapons (Operator, Marshal) one-shot full-health agents
- Learn agents: Start with Sova (info), Sage (heal), Phoenix (DPS)
- Economy: Buy rounds matter — save when team can't buy full
- Use abilities: They're not just utilities — they win rounds
- Communicate: Call enemy positions, use pings
💡 Practice crosshair placement. Keep your crosshair at head level at all times.
⚔️ Agent Roles
- Duelist: Jett, Phoenix, Reyna, Raze — entry fraggers
- Initiator: Sova, Breach, Skye, Fade — gather info, start fights
- Sentinel: Sage, Cypher, Killjoy — defend sites, watch flanks
- Controller: Omen, Brimstone, Viper, Astra — smoke off areas
🎯 Aim Training
- Daily warmup: 10-15 minutes in range before playing
- Aim trainers: Aim Lab, Kovaak's — free, helpful
- Deathmatch: Good for warmup and practicing flicks
- Crosshair settings: Find what works for you — small, static is popular
💥 Economy Rules That Decide Rounds
- Full buy is rifle plus heavy armour; a half buy (Spectre plus light armour) only makes sense when you are one round from a full buy
- Save rounds: buy nothing above 800 credits and keep the loss bonus chain alive
- Never force buy twice in a row - two lost force buys hand the enemy three free rounds
🎯 Mechanics Worth Drilling
- Counter-strafe: tap the opposite key for a split second to stop dead, then shoot - moving bullets miss at 20 metres
- Crosshair placement: keep the crosshair at head height along the next corner, not on the floor
- Jiggle peek: step out and back before committing - it baits the Operator shot
- Vandal vs Phantom: the Vandal one-taps heads at any range, the Phantom only inside about 15 metres
🧠 Site Execution
- Plant takes four seconds, defuse takes seven - a half defuse is three and a half
- On Ascent, mid control decides both sites; on Bind, the teleporter is a rotation tool, not an entry
- Send one player to hold the flank before the execute, or the retake arrives from behind