There are tons of first-person shooters out there nowadays, but only a few shine bright amongst the community as the go-to for games. Even if someone hasn't played Valorant, they'd definitely had to have heard about the popular shooter title.
Minorly influenced by Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Valorant has grown into a massive game with its own dedicated esports scene. As the offspring of Riot Games, creator of League of Legends, Valorant's success as a first-person shooter has revitalized its genre and brought a unique gameplay experience to the table.
As most would say, Valorant at its launch could've easily been the brainchild between Overwatch and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. But since its release, Valorant's refined, ventured, and cultivated its dynamic gameplay unlike any other.
Nowadays, when most people think about what first-person shooter to play, the first answer that might pop up is Valorant. And there are many great reasons why it's such a great multiplayer game to relish in as an enjoyable pastime. But half of most would ask, what is Valorant?
What is Valorant?
Source: Riot Games
Valorant is a free-to-play 5v5 character-based tactical first-person shooter. The game features a long list of agents to attain and play, comprising offensive, defensive, and agile abilities, which instantly turn the tide of gameplay. With unique maps, weapons, in-game content, and loads of strategies to conceptualize, Valorant entices players with its close-to-home but refreshing gameplay.
What are Valorant agents?
Unlike other first-person shooters, Valorant features agents—characters with game-changing abilities that either support others, take the offensive entry, or control the map.
Agents have one of four primary roles: Sentinels, Controllers, Initiators, and Duelists. These roles all function differently and take on unique specializations across teams.
Sentinels primarily gather support and help gather intelligence on enemies. Some helpful Sentinel agents are Sage, Killjoy, and Cypher. These agents collect information from their abilities and support other agents with recovery skills.
Other more flashy agents like Phoenix or Reyna function as Duelists—a more aggressive role specifically for entry-fraggers getting the first shot and opening up areas. Most Duelists pick off enemies leading to opportunities for their team, and usually lurk around alone.
Source: Riot Games
Initiators are somewhat similar, but they usually set the pace for the team with entry flashes or concussion grenades. A few valuable Initiators are Breach and KAY/O. Every team needs an Initiator, as they can blind, concuss, stun, or block angles that could be deadly for entering areas.
Lastly, Controllers focus on warding off and controlling areas. Most Controller agents concentrate on putting up large walls or blocking off paths with smoke grenades.
Viper and Omen are both great agents to use as their abilities crowd-control enemies and halt them from rushing into sites, which also buys time for the team to reposition.
With nineteen playable agents, there are only a handful of choices in Valorant. But all of these agents play a vital role and vary uniquely. A golden rule when selecting a team composition is to note that there must be one role from each of the group classifications.
This rule is important because sometimes having four duelists on a team isn't the greatest idea. It's crucial to understand that Valorant is a strategic FPS, meaning players need to utilize their agent’s skills for critical opportunities, either for trading kills, taking bomb sites, or acquiring advantageous positions.
How do you play Valorant?
Valorant's gameplay is relatively simple. Players need to learn four primary game modes, as each function differently and provides an alternate gameplay experience. These modes are Rated, Unrated, Spike Rush, and Deathmatch.
Spike Rush is sort of like a faster-paced version of Unrated, while Deathmatch is a free-for-all, instant spawning kill-to-upgrade-weapon mode. By defeating enemies in Deathmatch, you upgrade your weapon, and the first person to reach the last gun wins.
Source: Riot Games
Unrated is essentially a normal plant/defuse game mode featuring two teams of five players. Players have ninety seconds to lock in an agent before the game starts for their team composition. Once in-game, they have thirty seconds to buy weapons and ability charges for your agents each round.
The goal is to win thirteen rounds first. If a team reaches twelve, and so does the opposing group, the game heads into overtime, wherein both teams can choose to draw or play through the game.
If the vote to play on supersedes drawing, each team will battle until the first group gains two rounds, or they arrive back at an equal point forcing another vote.
Each round lasts one-hundred seconds, which resets by forty-five seconds if the spike is planted. There are really three main phases in rounds players need to know: the buy phase, the round phase, and the post-round phase.
Both teams are assigned a side, either as defenders or attackers. After twelve rounds, the teams will switch sides, changing the game.
Find more information about the nitty-gritty ,tips and tricks on getting better at Valorant for beginners on Vanta Leagues.
What is Valorant Rated?
Like most other games, Valorant is rated by the Entertainment Software Rating Board. Valorant has a rating of "T" for teen. The justification for this rating is that the game contains blood, some mild language, and the use of firearms
What platform is Valorant on?
Since its inception in 2020, Valorant hasn't spread across other platforms like most shooters. Currently, the game is a PC exclusive. However, Riot Games are in the process of developing a mobile port for Android and iOS.
The mobile port is currently supposedly entering beta testing sometime soon, as it's proposed to be during the middle of 2022. But its global version won't be launched for quite a while. If players are lucky, we might be seeing Valorant mobile somewhere between the end of 2022 and 2023.
So far, Valorant is constantly evolving and with so many new agents and maps randomizing the experience, it’s not hard to say the game shoots you with something different every match. To download Valorant, you can find it on Riot Games' ,official website for the game.
If Valorant interests you, then maybe some of our other Vanta League guides might too! Check out our articles covering Valorant and many other great games through our blog.To learn more about Valorant, head over to our Valorant webpage where we go into more specifics about the game and how to get involved in it.