Are you a beginner on Valorant or do you just want to improve your skills on the Riot Games FPS? Here are some tips and rules to apply to get started and progress quickly at all levels.
Valorant borrows a lot of Counter-Strike codes, itself very demanding. If you arrive on the Riot Games FPS without having gone through the Valorant FPS, adaptation can be difficult. Whether you are new to FPS or you come from Fortnite, CoD or Overwatch, here is a list of the main rules to follow on Valorant that will help you progress a lot if you don’t already practice them. For the more gifted, a part at the end of the article is dedicated to you to “go further”.
The basics to respect
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Always place your sights where your enemy’s head would be.
Taking this reflex will allow you to unhook the heads of your enemies much more easily when they enter your viewfinder. It is essential that you keep this reflex permanently, it will be very important for your progress. If your crosshair is already in the right place, you will be much more effective and deadly in your duels than if it is placed on your enemy’s feet and you waste time picking your head up.
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Your eyes are always on your sight if an enemy can get in.
The placement of the viewfinder is not everything, concentration is also essential. What’s the point of aiming in the right place if you’re not looking at what’s in front of you? Glancing at the map, the radar, the killfeed or the HUD on your screen should be done when you’re extra careful and concentrated. Your peripheral vision will be enough to signal a problem in your viewfinder. The rest of the time, stay focused: a glance at your phone, the TV next door, or your cat can all be reasons to die stupidly.
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In defence, take a position and hold it. Don’t make unnecessary movements
On Valorant, you can very quickly be surprised, put out of position and punished. On defence, pick a line and hold it. If you leave this line, it’s only because your position is compromised or because an objective is urgently calling you to another spot on the map. Doubt and lack of patience are invisible enemies, yet just as deadly as the players on the opposing team.
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Only run for a good reason, otherwise walk all the time…
Running – and making noise in general – on Valorant is not trivial. Being discreet is essential and will very often save your life. You can run if your position is compromised, if you have to get to another point very quickly, or if you’re absolutely certain that you’re far enough away from a possible enemy so that they can’t hear you. If an enemy hears you running when you pivot on the map, he will know where you are coming from, where you are going, he will potentially know where to set a trap for you, and most importantly – since you are leaving your position – he will know which part of the defense is weakened or even abandoned.
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Listen carefully to the sounds around you.
In the same vein as before, taking information represents half of your duel. Knowing where an enemy is coming from gives you a few hundredths of a second ahead of him who may not necessarily know where you are. More than for your duel, identifying one or more footsteps, possibly skill noises, can give you a lot of information that is just as valuable for you as it is for your team. If you hear a lot of footsteps and you are on one end, you can already tell the pivots of your team to move a notch towards you to prepare a first support.
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Your radar is very important
Always know on your radar where your allies are and where enemies may be coming from. If they can come from a place you are not looking at, put yourself in a position where you will not be surprised. Dying because you were surprised on a side that you thought an ally was guarding is the equivalent of a serious mistake, it should not happen to you.
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In attack, shift line by line methodically
Even if you start the assault, if you are first or second opener, you MUST look at each line, left and right, as if you were crossing the road. You don’t shift a line while walking, so as soon as you move forward shifting line by line, you will be heard. Remember to communicate with your team so that everyone covers the different angles as well as your rearguard. Don’t leave any doubt and no corners untested.
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Don’t put your weapon/reload anytime
You don’t reload anytime, just like you don’t change weapons without a reason, just like you don’t get a skill out in advance for nothing. These are all situations where enemies can surprise you and you will be vulnerable because your weapon will either be behind your back or being changed. Your skill kit should be an asset. Dying while using a skill or being surprised while you were about to use one doesn’t help you.
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“Knowledge is a weapon” isn’t just a quote for pretty face.
You only want to play two agents? Aren’t you interested in the others? That’s fine. But you still need to know each of the skills you may encounter in the game and their specifics. Knowing what kind of effects your opponent / counterpart has is absolutely necessary.
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Training pays
Train your reflexes, your brain and your aim. Even if you just play in a loop without touching the training mode, you’ll make progress. Don’t despair, and persevere, but always aim to have fun: getting frustrated with a game will never put you in a good position to learn.
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Being well in your set-up
It is important that you are comfortable with your set-up, whether it is positioning yourself in front of the computer, space to move your mouse or the keys associated with the various controls in play. If you repeatedly feel that a keyboard shortcut is really not intuitive or practical for you, change it. Likewise, consider adjusting your viewfinder in the game settings to match what you like, even your sensitivity. All of these settings will obviously make you lose level right away, but once you get used to your new configuration, you’ll be much more comfortable and efficient.
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Challenging yourself and thinking
Finally, a last piece of advice: always ask yourself (when you die) if you could have done differently, if you could have done better, if dying here was really useful. It is important to understand the game to progress. Sometimes, some deaths are useful for the team if they lead to a goal in particular. If you die several times in a row because you were caught on the wrong side of the field, because you lost a duel or because you missed a timing, change your style of play, reflect and adapt your behaviour to avoid making the same mistakes again.
Go further
If you have already mastered all the tips listed below, your improvement track will most likely be linked first and foremost to your aim, which you can improve on the training ground.
You will also have to work on your decision making, and the duels to be played. Learn to know instinctively where your allies are, to have a more or less precise idea of where your enemies are and guide your team, by being yourself the pivot or by communicating. Doing two isolated kills on C is good, but if your team loses A and you have to play the retake in 1v3, the round will certainly be lost anyway.
Encourage your moves according to the objectives.
Finally, maximize the control of your kit, the fluidity of the use of your skills and the timing of activation of these according to what you want to do. Pick ? Timing ? Secure an area? Pick up a line? All these objectives are different and will make you use your kit accordingly. Same thing for your aggression timings or your positioning.
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