VALORANT beginner’s guide: Since the first-person shooter from Riot Games was released, it has gained many players. We explain everything you need to know about VALORANT.
Table of Contents
VALORANT beginner’s guide
If you don’t want to spend money on new games, no problem! VALORANT is 100 percent free-to-play. If you already have a League of Legends account, you can use your login details to log into VALORANT. Riot Games recently started using a common login for all of their games.
As with many other games in the first-person shooter genre, the main game mode in VALORANT is a 5-on-5 defusing mode in which the players are either part of the attacking or defending team. Whoever wins 13 rounds first wins the game.
The big difference between VALORANT and its biggest competitor CS: GO are the agents, i.e. the characters that you can play. In contrast to CS: GO, there are 15 agents in VALORANT, all of whom have unique skills, strengths and weaknesses. This can seem a bit overwhelming at first. But it doesn’t take long to get to grips with all of the agents’ quirks.
Fortunately, there are also other game modes for beginners with which you can get to know the game. When you start the game for the first time, you will also play a tutorial that teaches you the absolute basics, such as how the controls work and how you can win a round as an attacker.
Your attitudes are important
Before you start playing right away, you should make sure that your settings are the way you like them. Most of these settings are very simple.
If you are already playing another FPS game, you can simply take over the settings that you are using there. If you actually come from a different genre and want to try VALORANT, it will be a little trickier.
Many professionals use a mouse sensitivity between 400 and 800 dpi, paired with a game sensitivity between 0.4 and 0.8. However, these figures are only guidelines. You should always play the way you feel best. Don’t be afraid to change your sensitivity between games and try something! The values are never set in stone.
You can also personalize your crosshairs. Tune in to professional streams to look at different crosshairs, or try out the settings yourself a little. The great thing about changing the crosshair settings is that you can see your changes directly in the menu. So you can always see whether your settings are going in the right direction.
As soon as your settings are ready, you are finally ready for a round of VALORANT!
preparation
If you want to move up in the ranked, you should prepare a few things before you jump on the battlefield.
One of the most important aspects in VALORANT is knowing how to handle different weapons. The game has a shooting range mode in which you can try out all weapons against bots. This is how you learn how to minimize spray and how to mow down your opponents properly. The mode also includes some challenges to spark your fighting spirit a little.
You should also use the shooting range to learn the skills of your agents. So you also know what to expect in the game. And of course, how to make the best use of the agents you choose.
Agent roles
There are four agent roles in VALORANT. Each of them is important in building a solid line-up with which to beat your opponents.
Controllers offer support for their team through a utility in the form of smokes, slows or walls. viper, brimstone, omen and Astra are the four controller agents in the game.
Initiators also provide support for their team, but in a different way than controllers. They control angles and use their utility to push opponents back. For example, they use stuns or have skills to determine the point of view of their opponents. Basically, they do the groundwork so that others can collect the kills. Sova, breach and Skye are considered initiator agents.
Duelists have skills with which they can seek a fight and land kills. This enables them to open up new routes and areas for their team. You use Flashes or other utilities to secure corners for yourself. These agents should always be on the front lines in combat. Duelists from the largest class in VALORANT. You can go between Pheonix, Jett, Raze, Reyna and Yoru choose.
The last agent class are the guards, also known as Sentinels. They are experts on the defensive who use their skills to secure your flank when attacking or defending a bomb spot. Because of their abilities, the Sentinels tend to be in the background when a fight breaks out. Cypher, Killjoy and Sage are the agents of this class.
Available game modes
Riot Games was careful not to exclude casual gamers from their game. Yes, VALORANT is a competitive team shooter. But the developers rightly realized that a lot of players just want to enjoy some gunfights and fun game modes.
Unrated & Rated
This is the main mode in VALORANT. Teams play five against five and take turns as attackers and defenders. A half consists of twelve rounds. Whoever wins thirteen rounds first wins the game. This means that the second half is not always played out in full.
In the event of a tie, the game changes – often overtime as well. Here the teams alternate between attacking and defender every round until there is a winner. An infinite overtime
To avoid this, the game asks each player if he or she wants to continue playing or if he or she wants to end the game as a tie. Be careful because this decision is made by the entire server.
It can happen that you want to continue playing, but your fellow players vote for a draw. In that case you are simply out of luck. Of course, the opposite is also possible, in which you want to stop, but your teammates want to continue. You have to play eight unrated games before you can start the rated version. The mode follows the same rules as the unrated version.
Deathmatch
This is a good game mode to warm up to. You will be thrown onto a server with many other players that you have to fight in a “free for all”. The game ends when a person gets 40 kills or the timer runs down to zero. You cannot use any skills in this mode. It’s all about aiming well and shooting opponents.
Spike Rush
The Spike Rush is in another fun mode, which is played in five against five, like the unrated version. Each player spawns with the same weapon, which is determined randomly. You play until one team wins four rounds. This is Spike Rush
the perfect mode for a quick game while waiting for a friend.
escalation
Escalation is the newest mode in VALORANT. In the five-on-five mode, you level up by killing opponents. Each level has a specific weapon. By leveling up you unlock new weapons. The first team to complete all twelve levels wins. Alternatively, the team with the highest level wins after the ten-minute timer.
There are a few other subtleties that we won’t go into here. Let me tell you that Escalation is an action-packed mode. FPS veterans will realize that this is Riot Games’ own take on gun game mode. The CS: GO or Call of Duty community knows this very well. At the time of this writing, Escalation is a limited game mode. This means that it may no longer be available if you read this article later.
Tips for the perfect rated game
Stand up broad
You should know how to play a few different agents. In this way you ensure that you can always pick an agent who rounds off your team composition. It’s also fun to play your way up the leaderboard with just one agent. However, more games are lost than won if you refuse to adapt to a meaningful team composition.
Be focused on yourself
This is not to say “just play alone” or ignore your team members. But then again, you should always ask yourself what you can do to lead your team to victory. Always ask yourself, for example with the scenarios: “Would I really have had to push the middle in the last lap?”, “How can I help my team to better defend the B-Spot?”, Or “How can I avoid within to die in the first 15 seconds? “. Only if you constantly rethink your own actions will you become a better player.
Keep calm
If you’ve played an online game before, you know that there are some toxic players out there. People who are indecent trying to put you down and ruin the game. Riot Games has a code of conduct in place and you can (and should) report players who don’t abide by it. Also, don’t take anything these players say to heart.
Lastly, and most importantly, have fun! VALORANT is a game to play alone or with friends. You can compete and have a lot of fun at the same time. A positive attitude will also pull your teammates along. For once, “contagious” is also a good thing!
