Valorant Beginner's guide - Everything you need to know before playing

Valorant is one of the most anticipated releases of 2020 in many ways. It took Twitch by surprise, setting up a record high of 34 million hours watched and 1.7 million viewers on its official release day. Maybe all that noise happened because of its intriguing combination of characters, maps, weapons, and special abilities that resembles other titles, for example, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Rainbow Six Siege, or Overwatch.

Even before the closed beta, everyone seemed to have a strong opinion about it, but eithr if people hate it or love it, it certainly didn't pass unnoticed within the gaming community. So if you want to understand what all that fuss is about and you would like to give a shot at one of the most expected games of the year, this is the right Valorant beginner guide you need.

What is Valorant?

It's A 5v5 character-based tactical shooter and the brave new bet from Riot Games (developers of League of Legends). The game comes ready to compete in the “Hero Shooter” arena, with a well-balanced character pool, and a great mixture of abilities that can entirely change the way each match develops. Although the graphic level may not be impressive, character and map design make the playing experience something to remember no matter if you are a competitive pro gamer or you are just a beginner in the genre.

Are there more games like Valorant?

The way the game plays is similar to CS GO. At the same time, its visual style uses a similar style to Overwatch when talking about the cartoony texture, although Riot Games bet on a more simple, minimalistic look. Some may say they hate the austerity of elements and textures in the game, but others are going to love the lack of visual distractions from the environment. The game is designed to run even on old computers, and you can notice that in the easy to render environments, so even if you are a Valorant beginner, you can still get into the action.

No room for heroes in an Agent's world

Besides different abilities and skills, each of the Agents (or Heroes if you like) also plays a narrative role within the Lore, and they all have background stories that can be glanced at in many of the trailers that have been released so far. The comic-like style, mixed with the origin stories, adds on the fun and entertaining aspect of the game.

Riot Games is presenting a competitive teamplay-focused game, which means each character has different abilities that work better when combined with those of your teammates. All of them have different mobility values and signature moves that allow an incredible variety of strategies and tactics you and your team can develop.

You start with five Agents to choose from. A couple more can be easily unlocked by leveling up. And a couple more will get unlicked ater you complete contracts and gather XP. Riot Games has confirmed more than ten Agents so far. Each one of them has a different set of skills, movements, and abilities. Only one of each Agent is allowed on your team for each game, and you can choose a different one each time.

One of the first things you need to know is every Agent has different abilities. Some of them are meant to blind and slow down opponents. Some reveal their position on the map, and a lot of them are area-of-effect (AOE) attacks that can deliver a lot of damage on a specific area on the map.

Agents have one main ability, the Ultimate Maneuver, which charges up over time, or by picking orbs. And two extra abilities that you can purchase at the beginning of each round (more on that later).

Here's a brief guide of the four types of Agents you can Find in Valorant and a few tips and tricks to have fun with them.

SENTINEL

Sentinels are all about intelligence and ground control. They are the armor of the team, in charge of recovery and controlling the map. They can heal other players, summon walls to prevent enemies from activating, or defusing the Spike, or even revive dead teammates. They can also place cams to watch enemies or tag foes with a dart that reveals their whole team position on the map. Sentinels turn information about your enemy into a weapon.

CONTROLLER

Controllers’ main goal is to take and control the ground. They approach and wipe out bomb sites for their team to plant or defuse. That’s why they have abilities such as a smokescreen that blinds enemies, or an airstrike that literally rains fire on an entire map area. 

Controllers are masters of deception since they can flank enemies, reveal their location to all your team members, and gain maximum ground control.

INITIATORS

Initiators are responsible for intelligence and support. They usually set in the back and use other Agent’s combined skills to gather information about the enemies. Due to their abilities, Initiators can launch an attack on the enemy’s ground without any warning. They can become valuable assets since they use other teammates' abilities to find the spot where a surprise airstrike hurts. You need to know: Initiators and good team communication are the best possible combo to come out victorious.

DUELISTS

Duelists may be considered the wild card, but when used properly and the wilderness is matched with the full team abilities, they become more of a silver bullet.

They have a pinch of all the other Agent types and can fill many roles on the ground, but the ideal use for them is straightforward: getting kills. Duelists are designed to get the most out of aggressive forward-players that likes to run, aim, throw grenades, and order a pizza at the same time. That’s why their abilities can range from blinding ones to wiping-the-entire-team ones.

Valorant Gameplay

As stated on their website, this is a 5v5 character-based tactical shooter, where accurate strategy, communication, and team performance are far more important than running and shooting. That’s why there is a place for all types of players. If you are an aggressive forward-player who loves to shoot, you must try a Controller or a Duelist, but if you feel the more comfortable dominating ground, you probably should try using an Initiator or a Sentinel. The variety of characters and abilities makes every match memorable.

There are two teams of five players. Each team can have only one of each Agent. Each match has rounds, and the first team to win 13 of them wins.

One team starts on the attack side while the opponent defends, and after 12 matches, they switch. Attackers have to plant a Spike (bomb) in a Spike site located anywhere on the map and make sure to hold ground for a short moment until it explodes, while Defenders have to prevent attackers from planting the Spike or to find and defuse active spikes. You've got one life per round, so if you get killed, you'll remain dead until the next round or until someone on your team revives you. Like most shooting games out there, you can also win rounds by eliminating the enemy team. If you ever played CS GO, you got it.

The first thing you do at the beginning of each game is to choose your Agent. Then you can purchase weapons, shields, and abilities before each round begins. The more you win, kill enemies, plant or defuse Spikes, the more Creds you'll get for the next one. You can also buy weapons for your teammates or ask them to share their wealth with you. Your main ability regenerates each round, but you also have two secondary ones that can choose at the beginning of each round.

There is also a shorter mode, It's called Spike Rush and can last around 10 minutes per game.

Economy

You can make direct purchases via microtransactions. You can buy Valorant points with real-world-money to purchase gun skins, buddies (like keychains for your guns), sprays, cards and more things to show off. However, you can also get some of those items by leveling Agents' contracts.

Within each game, you also get Creds that help you purchase weapons, shields, and abilities before each round begins.

Summary

Valorant is a long-anticipated game that runs on most computers, and it's free-to-play! Which makes it an amazing opportunity to get you started into the hero-type games. Explore the vast amount of characters, abilities, movements, and strategic team-play while enjoying a fun to play, good-looking experience. This is a game designed to bring out the hardcore competitive gamer we all have within, so f you’re up to strategic shooters, team play, or simply have a sick tendency to prove yourself against others, you should give it a try.

It's an FPS game, so it will always help if you train your mechanics. Hand-eye coordination, reflexes, movement, strategy - these are the things that you might want to learn first if you want to think about having any success in a shooter. More often than not the correct settings and movements of your crosshair will be the saving grace of your team, and no guides will ever give it to you. We hope that these tips will help you develop into a pro, that we'll see on a highlight reel video soon. If you want some more, check out our Valorant tips and tricks guide.

FAQ

HOW DO YOU PLAY VALORANT FOR BEGINNERS?

The key is aiming right! Give one try to each Agent. Communicate and trust your team, you won't like to engage in combat alone. Don't keep information to yourself. Share with your team what you see or where are you at... and follow this Valorant beginner's guide advises

IS VALORANT BEGINNER FRIENDLY?

Just like CS:GO, Valorant is focusing on the competitive esports arena, but even with that, Valorant is beginner-friendly, since the algorithm will match you with players on your same skill level.

HOW DO YOU GET GOOD AT VALORANT?

Read this guide and practice! Don't shoot while walking. Get to know each Agent’s pros and cons. Remember Valorant is about moving together, holding ground, landing shots, and playing as a team. communicate with your team always and try to improve every day.