Valorant
Round-based shooting on bomb maps, with each player bringing an agent whose abilities block sight lines, scout corners or heal. More to learn on day one, and more ways to win a round without the best aim.
Profile
What it asks of the group
- Rules to learnEvery agent has four abilities, and you need to recognise the enemy's as well as your own.
- Aim and controlGunplay still settles rounds. Abilities give weaker aimers other jobs, such as smokes and scouting.
- Talking loadAbilities work in pairs: a flash is wasted if nobody walks in behind it.
- Session flexSwiftplay ends after 5 round wins, about 15 minutes. A full match runs 30 to 45 minutes by our estimate.
- Team size
- 5v5
- Main mode
- Competitive and Unrated: first to 13 rounds
- Short option
- Swiftplay: first to 5 rounds, about 15 minutes. Team Deathmatch: about 10 minutes
- Platforms
- PC: Windows, with the Riot Vanguard anti-cheat. PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S
- Ranked access
- Competitive unlocks at account level 20
- Price model
- Free to play. Agents unlock through play or purchase.
- Released
- 2 June 2020
Opening hours
Where the first evenings go
Most of the opening hours go into agents. Each player picks one and stays on it until its four abilities come without thinking. The enemy kit is learned by losing to it and reading the kill banner afterwards.
Swiftplay is the practical classroom: the same maps and economy as a full match, ended after 5 round wins. Competitive opens at account level 20, which leaves time to settle roles first. Valorant names four: Duelists enter sites, Initiators gather information, Controllers place smokes and Sentinels hold ground.
Groups with mixed aim. A player who rarely wins duels can still control a site with smokes and walls.
Players who want the gun to decide everything, and anyone on a Mac: there is no macOS client.
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