Lack of Credits and access to your primary weapons does not have to mean that you are doomed to lose a round. Sure, it's not an ideal case, but you can play this out. Here are some tips that will help you win more eco rounds in Valorant!
Eco rounds can be really painful. It's a bit like you trying to beat opponents who have weapons straight out of NASA with sticks and stones. Well, it's not like that, but it surely feels like that. Being in the eco round we are in an unfavorable position and that is a fact. But how do we handle them and increase our odds of winning the round? Check out these tips to find that out:
Purchase Abilities
Instead of buying some useless Shorty, go for your Agent's abilities. Of course, don't randomly buy your entire kit. Instead, think about the strategy that you can execute with your team for the eco round and pick the ability that fits the best for it. You won't spend all your Credits on it, and even if you get killed before using it, you're fine – you save the ability for the next round anyway.
When playing an eco round, you will often be forced to play aggressively, and one good smoke, molly, or wall can really change the dynamics of a round. That said, our favorite ability lineups for eco rounds would be one-way smokes for Defenders and post-plant mollies for Attackers. If you choose to play a Sentinel Agent, you can also risk a bit by going for a more expensive setup, but it all really depends on how many Credits you have exactly.
Take Out The Enemy Sniper
Snipers are your easiest target when playing an eco round, especially if you decide to play aggressively. If you know where to expect a sniper on the opposing team, make it uncomfortable for him – rush, throw some aggressive smokes, force him to reposition. This is also why purchasing abilities is crucial, as it won't be so easy to take a sniper player out without smokes or mollies.
Snipers are great on defense, but fall to aggressive strategies, and that's what you often want to go for on eco. And well, even if you lose a round – saving an Operator basically means +4700 Credits; who wouldn't want that after an eco round?
Try To Keep Your Advantage
Once you get any advantage while playing eco, do your best to keep it. At first, you might want to play aggressively, sure. However, once you get an advantage, why risk losing it?
If you've killed a Spike carrier, keep an eye on the Spike with your teammates and go into the "full defense mode." On the other hand, if you have successfully planted a Spike, then take a safe position and prepare some post plant mollies that you can throw outside of the Spike Site.
In short – if you have a lead in the eco round, try to maintain it at all costs without randomly running for frags.
So, these were our tips for winning the eco rounds in Valorant. If you have any rules or habits that help you win such disadvantageous situations, let us know about them on our Discord!