Valorant is Riot Games’ first shooter. We compiled everything there is to know about this A-Tier FPS.
System requirements, agent guides, esports, we got it all. We even provide useful links to all the topics you are interested in.
When Did VALORANT Come Out?
Valorant was teased by developers Riot Games in October 2019 as ‘Project A’. This created the first real hype surrounding the game. Half a year later on March 1, 2020 Riot uploaded a video titled “The Round” to their YouTube channel. Here they officially announced Valorant. In April 2020, the tactical shooter moved to a closed beta.
Since its release on July 2, 2020, the full version of Valorant is available. When Valorant left the beta, they did a full reset, meaning: All points, Agents, levels, and even skins were not taken over to the final game. Of course, players got their precious Valorant points back (they even got a 20% grant!). As a token of appreciation for participating in the beta, players got a banner and a trinket.
During the first half of 2021 Riot supposedly wants to add a public beta environment (PBE) to game. This way, changes can be tested by the community and Riot can react to the feedback given by players. This will prevent bugs, glitches, or even stupidly overpowered stuff to hit the live servers. So you know, stuff like the Omen Exploit...
How Much Does VALORANT Cost?
Just like League of Legends, Valorant is a free-to-play game. But how do they earn money then? Well, easy. People like pretty things, and there are a lot of pretty things to buy in the in-game-shop. Like skins for Agents and weapons. Don’t worry, you won’t see any performance enhancing items in there. You will still need to buy gaming glasses for that. This prevents Valorant to fall into the pay-to-win scheme that many games fall prey to.
You can also buy a premium battle-pass. It contains skins and other loot. Now there is also a free battle pass, but of course it’s way worse.
Where to Download VALORANT?
Ever since its release, you can download the full version of Valorant on the official Riot Games website. You only need to create an account. Sadly, there is neither a console-, nor a mobile version of the game available. Thus, Cross-Play isn’t a thing either. But fret not: Riot put a lot of work into creating an LoL version (aka Wild Rift) for mobile. So Valorant for consoles is not completely off the table.
- READ MORE: Will Valorant Get a Mobile Version?
VALORANT: System Requirements
To play Riots FPS you don’t need a high spec PC. Good, because we couldn’t afford one anyway! Riot wants to give as many players as possible the opportunity to try Valorant. Even 10-year-old PCs should be good enough to run Valorant at 30 fps.
PC requirements:
- Windows 7/8/10 with 64-Bit
- 4 GB RAM
- 1 GB VRAM
Minimal system requirements for 30 FPS:
- Processor: Intel i3-370M
- Graphics card: Intel HD 3000
Recommended system requirements for 60 FPS:
- Processor: Intel i3-4150
- Graphics card: GeForce GT 730
High spec system requirements for 144 FPS or more:
- Processor: Intel Core i5-4460 3,2 GHz
- Graphics card: GTX 1050 Ti
If there is anything more, you wanna know here ya go:
- READ MORE: Valorant System Requirements
Why is VALORANT PEGI 16+?
Unlike competitor CS:GO Valorant has a comic-esque graphic style. Nonetheless, it has a PEGI rating of 16+. Why is that? Well, Valorant still shows explicit violence. Blood splatters when you hit enemies and corpses of fallen Agents remain on the ground until the round is over. This rating puts Valorant in the same category as other shooters like Counterstrike, Overwatch and PUBG.
How Many Players Does VALORANT Have?
Unfortunately, Riot doesn’t communicate their player numbers to the public. There are a few things to mention though: Especially during the beta Valorant had an absurd number of viewers on Twitch. Up to 1.7 million people were watching Riot’s shooter during that time. Nowadays viewer numbers are way lower.
And one more thing: if Valorant had reached a higher player count than Valve’s CS:GO Riot would have surely bragged about it, right? And since we know CS currently has around 1.1 million active players, so Valorants number is probably a bit lower than that.
The community isn’t thrilled about the declining popularity of their game. Many think Valorant is dying. But honestly, don’t worry! As someone who has played CS:GO for years I can tell you: People have been saying CS:GO is dying for years now, and 2021 may be one of the best years ever for the game. A good game will never truly die!
How Does VALORANT Work?
Valorant is a 5v5 team-based tactical shooter. As a player, you pick one of the many Agents Riot’s FPS has to offer. In the main game mode, there are two sides: attack and defense.
Just like in Counterstrike the attackers have to plant the so-called ‘spike’. Of course, you can’t just plant it anywhere. There are certain points on the map where the bomb has to be placed. If the Spike explodes or all defenders are dead, the attackers win the round. When the Spike is defused or all attackers are killed before they can plant the bomb, the round goes to the defense.
In Valorant after 12 rounds, the sides are swapped. The first team to win 13 out of a total of 24 rounds takes the match win.
VALORANT: Alternative Game Modes
As of right now, there are two more game modes to choose from: Spike Rush and Deathmatch.
Spike Rush is a faster version of the normal game mode. Matches only take around 10 to 12 minutes.
Deathmatch is a free-for-all game mode. Up to 15 players compete in a race to 40 kills. The game ends when the first player reaches said 40 kills, or when the timer of 9 minutes runs out. You will have an infinite amount of money but no Agent abilities. Deathmatch is often used to warm up for actual matches.
What Ranks are There in VALORANT?
If you know LoL you know the ranks Iron to Diamond. The ranks you and us will never reach are called ‘Immortal’ and ‘Radiant’. Every rank except Radiant is divided into three divisions with Division 1 being the lowest and three the highest. According to Riot only the top 1% of players will get into Immortal and the 500 best players of a region will make up the Radiant rank.
VALORANT Agents
When Valorant was in beta testing there were only 8 Agents. As of the writing of this article there is a whopping 14 characters to choose from. Each Agent has unique abilities and an especially powerful ultimate. The latter you can only use every once in a while, but when you do... oh boy, you better make it count. There are four classes of Agents:
- Duelists: You need damage? They got damage!
- Initiators: Always make the first move.
- Controllers: Control by making terrain.
- Sentinels: Can lock down areas and watch flanks.
Newly created accounts have 5 of the 14 Agents unlocked: Brimstone, Jett, Sage and Sova. You will need to unlock the rest by playing the game and earning rewards. How the hell am I supposed to learn that many Agents, you ask?
Well lucky for you, we have Guides to literally every Agent. Just click on the names above or below, and it will take you to a detailed guide.
Duelists:
- Valorant Agent Guide: Raze
- Valorant Agent Guide: Reyna
- A First Look at Yoru! How to Play Valorant’s Latest Agent
Initiators:
Controllers:
Sentinels:
VALORANT Weapons
Of course, your Agent’s abilities aren’t the only thing that matter. Your choice of weapon is just as important. Including the knife there is a total of 18 weapons in the game. Like in other FPS games the weapons fall into different categories:
Sidearms
- Classic
- Shorty
- Frenzy
- Ghost
- Sheriff
Secondary Weapons are cheap and take up your secondary weapon slot, duh! Apart from the standard pistol ‘Classic’ there are 4 more weapons in this category: The full-auto pistol ‘Frenzy’, the small shotgun ‘Shorty’, the silent ‘Ghost’ and the mighty ‘Sheriff’. Man Riot is killing it with these names!
SMGs
Both the ‘Stinger’ and the ‘Spectre’ fall into this category. Use them to perforate enemies at close range.
Shotguns:
I mean, you know how shotguns work... Sit in a corner, wait until someone comes, pull the trigger and pray to god you hit.
Rifles:
This category holds the best weapons. If you plan on getting better at Valorant you should invest some time into learning one of these guns. Doesn’t matter if Bulldog, Guardian, Phantom or Vandal, you just can’t go wrong with rifles.
Sniper Rifles:
You are terrible at spray control? Why not buy a sniper! Just like in CS:GO there is a cheap but weaker rifle (Marshal), and an expensive powerful one (Operator).
Machine Guns:
Machine Gun go brrrrrrrrrrrr. A lot of damage, even more bullets, low accuracy and little to no love from the community. That pretty much describes the Odin and Ares. Just because they are named after gods, doesn’t mean they are go(o)d.
VALORANT Maps
Unlike in LoL Valorant features 5 maps that are all played in the same mode. First there were only good ol’ sandy Bind, the eastern map Haven, Split with its metropolis-flair and cloud-city Bespin... sry, Ascent. Recently the frosty Icebox was added to the map pool. The links will lead you to our map guides.
In a game like Valorant knowing how to call-out enemy positions is extremely important. So, here’s a little guide for clear communication.
- READ MORE: How to Do Valorant Map Callouts
Are There Cheaters in VALORANT?
Valorant’s Anti-Cheat system works on the deepest levels of your computer. This makes it very hard for players to use cheats while playing Valorant. On the other hand, it allows Riot to gather a lot of information from your PC which comes with its own fair share of problems. But at least you don’t have to face cheaters every third game... *cough* CS:GO *cough*.
Are There Glitches/Bugs in VALORANT?
A good Anti-Cheat doesn’t mean your game has no bugs. And trust me, Valorant has seen quite a few bugs and glitches already. Those things tend to happen, when you develop a live game.
Agent Killjoy could place his turrets below the map. Sage could use her abilities before the match even started, and poor Omen even had to be fixed twice:
READ MORE:
- Omen? More Like: No, Man! – Agent disabled Due to Exploits
- Valorant: With this bug, Omen becomes unstoppable on Split
The bug fix is in. Killjoy can no longer place turrets under the map. Also, Sage can no longer cast her wall pre-round as Omen was using it to teleport to inappropriate locations. Hope it was fun while it lasted! You should see all three agents back in game, working as intended.
— VALORANT (@PlayVALORANT) December 2, 2020
Agents weren’t the only thing bugged. More than once theranked system didn’t function as intended. And when the community got a little to annoying with their complaints, Riot shot back. Ouch, my poor Bronze-II-Heart...
We're aware of a new bug with ranked. When you finish a game, you may see a Radiant rank in the end of game screen, making you think you got promoted to Radiant.You probably didn't, but it's nice to dream, right? We'll be deploying a fix with the next patch. pic.twitter.com/F2TtFldHIi
— VALORANT (@PlayVALORANT) December 11, 2020
VALORANT, CS:GO and Overwatch: A Comparison
I’ve compared Valorant to CS:GO and Overwatch quite a bit during this article. And with good reason! Riot’s tactical shooter was inspired quite a bit by its competitors.
Let’s see: A 5v5 mode with attacker and defenders? A bomb has to be planted and protected? You have to buy your weapons and abilities (i.e. smokes and mollies) every round? Well, if that doesn’t sound like CS:GO then I don’t know...
But what about Overwatch? Different Heroes that each have their own unique abilities? Ultimate abilities that have to be charged up? Riot, how did you not get sued? Oh well, at least they took the best mechanics of the respective games.
The goal was of course, to make Valorant the best e-sports game on the market. But did they succeed?
VALORANT Esports
As you already know, Valorant had insane viewer numbers in its early days. But a long-lived esports title need more than that. Fan favorites, rivalries and storylines keep the fans invested. Thankfully Valorant has quite a few top tier gaming organizations competing in their leagues. The biggest names are:
FPX, BIG, NIP, Team Liquid, G2, FaZe, T1 and TSM
Most of these teams built their roster in CS:GO veterans who both had stage experience and a brand, bringing their fans with them. With time, more and more young talent rose up and was fostered into the first generation of Valorant-only pros.
Who Streams VALORANT?
Sometimes you got wrecked one too many times and just want to enjoy some streamer kicking ass. Here are a few suggestions of good and entertaining streamers:
- Hiko – Hiko, what was that?!
- Ninja – Like him or not, guy’s got talent.
- Myth – Plays for TSM and does it well.
Of course, there are a lot more Valorant streamers, and we are sure you will find someone to your liking.
EVEN MORE ON VALORANT:
MyEarlyGame is the best way to enjoy your EarlyGame experience... there's no reason why I know that. Jokes (and quotes) aside: A fully customizable newsfeed and giveaways, what's not to like? You know what they say: The early gamer gets the worm!
