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How to play Raze, Valorant’s most overpowered Agent
Learn how to master Raze in Riot’s FPS with these top tips.
Riot Games’ brand new FPS has exploded onto the scene, meaning that most people are either already playing the game or watching it on Twitch in the hope of that elusive beta key drop that will give you access to play the game.
With the closed beta already in full swing and plenty of players getting settled in with just how the game works, naturally, some of the Agents in the game have been standouts when it comes to their ability to demolish an entire enemy team. Valorant has been compared to CSGO when it comes to the game’s economy and strategies but unlike Counter-Strike, each character has been given a unique set of in-game skills and players have a choice to pick who they want to play.
Equipped with arguably the most powerful explosives in the game, Raze has made a name for herself early on in this beta as being one of the most powerful Agents. She's so powerful, in fact, that it’s imperative you learn how to play her if you want to get better at the game. Here are some top tips on how to best utilise Raze.
Get to know her abilities
This sounds almost too obvious but getting to know exactly what Raze’s abilities do and what sets her apart will be the difference between being an average player on her and being a great player. Luckily, Raze’s kit is extremely straight forward and it’s actually quite easy to pick her up in comparison to some of the more complicated Agents.
All of the Agents in Valorant have four abilities but it’s safe to say that some of the Agents often have one or two pretty powerful abilities, leaving the rest to be less impactful and on some occasions, darn right useless. However, with Raze, you really get your money’s worth. She’s explosive, aggressive but can also quickly get herself out of sticky situations.
Ability: Boom Bot
Be patient and use the Boom Bots wisely
© Riot Games
Let’s start with Raze’s first ability, Boom Bot. The cute little robot acts a bit like a Roomba except instead of cleaning your floor, it can help you wipe out the map. When you deploy the robot, it will scurry ahead and change direction if it bounces off a wall. If it manages to locate an enemy, it will lock onto them and explode, dealing heavy damage – but your opponents can destroy them before it explodes.
This ability is paramount when it comes to getting information, especially if you don’t feel confident peeking around corners or into corridors where your enemies could be hiding. Even if your opponent does manage to shoot it, they will be momentarily distracted and preoccupied with the robot, giving you time to pick them off before they even realise you’re there.
Bonus tip: There’s a danger of revealing your own location if your robot doesn’t manage to find any enemies so make sure you use these wisely. The Boom Bot costs 200 credits per pop, so it’s an investment – there’s no need to drop them around every corner!
Ability: Blast Pack
The Blast Packs can stick on walls
© Riot Games
This is one of Raze’s most creative and fun abilities, but it also involves a lot of practise so make sure you put the time in. Raze’s second ability sees her chuck a Blast Pack that sticks to surfaces and explodes when detonated manually. You can stick these on Sage’s wall or set up a little trap for an unsuspecting opponent but it’s actually far more useful to be saved as a transportation tool.
If you stick these near your own character, you can detonate the pack to propel yourself into the air, onto boxes and ledges, out windows and wherever else you feel like. You can even stick them onto the side of a wall and thrust yourself in any direction or around corners.
Bonus tip: While you can use these as to press and rush, you can also save the Blast Packs as a defensive tool. Detonate them in the opposite direction of a gun fight to quickly dash out of any sticky situations.
Signature ability: Paint Shells
These grenades are some of the most powerful utilities in the game
© Riot Games
Raze’s first signature ability, Paint Shells, is by far the most powerful thing about her kit. These work like grenades except they don’t just explode once – after the initial explosion the grenade then splits into mini-explosions causing an immense amount of damage to anyone in range. Of course, you can throw these at your enemies when they’re low on health but they’re actually one of the most crucial abilities in the game for retrieving information on your opponents and forcing them to make mistakes.
When you’re defending, you can stop the enemy team’s attempt to push dramatically if you can get these into a good position because unless your opponents have a death wish, they won’t attempt to run through these bad boys. The trick is not to panic and throw them too early.
Bonus tip: Use the grenade to buy yourself time if you want to move across the map and cover some distances without being shot at.
Ultimate: Showstopper
Every agent in VALORANT has their own unique set of abilities
© Riot Games
League of Legends players will be familiar with Jinx’s ultimate, ‘Super Mega Death Rocket!’, a rocket that flies across the map and execute players with low health. Well, Raze’s ultimate, the Showstopper, is basically that except it does an unbelievable amount of AOE damage and can one-shot enemies it hits.
The downside is that if you try to be clever and peek while shooting it, you can end up hurting yourself if you get caught in the blast.
Bonus tip: Raze jolts backwards right after the rocket launches so you can use it to get back into a more defensive position if you’re too exposed.
Raze doesn’t have the most complicated abilities in the world but combining them can give you an endless variety of plays to execute and outsmart your opponents as seen from this Twitch Clip.
Lastly, if you’ve never played an FPS game on the PC before then you’ll need some time getting used to switching from Raze’s abilities back to your primary weapon but worry not – if Riot’s key binding pre-sets don’t suit you, you can always change them in the settings tab. After all, everyone has a different way of playing games and you want to give yourself the best possible chance to own it.
