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What is VALORANT? A guide to the competitive FPS from Riot Games
From fine-tuning your Agents to becoming the master of different match modes, VALORANT has something for everyone. Here’s what you need to know.
First of all, VALORANT is a state of mind. A rush of adrenaline. A fight to the bitter end, and hopefully a sweet, sweet sense of victory.
More literally, it’s a free-to-play first-person tactical shooter (or ‘FPS’ ) developed by the good folks at Riot Games in Los Angeles. Development started way back in 2014 and the game as we know it today was first teased under the codename ‘Project A’ in 2019.
The official release came on June 2, 2020 for Windows, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S. We've been obsessed ever since.
Get a taste of what VALORANT's all about at Red Bull Home Ground:
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The thrill of tactical shooters
A sub-genre of first and third-person shoot em ups, tactical shooters like VALORANT are known for their focus on strategy and planning, plus realistic gameplay including firearms mechanics, player stamina and a general focus on real-world physics.
Where shooters like Call Of Duty are focused more on cool explosions and unique kills, tactical shooters are focused on just that: tactics. In VALORANT, brain will get you farther than brawn.
VALORANT takes inspiration from games like Counter Strike: Global Offensive, borrowing mechanics like spray patterns, the item menu and relative accuracy while on the move. Arma 3 is another inspiration and is so realistic that it has been used by actual IRL militaries for simulation training.
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VALORANT's unique take on tactical gameplay
A character-based tactical FPS set in the near future, in VALORANT gunplay mastery meets unique agent abilities. You’ll play as one of an elite team of Agents – characters taking inspiration from our own real world. Naturally, each Agent has unique abilities, and an ultimate ability that you'll need to charge up through kills, collecting orbs or smashing objectives. In the main game, you’ll be either attacking or defending a given objective, giving you plenty of opportunity to rack up those kills.
Agents are divided into four roles: Duelists, Sentinels, Initiators and Controllers. Because each Agent has their own area of expertise, balancing a team with the right Agents for the job can mean the difference between success and failure.
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Mastering the Agents of VALORANT
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery
© Tom Doms/Red Bull Content Pool
Of course, starting with access to all Agents would be too easy. Create an account and you'll have access to five Agents, each able to take on one of four roles. More Agents are accessible using the in-game currency, Kingdom Credits. You’ll acquire these credits by racking up game stats or completing specific daily and weekly tasks.
Let’s take a look at the four Agent classes:
Duelists
These "self-sufficient fraggers” specialise in dashing into bomb sites, providing info for your team and helping you all advance without getting blasted to high heaven. They can cover vast distances quickly, with flash-band like abilities blinding enemies who may be keeping a lookout. Naturally, Duelists tend to lead the attack. Jett is the top-ranked duelist with her Tailwind ability giving her the best mobility in the game.
Initiators
The real brains of the operation, Initiators break through enemy positions, with abilities that consist of flashes, but can also show you exactly where the enemy is hiding. This vital info can make stealing an objective that much easier, and less bloody – on your side, at least. With simple, accessible kit, Kayo is arguably the base level Initiator and great for beginners.
Sentinels
Your defensive line, as the name suggests, Sentinels dig in, cutting off map areas and setting up ‘objects’ to ensure the enemy isn't going to get around your flanks without taking some hefty damage. With accessible yet powerful kit including the Nanoswarm grenade, Killjoy has to be one of the most powerful sentinels in the game.
Controllers
Controllers control the crowd, using their abilities to create cover and clear out lurking enemies. Their abilities include smoke, molotovs, flashes and stuns, helping conceal your team’s movements while also blinding enemies for surprise attacks. Omen is arguably the most versatile – and strongest – controller in the game, although certain maps will require a difference approach.
Dig deeper into Agents and game modes
04
Conquering the VALORANT game modes
VALORANT is a game with global appeal
© Barış Acarlı/Red Bull Content Pool
There are eight main un-ranked game modes in VALORANT:
Unrated
In the standard mode, the first team to win 13 rounds wins the match. To complicate matters, the attacking team has the Spike, a bomb-like device they have to deliver and activate to one of multiple locations. Protect an activated Spike for 45 seconds it blows up and you bag a point. The defenders have to stop this from happening.
Spike Rush
Same as above, but faster paced. This time it’s best of seven. Players begin with all abilities fully charged except their ultimate, which charges twice as fast as in standard games making for a flat-out, chaotic experience.
Swiftplay
Ten players split into two teams, with attackers looking to plant the Spike, defenders trying to blow them away before they get the chance. Best of nine. Where Unrated might take 40 minutes, this quicker mode should take about 15 minutes per game.
Premier
This new 5v5 game mode is aimed at players who want to turn pro and was rolled out worldwide in 2024. Your team faces off against teams in the same division, with seasons lasting a few weeks at a time. The top teams will compete in the Division Championship, with the winners earning promotions from there.
Deathmatch
You know the drill. Fourteen players enter a nine-minute free-for-all with the first person to reach 40 kills winning. You’ll spawn as a random Agent with full shields, but with all abilities disabled.
Team Deathmatch
As above, but you’re in two teams of five players. This time games last nine minutes and 30 seconds, and the goal is a modest 100 kills.
Escalation
Inspired by the "gungame" in Counter-Strike and Call of Duty: Black Ops, your five-player team works through a random selection of 12 weapons. You’ll need to get a certain number of kills per weapon to advance to the next one. The first team to cycle through all 12 levels or to have the most points after 10 minutes wins.
Replication
Vote for a certain Agent but don’t complain when your entire team has to play as the winning Agent type. Best of nine, with players switching sides after round four.
05
Competitive integrity: Ranked Mode and anti-cheat
Competitive VALORANT in all its glory at Red Bull Home Ground
© KREW Collective/Red Bull Content Pool
Competitive game modes are ranked matches, meaning your score is recorded and helps you climb the real-world ranks. It’s a great way of giving anyone, anywhere in the world, a shot at the big leagues.
In terms of gameplay, think Unranked matches but with a win-based ranking system that assigns a rank to each player after five games are played. You’ll need to be at least 20 before you can play. After each group of two rounds, you can vote to call it a draw, with the competitive ranking system ranging from Iron to Radiant, with Radiant reserved for the very best.
To prevent unfairness, the game uses Vanguard, an anti-cheat software, designed to stop players getting ahead in unfair ways, thereby upholding the highest levels of competitive integrity.
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Beyond the battlefield: the VALORANT community
VALORANT has a vibrant community of gamers and content creators
© KREW Collective/Red Bull Content Pool
VALORANT has sparked a vibrant online community, with players creating message boards, forums and content such as play-through videos and tips blogs.
Popular streamers include: Tarik, with more than 2.4m followers on Twitch; Tenz, who represents Sentinels, one of the top organisations in the VALORANT space; and Kyedae, one of the most popular female streamers on Twitch.
It’s also sparked some huge esports events, like Red Bull Home Ground and Riot Games’s own VALORANT Champions Tour (VCT), a year-long tournament consisting of three levels: Champions - the world championship; Masters - staged international mid-season competitions; Challengers - regional qualifiers for Masters.
There’s also Ascension, a non-partner league covering the Americas, EMEA and Pacific.
07
Getting started with VALORANT
As mentioned above, VALORANT runs on Windows, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S. A word of warning, VALORANT will not run on Windows 11 if the system does not have a Trusted Platform Module (TPM) 2.0 compliant cryptoprocessor and UEFI secure boot enabled, as mandated by Microsoft's minimum system requirements for the operating system.
Go to playvalorant.com to download the game and get started today.
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Conclusion: Dive into the world of VALORANT
VALORANT is an exciting world where the possibilities are endless. From how you upgrade your Agent to the type of game you want to play, to whether or not you want to try to compete at the international level, it’s really up to you. For a more cerebral approach to the FPS, VALORANT always has your back.
Want to see VALORANT at its finest? Tune in to Red Bull Home Ground.
