12 Valorant Tips To Help You Master The Competitive Shooter

Valorant has made its way to consoles, with a closed beta happening on Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5, for which you can register for a chance to participate. The high-intensity tactical shooter takes the gameplay of Counter-Strike and adds hero shooter elements to it. While PC players have enjoyed plenty of shooters in this vein, there are far fewer shooters like it on console, making it a bit difficult to pick up on controller. Here are a few tips to get your Valorant console journey started. Use the shooting range to fine-tune your aim settingsOne of the first things you need to do is head to the shooting range and start tweaking your aim settings. Aiming and accuracy are incredibly important in Valorant and unless you have experience playing games like Counter-Strike, it might feel strange at first. There are several aiming modes to tweak, including regular sensitivity, focus mode, ADS, and sniper ADS.The regular aiming and focus mode are the two most important to fine-tune. Focus mode is a light aiming mode made specifically for console Valorant, that automatically slows your movement and aiming down for extra precision. You will need to find a balance of speed and accuracy that works for you. You can also adjust how far forward you need to push the thumb stick before you start sprinting. Find a couple of Agents you like and focus on mastering themAs you're learning Valorant, it might be tempting to try and master every Agent on the roster, since they all have unique abilities. However, while you are learning maps, strategies, and aiming, trying to nail down multiple Agents abilities can be easily overwhelming. Instead, focus on a handful of Agents. You will need options since someone else might pick your Agent, or you might need a different role depending on what the rest of your team looks like.There are four Agent roles: Controllers, Duelists, Sentinels, and Initiators. Controllers lock down areas using smokes and other abilities, Duelists excel in one-on-one combat, Sentinels are defense masters, and Initiators are great for starting a push. While there are no restrictions for how many of each role can be on a team, knowing one Agent in each role will let you make a balanced pick regardless of what the rest of your team picks. You have to move slowly and purposely, limit crouchingValorant is a tactical shooter, meaning that running and gunning will not help you here. Instead, you need to focus on moving slowly and purposefully, for a couple of reasons. First, sound is very important in Valorant. Moving fast, reloading, and using weapons all make noise, which can alert the enemy team to your location. Second, if you are moving while shooting, your accuracy will take a dive, resulting in you losing most gunfights. Instead you want to walk around corners, only moving fast whenever necessary. Crouching can be useful, providing some stability to your aiming, but just keep in mind that most headshots kill, and if any enemy rounds the corner with their reticle aimed where your chest should be, it will be pointed at your head instead if you are crouched. Spend some time in deathmatch to master shootingIf you aren't used to the slower pace of Valorant's gunplay, it can take some time to really get a feel for aiming. Unfortunately, it can be pretty hard to do that in Valorant's main, round-based mode, since there aren't respawns during rounds. You may find yourself getting dropped quickly and having to sit around, which can be frustrating. Luckily, Valorant has two casual modes that you can practice aiming without feeling like you're being punished. There are Team Deathmatch and Deathmatch, both of which feature a large variety of weapons and have unlimited respawns during the match, letting you practice without too much consequence. Learn your corners and hotly contested zonesAnother important focus in Valorant is the maps. Not every map is structured the same, some maps have two bomb sites, while others have three. There are maps with teleporters and interesting side pathing. All of this information is important to know and understand since you don't want the other team to be able to get the drop on you. Every match, pay attention to the map and try to see where attackers typically come from, where defenders set up, and where the action typically takes place. You will also want to learn where people can set up on certain corners and hallways, that way you can try not to get caught off guard or turn the wrong way when pushing. Try to learn what every Agent can do, so you're always preparedWhile you probably won't be able to master every Agent on the roster without spending a significant amount of time playing Valorant, you do want to learn what each one can do pretty fast. While most abilities are supplemental to gunplay, it's still important to know what each Agent can do, so you are prepared when you experience those abilities. Each Agent has four abilities, three regular abilities and one ultimate. Ultimate abilities charge over the course of multiple rounds, with kills and collecting orbs around the map charging them faster.The other three abilities can be purchased from the shop, with each Agent's signature ability always having one charge at the start of each round. These abilities can be smoke orbs or walls that block vision, traps that can blind or limit someone's vision, and even a turret that can hold down a sightline. Agent abilities are important supplements, but shooting is the primary focusAgent abilities are an incredibly important part of Valorant and play a key role in the tactics of each round. But when it comes to taking down the enemy, your ability to aim and shoot will always be more important. Even if you disrupt an enemy's ability to see or move, you still need to land your shots faster and more efficiently than your opponent. Other hero shooters like Overwatch have closer to a 50-50 balance between shooting and abilities, but Valorant is probably closer to 70-30, leaning more on shooting. You can shoot through some parts of the environmentCover is key to holding down certain corners, but you need to make sure that whatever you are using is solid cover. There are many parts of the environment, especially crates and walls made of wood, that you (and your opponents) can shoot through. You can use this to your advantage if an enemy posts up behind something that you can shoot through, so take advantage whenever possible. Learn which weapons are worth using and which aren'tThere are 18 guns in Valorant, in addition to your starting knife. These are split up across different categories; 5 sidearms, 2 SMGs, 2 shotguns, 4 rifles, 3 snipers, and 2 heavies. You start each round with your knife and the Classic sidearm, with all other weapons costing a different amount of money each round. Despite the large arsenal, many players gravitate to a limited set of weapons. The Ghost and Sheriff sidearms, Vandal rifle, Spectre SMG, and Marshal sniper are all fan-favorites. While most of the weapons are going to be personal preference, the heavies aren't great picks, due to high cost and low accuracy after the first few shots. Be mindful of the in-game economySimilar to Counter-Strike, at the start of each round you have the opportunity to buy weapons, shields, and abilities. The amount of money you have depends on how well you did in the previous round, plus any leftover money from the previous rounds. Plus, if you don't die during the previous round, you get to keep your loadout. It can be beneficial to spend a low amount one round to save up for better weapons the following round. The economy and your money reset when you switch from offense to defense and vice versa, so when you get the notification that the next round switches sides (round 12 is the last round before the switch in a full-match) go ahead and spend whatever you have. Patience, patience, patienceOne round in Valorant takes less than two minutes to complete, but the short time does not mean it's a fast-paced shooter. Valorant is all about patience, as you are actively punished for trying to move quickly and shoot while moving. If you move fast, you make a ton of noise the enemy can hear. If you fly around a corner, it's gonna be easier for the enemy holding that corner to shoot you than it is for you to shoot them. The way to be the most precise is to stop moving to shoot. All of this means that slow and steady is the way to go, especially on defense. If the round times out without a whole team dying or the Spike being planted, defense wins automatically, so there is no reason to start pushing on defense. It takes time to defuse the SpikeOnce the offense plants the Spike, the round can only end with the Spike either being defused or going off. If you are one defense, you have to defuse the Spike to win once it has been planted, even if you kill all enemy players. There is not a timer shown for the Spike.Instead, progress can be measured by its beeping and how it physically moves. The Spike takes 45 seconds to detonate and it takes 7 seconds to defuse it, with progress saved at the halfway point. This means that you effectively have 38 seconds to reach the Spike and begin defusing, so while you don't want to rush in recklessly, you do need to move with some purpose if you want a shot at defusing the Spike.