Valorant is a daunting game for any new player and even for more experienced players from the CS:GO scene. With agents who each have their own special abilities, the game gives a unique twist to team-based first-person tactical shooters. It takes more than just gun skill to rise in the ranks and these top 10 tips will help you advance your skills to the next level.
1. Don’t move and shoot
Seems simple enough. Of course, you don’t want to be a sitting duck, but shooting while moving will ultimately result in you dying. Your accuracy goes out the door, giving the opposing team an easy kill. Instead, try to stop for a second, shoot, go back to cover, and reset. There are few situations where run and gun may be a good choice but it’s a bad habit to form. For instance, the Spectre is a good run and gun weapon and eco rounds when the opposing team has rifles. All in all, practice stopping and then shooting when engaging an enemy. Deathmatch is a great warmup for this exercise.
2. Firing Range/Aim Training
Heading to the firing range or doing some type of aim training is a must for players who want that competitive edge. This builds good habits and muscle memory. Consistency is the key here. You would rather focus on aim training once a day, every day for 1 hour rather than 3 hours twice a week (1 hour * 7 days = 7 hours –> 3 hours * 2 days = 6 hours). These are just examples, but shorter duration over longer periods of time builds better muscle memory. There are plenty of great aim trainers like Aim Labs, Kovaak 2.0, and much more with fun scenarios and playlists customized for whatever game you like.
3. Memorize Spray Patterns
If you do get yourself in a situation where you need to spray down the enemy, memorize the spray pattern for different guns so you have a little more knowledge on where the bullets will be going. Most new players in Valorant will aim at the body or head and start spraying. Next, their gun will point to the sky trying to shoot the birds. With just little practice and time you can just head over to the firing range and start shooting the wall from different distances and different guns. Once you get the spray pattern down, then it makes it a little easier if you get into a close-quarters fight and miss the initial headshot.
4. Shoulder (Jiggle) Peeking
This one is a must. Shoulder peeking (or Jiggle peeking) is great to draw out enemy shots and give up their locations. Not only that, but it also makes you a lot harder to hit. Instead of wide-swinging the corner and taking a hard gunfight, you can quickly shoulder peek and back off to wait for teammates. Now, doing this too much can backfire so don’t constantly shoulder peek the same spot or you will probably die. Try to incorporate this into your gameplay and you will surely see an increase in your performance.
5. Counter-strafing
TenZ has a nice short explanation of this one. Basically, if you ever see someone wide swing and they headshot you while immediately strafing back to where they came from, that’s counter-strafing. You can also counter-strafe going the same direction. Learning this is a huge boost to your gun skill and will help you climb the ranks and outgun enemy teams.
6. Map Awareness
Map awareness in Valorant is huge and this going hand in hand with communication. Your teammate makes a callout that they are B Long then you should know immediately where that is. If not, Google images of the maps with callout locations and learn them. As I said, you need to communicate with your team as well because you will also be making callouts. It’s a super simple thing you can learn and take very little time to help with your game sense.
7. Be Unpredictable
Your 5 rounds in and you’re 0-5. What’s up? Well if you’re playing the same angle on defense or running the same 2 plays on offense then that’s the problem. On defense, hold a different angle every time the enemy has seen your location or throw your traps/grenades in different spots. On offense try to run different plays if one seems to keep failing. Does your duelist keep dying first? Play slow for a few rounds and try to get first blood. Throw fake smokes/arrows onto a site. Do things that make the other team questions which site you’re going to. Keeping an enemy guessing will give you the edge if executed correctly and the team works together.
8. Play for Retake
You have 2 agents on A, the enemy team rushes in and both of you die without a kill. Now it’s a 3v5 situation and bomb is planted. You don’t need to swing to try and get a pick and then die to make it a 4v4. Most times it is just best to back off the site and play for retake. Now it’s a 5v5 situation and 45 seconds (time for bomb to detonate) to make a play. This gives your team more breathing room and more abilities to retake site, flank, and win the round. It’s not always the best to constantly give up site but if you just die every round then either play for retake or switch sites with someone.
9. Crosshair Placement
In Valorant, there are too many players who walk around with their crosshair NOT at head height. They will usually have the crosshair pointed down more. Now when an enemy peeks you, you then have to raise your crosshair way more than needed to shoot. Timing is everything in this game and the enemy’s reaction time will beat yours more times than not. Learn this and you will advance higher in the ranks in no time.
10. Don’t be Toxic
Studies show that when even one teammate in Valorant is being toxic performance will drastically decrease. Yes, communication is big in Valorant and essential to winning but if someone is being toxic to you then a simple mute will solve your problem. Communicate with the rest of your team and go on to win that game despite your toxic teammate.
Good Luck!
These top 10 tips will surely take you to the next level by increasing your skills and ability to adapt to the enemy team’s playstyle. If you’re still struggling then there may be more to why you’re stuck in Elo Hell. There are a lot of factors that could lead to this and you can read more on that by clicking here. As always, keep practicing and putting in the time and you will surely surpass all your friends!