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The Valorant News section
Your one stop shop for everything Valorant
Valorant is Riot’s up and coming FPS supertitle set at competing with both Overwatch and CS:GO. The game is set to launch in the Summer Season this year.
The upcoming game already made waves in the esports ecosystem and is likely going to be a strong contender for Game of the Year in 2020.
Our goal is to provide the best coverage of all the news and upcoming activities in Valorant. From updates and changes to analysis and predictions. We are committed to covering every tidbit of information out there about the Valorant Game itself, and Valorant esports.
You can personally contribute to our Valorant news section by getting in touch with us and follow our tips to become an esports journalist.
Gameplay
Valorant is a team-based first-person shooter. Players chose from a selection of characters called Agents and engage in bomb defusal scenario matches. On top of being a typical shooterama, Valorant Agents have unique abilities that enable them to navigate the map and control choke points for competitive advantage. The game has the usual assortment of weapons for player to chose from ranging from pistols to heavy machine guns.
The standard bomb defusal match is based on 25 round matches (or first to 13), similar to how old competitive Counter-Strike 1.6 was. In terms of gameplay the Valorant game reminds eerily of both old and new Counter Strike in terms of recoil patterns, map design and play style. It also does relate heavily to Overwatch in the ability set-up and the way abilities are utilized in a match.
Most of the current gameplay revolves around ranked play. Valorant Ranks have been added recently, and more then 80% of the players are competing in a ranked play.
Maps
The current Valorant beta only features three maps. All of them are bomb (Spike) defusal scenarios and stylistically follow the same design mentality. Players fight over entry points by peeking around corners, hiding behind boxes and utilizing the map layout to best their opponents.
Bind is set up to be what Dust is for Counter-Strike. It is aimed as the default map everybody knows and loves. It features a double bomb site and middle-eastern setting style design. The attacker side comes from the towns outskirts into one of two bombsites while the defenders try to stop em. What is special about Bind is the placement of two teleporters on the map. Once entering a teleporter you instantly get beamed over to the other part of the map. This makes bind a heavy rotational map where players need to set up their defenses accurately and respond to in-game events quickly.
Haven is the most radical of the three maps in Valorant. Instead of the usual two bomb sites players are used to, Haven has three. This usually means most defensive scenarios or opening duels happen in a 1v1 or 1vTeam situations. While rotational pathways are short between the three sites it still a taxing endeavor to keep an eye on all entry points at once. While there is the opportunity to push many areas on the map as an attacker, the map is set up to favor defenders positionally. Most defender areas are from elevated positions or between bomb sites featuring large amounts of clutter and boxes they can peek from. In our opinion, Haven is the best designed map out of the three currently available.
Split is the most straightforward out of the three maps currently available in Valorant. It features two bomb sites and a total of three entry points between them at Site A, Site B and Middle. Design wise its the most unbalanced map in regards to defender > attacker advantage. Defenders can easily control the three entry points with enough utility to hold out an assault. Rotations between defender sites are short and safe to execute. From the attacker perspective the map revolves heavily around controlling the middle area of the map in order to cut rotations and navigate forward easily.
Competitive Scene
The Valorant esports scene is currently under development. Riot Games has quickly pledged they would like Valorant esports to grow organically. They did however get in touch with esports organizations early to have them prepare for the competitive ecosystem ahead of time. Esports athletes from all titles have already committed to going pro in Valorant. Overwatch pros switching to Valorant specifically has become a trend. Currently, most competition revolves around invitational and show match events. Esports betting is likely to follow as soon as established teams start playing.
Our Experience
We played Valorant Beta for over a month, and are still playing competitively on the Ranked Ladder. Learning the game is fun, and playing it brings a lot of nostalgia feelings about the olden Counter Strike days. We encountered zero cheaters so far. Probably because Riot Vanguard is doing its job.
Based on our assessment, Valorant will likely become a premier esports title within this year or definitely next year. If you are a fan of FPS titles, specifically CS:GO or Overwatch you should definitely give Valorant a try. Valorant betting is likely going to become a thing as soon as competition starts rolling out. Our prediction is this autumn.
