Valorant: 5 Reasons We’re Excited (& 5 We’re Worried)

To find the most success with Phoenix understanding how to use his abilities effectively is a necessity. Thankfully,...

To find the most success with Phoenix understanding how to use his abilities effectively is a necessity. Thankfully, Phoenix’s kit allows for players of the character to combine his abilities to create a variety of synergies. Alongside the character’s potential for some powerful team-related combination, Phoenix players are spoiled for choice when it comes to optimal p

The bane of any competitive FPS title is balance. If maps feel biased towards one side or if weapons feel too strong, it can reveal a meta that is unpleasant to partake in while the developers spend months changing

Finally, Cypher’s ultimate, Neural Theft is a rather complicated but interesting move. When Cypher approaches an enemy team’s corpse, he can utilize Neural Theft on the corpse. When the ultimate is activated it grants Cypher the ability to locate all of the Enemy team’s silhouettes for a short second. This ultimate provides similar utility as the Marking Dart but on a larger scale, granting a Cypher ability the ability to scout and call out the enemy team. However, this move can be difficult to pull off, as it requires Cypher or his teammates have defeated an enemy player, but when the condition is met, this is one of the strongest ultimate in the g

Curveball operates in the same manner as the other flashbang style moves in the game. Its utility revolves around a player’s ability to communicate with their teammates. Tossing a curveball means that your teammates need to be right behind you as you rush to finish off the blinded enemies. However, curveball has some tricky utility with both Hot Hands and Blaze as you can toss either a fireball or a flame wall to dish out some huge damage on the enemy team. Using Curveball is a perfect way to set up some powerful combos with either your or your teammate’s abilities, leading to some potential major team wi

Phoenix – A zone control character who manipulates flame. He can throw fireballs that explode in an area or create a wall of damaging flames. His signature move is a curving flash grenade, and his ultimate lets him mark his location and teleport back there on de

Closed beta footage has shown many reasons to get excited about Riot’s next major title. It seems fans of Counter-Strike , Overwatch , or even 2008’s Shadowrun have a new title to sink their teeth into. At the same time, the closed beta has shown a few flaws ranging from key drops to game issues. Here are 5 reasons we are excited for Valorant and 5 why we’re worr

Valorant’ s tick-rate is an impressive 128hz, which is double CS:GO and Overwatch , and way more than Apex Legends (20HZ), Fortnite (3ohz), or Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (12). Many players, especially professional gamers, appreciate the smooth and responsive feel of a high tick rate, and a 128hz will allow for games to feel fair and lacking in the « how did that guy just hit me when I’m behind the wall » type mome

Objective-based modes are a smash hit in any competitive FPS title, but most revolve around planting or defusing a bomb. It’s a common trend for good reason, but Valorant has the potential to stand above the r

Games like Rainbow Six: Siege have shown the industry that gun skill can matter as much as strategic planning. Valorant seems to focus on both and, from closed beta footage so far, has nailed the impact of both. Learning every Agent and Weapon Skins philosophy the spray patterns of every gun will be a long journey that Counter-Strike players can relate to. The reward is massive, as you get immediate feedback at how much better you’re becoming by placing more headshots or landing skills in more intense scenar

The second game that comes to mind, when comparing Valorant to any other video game, is Overwatch . Riot Games’ brand new shooter doesn’t share Overwatch ‘s gameplay mechanics or gunplay, as it does with Counter-strike: Global Offensive, but the Valorant and Overwatch have some things in comm

Omen’s ability to through his Dark Cover through walls and cover allows Omen to cover choke-points from insanely far away. However, similar to Shadow Step, using Dark Cover in combination with his Ultimate, from the Shadow provides the character an insane amount of map control. Be sure to master this ability in order to control space and perform some powerful flanking maneuv

Cypher’s Spy Cam and Neural Theft primarily operate as powerful recon abilities. When used correctly, a Cypher player should have eyes on the enemy team at nearly all times. Be sure to abuse the oppressive capabilities of the Spy Cam’s Marking Dart as often as possible. A sole enemy death can lead to an incredible momentum shift when playing Cypher, as it can reveal the location of the entire enemy team, leading to a potentially devastating counter-attack or ambush. Use these abilities wisely and matches will end as quickly as they be

For Cypher to operate at his fullest capability, the player controlling the mysterious character needs to have a strong game-sense and map understanding. Cypher is at his most powerful when he is placing his traps, camera, and Cyber Cage in key choke points or in troublesome and sneaky positi