How to Get Better at Valorant: Beginner’s Guide

Kellan Jansen

Published: Jul 8, 2020 07:52 pm

This article is over 4 years old and may contain outdated information

Valorant is one of the hottest FPS releases in years. Created by Riot, it promises to become one of the genre’s top esports in no time. There will always be a learning curve to consider when picking up a new game. However, Valorant can be especially challenging for players to learn given its complexity, demand for aiming precision, and reliance on tactics.

Study Agents and Maps

You won’t make it very far up the ranks of competitive without having a strong understanding of the game’s playable characters (agents) and maps. Valorant agents are split into four classes:

Duelists (attackers)
Initiators (intel gatherers)
Sentinels (defenders)
Controllers (support)

You should spend time playing characters in all of these classes, so you can develop an intuitive understanding of when enemy players will want to use certain abilities. This will enable you to react quicker in the heat of battle.

Map knowledge is important for a similar reason. It’s very important to know where enemies like to position themselves across each battleground. You’ll know which sightlines you should be focusing on, and which ones don’t require as much attention. This knowledge of agents and maps is often called “game sens”. Improving your game sens is an excellent way to get better at Valorant.

Train Your Aim

After you’ve developed your game sens, it’s time to begin working on your aim. One of Valorant’s major selling points is its highly accurate gunplay. Players need to be extremely precise with their shots in order to earn kills. The best way to get better at this is to practice.

However, practicing in-game may not be the right option. Often, players are able to get more out of their aim training by using a separate game that’s dedicated to helping gamers improve their skills.

One of the best options here is KovaaK, an aim-training game that’s available on Steam. It features dozens of levels dedicated exclusively to helping players get better at Valorant through dedicated aim training. It could be just what you need to take your game to the next level.

Learn From the Pros

One of the most effective ways to get better at something is to study what those who are the best at it do. Gamers are lucky. They can do this incredibly easy by checking out professional gameplay on live streaming platforms like Twitch. Spending a few hours studying the movement, aim style, and communications of someone like Shroud can teach you a lot.

If you pay careful attention, you’ll be able to identify what the professional is doing to differentiate themselves from the competition. Once you make that discovery, you can begin implementing the same strategies in your gameplay.

Keep Playing

At the end of the day, there’s simply no substitute for playing the game. Valorant is tough to learn. It demands dedicated effort from those who wish to reach the highest ranks of competitive. If you’ve been unsure about how to get better at Valorant, then following the tips listed above is the perfect place to start. Good luck!