Valorant

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Valorant

Developer(s) Riot Games

Publisher(s) Riot Games

 David Nottingham
Director(s)
 Andy Ho

 Joe Ziegler (former)[1]

Producer(s)  Anna Donlon

 John Goscicki

Designer(s)  Trevor Romleski

Programmer(s)  Paul Chamberlain

 Dave Heironymus

 David Straily

Artist(s) Moby Francke

Composer(s) Jesse Harlin[2][better  source  needed]

Engine Unreal Engine 4

Platform(s) Windows

Release June 2, 2020

Genre(s)  Hero shooter

 Tactical shooter

Mode(s) Multiplayer

Valorant is a free-to-play first-person tactical hero shooter developed and published

Gameplay
Valorant is a team-based first-person tactical hero shooter set in the near future.[4][5][6]
[7]
 Players play as one of a set of Agents, characters based on several countries and
cultures around the world.[7] In the main game mode, players are assigned to either
the attacking or defending team with each team having five players on it. Agents
have unique abilities, each requiring charges, as well as a unique ultimate ability that
requires charging through kills, deaths, orbs, or objectives. Every player starts each
round with a "classic" pistol and one or more "signature ability" charges. [5] Other
weapons and ability charges can be purchased using an in-game economic system
that awards money based on the outcome of the previous round, any kills the player
is responsible for, and any objectives completed. The game has an assortment of
weapons including secondary guns like sidearms and primary guns like submachine
guns, shotguns, machine guns, assault rifles and sniper rifles.[8][9] There
are automatic and semi-automatic weapons that each have a unique shooting
pattern that has to be controlled by the player to be able to shoot accurately. [9] It
currently offers 22 agents to choose from.[3][10] They are Brimstone, Viper, Omen,
Cypher, Sova, Sage, Phoenix, Jett, Raze, Breach, Reyna, Killjoy, Skye, Yoru, Astra,
KAY/O, Chamber, Neon, Fade, Harbor, Gekko, and Deadlock. [11] The player will get 5
unlocked agents when they create their account, (Brimstone, Sova, Sage, Phoenix
and Jett) and will have to unlock the rest of the agents by collecting an in-game
currency called Kingdom Credits. Kingdom Credits can be acquired by playing
games or completing daily/weekly task. Each remaining agent can be bought with
Kingdom Credits. Kingdom credits can also be used to buy cosmetic items from each
agents contracts.
Unrated
In the standard non-ranked mode, the match is played as best of 25 - the first team
to win 13 rounds wins the match. The attacking team has a bomb-type device called
the Spike. They must deliver and activate the Spike on one of the multiple specified
locations (bomb sites). If the attacking team successfully protects the activated Spike
for 45 seconds it detonates, destroying everything in a specific area, and they
receive a point.[5] If the defending team can deactivate the spike, or the 100-second
round timer expires without the attacking team activating the spike, the defending
team receives a point.[12] If all the members of a team are eliminated before the spike
is activated, or if all members of the defending team are eliminated after the spike is
activated, the opposing team earns a point.[5] If both teams win 12 rounds, sudden
death occurs, in which the winning team of that round wins the match, differing from
overtime for competitive matches. Additionally, if after 4 rounds, a team wishes to
forfeit that match, they may request a vote to surrender. If the vote reaches 4 (in
contrast to 5 for competitive), the winning team gets all the victory credit for every
round needed to bring them to 13, with the forfeiting team receiving losing credit. [13] A
team gets only three chances to surrender: once in the first half, once in the pistol
round of the second half, and once more in the second half.
Spike Rush
In the Spike Rush mode, the match is played as best of 7 rounds - the first team to
win 4 rounds wins the match. Players begin the round with all abilities fully charged
except their ultimate, which charges twice as fast as in standard games. All players
on the attacking team carry a spike, but only one spike may be activated per round.
Guns are randomized in every round and every player begins with the same gun.
Ultimate point orbs in the standard game are present, as well as multiple different
power-up orbs.[14]
Swiftplay
Swiftplay matches are simply a shortened version of the Unrated game mode. 10
players are split into 2 teams, attackers and defenders. Attackers must plant the
spike while the Defenders must stop them. What differs Swiftplay to Unrated is that it
is best to 9 rounds - the first team to win 5 rounds wins the match. On round 4, the
team's players switch, as they would do in round 7 in the Unrated game mode. The
game's currency system has no changes from Unrated. Swiftplay is meant as a quick
game mode, averaging around 15 minutes per game, as opposed to around 40
minutes for Unrated.[15]
Competitive
Competitive matches are the same as unranked matches with the addition of a win-
based ranking system that assigns a rank to each player after 5 games are played.
Players are required to reach level 20 before playing this mode. [16][better  source  needed] In July
2020, Riot introduced a "win by two" condition for competitive matches, where
instead of playing a single sudden death round at 12-12, teams will alternate playing
rounds on attack and defense in overtime until a team claims victory by securing a
two-match lead. Each overtime round gives players the same amount of money to
purchase guns and abilities, as well as approximately half of their ultimate ability
charge. After each group of two rounds, players may vote to end the game in a draw,
requiring 6 players after the first set, 3 after the second, and thereafter only 1 player
to agree to a draw. The competitive ranking system ranges from Iron to Radiant.
Every rank except for Radiant has 3 tiers.[17][better  source  needed] Radiant is reserved for the top
500 players of a region, and both Immortal and Radiant have a number associated to
their rank allowing players to have a metric in which they can compare how they rank
up to others at their level.[18]
Premier
Premier is a 5v5 gamemode that allows players a path-to-pro competitive game
mode that is aimed towards players that wish to be a professional player. Premier is
currently in alpha testing in Brazil. Players will need to create a team of five to
compete against other teams in divisions. Each season will last a few weeks and the
top teams will be invited to compete in the Division Championship. This gamemode
will include a pick-and-ban system for maps unlike all the other gamemodes where
the players have to play the map selected by the system. [19]
Deathmatch
The Deathmatch mode was introduced on August 5, 2020. [20][better  source  needed] 14 players
enter a 9-minute free-for-all match and the first person to reach 40 kills or the player
who has the most kills when time is up wins the match. Players spawn in with a
random agent as well as full shields, and all abilities are disabled during the match
which indulges pure gunplay. Green health packs drop on every kill, which reset the
player to maximum health, armor, and give an additional 30 bullets to each of their
guns.[21]
Team Deathmatch
The Team Deathmatch gamemode was announced on June 15, 2023, and went live
on June 27 with patch 7.0. This gamemode combines and borrows elements from
the standard unrated mode as well as the regular deathmatch mode. It is a free-for-
all gamemode where players are split into two teams with five players each. Each
match lasts for 9 minutes and 30 seconds, and the first team that reaches 100 kills
win. If neither team has reached 100 kills at the end of the 9.5 minutes, then the
team with the most kills wins. Each match is split into four stages, with the weapon
selection becoming progressively more powerful as players advance through the
stages. Players are respawned in a spawn room after being killed. where they will be
able to select and adjust their weapons loadout if needed. Unlike the regular
deathmatch mode, players need to select their agents before the match begins, as
agent abilities are allowed in this gamemode. Players can charge their agents'
ultimate abilities either by acquiring Ultimate Orbs spawned randomly throughout the
map, or by getting kills. Their ultimate abilities will be available for use after their ult
percentages reach 100%. Unlike all other gamemodes, this mode is not played on
the standard maps, but rather on its own set of three maps that are specifically
designed for team deathmatch: Piazza, District, and Kasbah. [22]
Escalation
The Escalation gamemode was introduced on February 17, 2021 [23][better  source  needed] and is
similar to the "gungame" concept found in Counter-Strike and Call of Duty: Black
Ops, though it is team-based rather than free-for-all with 5 players on each team.
The game will pick a random selection of 12 weapons to move through. As with other
gungame versions, a team needs to get a certain number of kills to advance to the
next weapon and the weapons get progressively worse as the team moves through
them.[24] There are two winning conditions, if one team successfully goes through all
12 levels, or if one team is on a higher level than the opposing team within 10
minutes. Just like Deathmatch, players spawn in as a random agent, unable to use
abilities, as the gamemode is set for pure gun fights. Though, abilities like Sova's
shock darts, Raze's boom bot, and rocket launcher, are abilities that everyone gets
to use as a weapon. After a kill, green health packs drop, which replenishes the
player's health, armor, and ammo to its maximum. The gamemode also has auto
respawns on, respawning players in random locations around the map. [25][better  source  needed]
Replication
The Replication gamemode went live on May 11, 2021. [26][better  source  needed] During the agent
select, players vote on which agent they would want to play as. At the end of the
time, or after everyone has voted, the game randomly selects one of the player's
votes. The entire team will then play as that agent, even if one of the players has not
unlocked that agent. It is a best of nine, with the players switching sides after the
fourth round. Players can buy guns and shields with a pre-set number of credits.
Abilities are pre-bought. Weapons and shields are reset every round. [27][better  source  needed]
Snowball Fight
Snowball Fight is a limited-time gamemode that was released on December 15,
2020, and is only available during Christmas season. [28] It is a Team Deathmatch
game mode, with 50 kills to win. Abilities are not allowed to be used, and players
spawn in as a random agent. The only weapon available is the snowball launcher,
which is an instant kill, but slow, and uses a projectile-based arc. There is infinite
ammo. Throughout the game a "portal" will spawn, delivering gifts, which each
contain a random power up.[29][better  source  needed]

Agents
There are a large variety of playable agents available in the game. Agents are
divided into 4 roles: Duelists, Sentinels, Initiators, and Controllers. Each agent has a
different role which indicates how the agent is usually played.
Duelists specialize in attacking and entering a bomb site for the team. Riot's official
definition for duelists is "self-sufficient fraggers." [30] Duelists mainly create space for
their team while entering onto a site, giving their teammates information, and making
entering a site easier. Their abilities tend to consist of flashes which blind enemies,
and movement-based abilities that allow for them to cover large distances faster than
other agents. This type of ability kit allows for duelists to shine best when they are
able to catch players off guard and get impact frags. On attack, duelists are most
often expected to play forward, leading the attack. They are expected to be in front of
everyone to get opening picks on enemies since their abilities often give them a
competitive advantage when gunfighting an enemy. On defense, duelists will be
holding choke points where enemies try to enter sites. Due to the mobility in their
kits, they are able to get a pick and reposition, giving their team a numbers
advantage.[31][better  source  needed] The Duelists are Jett, Neon, Phoenix, Raze, Reyna, and
Yoru.
Sentinels are the defensive line, which specializes in locking down sites and
protecting teammates from enemies. Their abilities mainly consist of static 'objects'
that are obstacles to the enemies. These objects can give the team valuable
information and/or deal damage. On attack, sentinels can use their abilities to cut off
certain parts of the map or set up 'objects' that can ensure the enemy cannot flank
without being noticed. On defense, sentinels can use their abilities to slow enemies
from entering a site. This provides valuable time for the sentinels' team members to
come and provide defensive support.[31][better  source  needed] The sentinels are Chamber,
Cypher, Killjoy, Sage, and Deadlock.[11]
Initiators plan out the offensive pushes. Initiators specialize in breaking through
defensive enemy positions. Initiators' abilities can consist of flashes but also abilities
that can reveal the location of enemies. This information allows for attackers to know
where enemies are and make taking a site easier. On defense, initiators can use
their abilities to provide information on where the attackers are going, as well as
helping their teammates retake a lost site. [31][better  source  needed] The initiators are Breach,
Fade, Gekko, KAY/O, Skye, and Sova.
Controllers specialize in "slicing up dangerous territory to set their team up for
success."[30] They use their abilities to create coverage or clear out areas of space
with crowd control. To help their team enter into enemy territory, their abilities consist
of some kind of smoke, as well as molotovs, stuns, or flashes. With their smokes,
controllers can control sightlines on the map, making it safer to move through the
map without getting seen. On offense, controllers can smoke off certain sightlines
and use their crowd control on common defensive spots to force enemies into the
open. On defense, controllers can smoke and/or use crowd control on entryways to
delay or discourage the enemy team from moving forward. [31][better  source  needed] The
controllers are Astra, Brimstone, Harbor, Omen, and Viper.

Store
The store is composed of three sections: Featured, Offers, and Night Market. In all
three sections, players can buy weapon skins using Valorant Points that change the
appearance of their weapon in-game. Valorant Points (VP) is an in-game currency
that can only be purchased with real currency within the game client. [32][better  source  needed]
The featured section of the store changes every two weeks. Most of the time, the
featured section will have new skin releases (called "bundles") from Riot, giving
players a limited opportunity to buy them without having to wait for them to appear in
the offers section.[32]
The offers section of the store gives players the ability to buy four randomly chosen
unowned skins and the four skins change every 24 hours.
Night Market is a periodic store that drops at random times in each Act of the game.
The Night Market includes 6 random weapon skins at randomly discounted prices
which is unique to every player. Players only receive one set of offers and the offer
will last until the Night Market ends.