At the start of each round, there's a buying phase during which players can spend credits earned in previous rounds to purchase weapons, armor and some special abilities. In order to earn credits, a player needs to earn kills during the ro

Currently, VALORANT has unveiled three different maps, each of them presenting their own unique gameplay features and challenges. Haven is a shrine themed map which was first seen in gameplay footage. Bind is the second map, which has teleportation portals allowing for some interesting fla

The ultimate ability of a hero is charged with kills. The more kills an agent has, the quicker they charge their ultimate. Some abilities also have shorter cooldowns, making them spammier, while other abilities can only be used once a ro

This ability can pass through walls just like Dark Cover, meaning you can activate from perfect safety and come around the corner assured that your enemy is going to have a tough time seeing much of anything, making it the perfect opportunity to erase them from the ro

One of the best features so far in the game is its training grounds, which allows players to practice in a multitude of different ways. Players can load up bots with different difficulty levels to practice aiming, as well as use targets to measure weapon spread at different distan

The way VALORANT works is quite simple. Two teams of five players will face off against each other in a match of best to 24. Essentially, the first team to reach 13 wins will be victorious. Each round, one team defends while the other atta

Even with the game's similarities to CS:GO , Riot designed VALORANT to be a unique experience. Although it's possible an established pro from another game will come and prove themselves the best, it's more likely that some fresh young talent will emerge and find his calling in VALOR

T1, with the help Nerd Street Gamers, hosted VALORANT 's largest event to date on Monday, which showcased legendary names such as Jay "sinatraa" Won, Michael "Shroud" Grzesiek, Spencer "Hiko" Martin and more facing off against a multitude of professional gamers, including many who have already declared their intention of playing VALORANT professiona

Run it Back is a rather limited ultimate, however, that does not speak for its insane utility. Run it Back allows Phoenix players unmatched aggression and recon. Phoenix can potentially rush an enemy team without fear of dying. It also allows players to scout where the enemy team is allowing for some powerful recon application. Run it Back is a simple ultimate but that does not impact its insanely powerful implications throughout a ma

The T1 Invitational was VALORANT 's most competitive tournament yet. For the first time, fans got watch fully formed teams battling against each other in a double-elimination format. Gen.G, the event's champions, proved themselves as one of the top VALORANT teams in the world on Monday. Originally a CS:GO squad called French Canadians, the team was acquired by Gen.G shortly after switching to VALORANT. In their first tournament playing under the Gen.G brand, the young team showed up big. Led by their captain, Season 17 Update Keven "PLAYER1 Champagne, they beat every team they faced off against, dropping a map only to Team Brax in the finals. Anthony "gMd" Guimond showcased his skills on information specialist Sova while Danny "Huynh" Huynh had sniper duties on S

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

Phoenix's ultimate is one of the most interesting in the game. As it provides the fire-casting character some of the best survivability in the game. Run it Back allows Phoenix to create a clone of himself which is set to a set timer. When this clone is cast Phoenix can travel from his "real" body and attack enemies, see their location, cast his abilities, or do anything he can in his set period. When the time is up he will travel back to where his "real" body is. If the Phoenix clone is defeated before the time is up than the clone will disappear and the Phoenix player will resume from his original location. This ability is one of the best abilities in the game and allows Phoenix players an unprecedented versatil

However, her ultimate packs the biggest punch. When her ultimate is ready, Raze fires a rocket launcher that causes a massive explosion wherever the rocket lands that deals devastating damage to those within the blast radius. This can be compared to Brimstone's airstrike, but there is far less warning for Raze's incoming roc

Defense is half of the name of the game, and agents who can deal massive amounts of damage with abilities can help push players off point and hold them at bay. While there are plenty of agents that can deal damage (Raze, Brimstone, Breach) the newest addition to the game has proven to be the best damage dealer, and that new agent is R