VALORANT: a network shooter with big ambitions

As you know, the most popular network shooter almost all the time was and remains Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. Many have tried and are trying to knock it off this throne, but there are very few successful attempts to at least come close and stand next to it. And in the spring of 2020, the company Riot Games, the authors of the extremely popular League of Legends, joined the ranks of applicants - it released a beta version of its new and first for the studio online action game Valorant, which is suspiciously similar to CS: GO. The beta immediately attracted a lot of attention, there was hype and excitement around the project, and after the release at the peak of popularity the number of daily playing users reached 3 million people.

Then the hype subsided a bit, but the game didn't fail and didn't lose active gamers, as many predicted. Quite the opposite, now it is actively developing, large tournaments are held on it, and in general Valorant really competes with Counter-Strike Global Offensive, being one of the most popular games of its genre, and it even leaves behind Counter-Strike in the number of tournaments and matches viewed on Twitch. In our review, we will try to understand what the secret of success is, how the game differs from the main competitor and how newcomers can survive in it.

Valorant offers classic gameplay in such cases, not shy to blatantly copy the basic concepts from CS: GO. It's a team-based online shooter where players are divided into two teams of five people each. One of them attack and try to plant a bomb (it's called Spike here), the other, respectively, defend and try to clear it. Then the teams switch sides. However, to win simply killing all your opponents is enough - although in Valorant it's not really that easy. As a direct competitor, this game is quite demanding on the skill (skill) of the player, his accuracy, reaction, ability to work as a team, as well as knowledge of the map and the character you are fighting for. At the same time the fighters themselves (they are called "agents") in Valorant are more like the characters from Overwatch, rather than the realistic operatives from "kontra" - everyone has his own unique abilities (but about that later).

Matches are divided into rounds and last until one of the teams wins 13. Although there is always the right to vote and surrender early. Between rounds you can go to the store and buy new weapons and armor (heavy or light shield) for the credits earned in the game. There are a lot of guns, they are all divided into classic variations - pistols, machine guns, submachine guns, shotguns, assault and sniper rifles, heavy machine guns. They all differ not only in price, but also in rate of fire, damage to different body parts, recoil, reloading, and so on. There are guns that are more effective at long range or, on the contrary, at close and medium range, there are those that kill with one shot, but they have a slower rate of fire and more recoil.

Many have implemented an alternative mode - as a rule, it increases the accuracy, including the sight, but decreases the rate of fire (for example, the M4A1-S assault rifle, which is analogous to the Phantom of CS:GO). In other cases, the alternative mode with the scope allows you to shoot in bursts instead of single shots.

At the same time the authors have added a very handy feature - if you do not have enough money, you can let the team know that you would like a particular gun. The comrades can basically buy it for you - often, it really helps to win rounds.

Matches are public, regular and ranked (competitive) - the latter are not allowed until you have played a certain number of regular matches to determine the player's qualification. Ranks start with "iron" and all but the maximum are divided into three more levels of awesomeness. The highest are the "immortal" and "rainbow" ranks, which are given to the first top 500 players.

In basic mode, all games last quite a long time - an average of 40 minutes. Therefore, for those who do not have so much time, we introduced the "Quick Spike Installation" mode, where you have to win four rounds to win - the weapons are given to players here at random, so you do not have to wait until the comrade finishes shopping in the store.

There's also the classic "deathmatch" (deathmacth) where you don't have to set or disarm a charge, and all players fight against each other: whoever is the first to score 40 kills (frags), that's the winner. Well, or the one who was leading at the end of the match wins. Interestingly, in this mode the agents are chosen at random, and all the abilities of the heroes are turned off - that is, the bet is on the pure shooting and marksmanship. At the same time from the defeated opponents can fall out of the medkits and armor.

Another mode is Escalation, reminiscent of the gungame from Counter-Strike and Call of Duty: Black Ops. Here 12 weapons are randomly determined, which can be used. With this gun you have to make a certain number of kills, after which the next one is issued - only it will be worse than the previous one. To win one team must complete all 12 levels or dominate their opponents for 10 minutes. In "Escalation" most (but not all) of the agents' abilities are also turned off, and the defeated enemies have their own medkits and auto-rebirth.

In "Replication" (i.e. copying) mode, everyone fights as the agent they voted for, and agents are given the same amount of money to buy weapons. Finally, in Valorant you can actually play snowballs, although they are released from a launcher, can ricochet off walls, fly slowly, but when you hit them they kill you. You can also create "your own game" to practice and have fun with friends (there is also the usual practice at the shooting range), to try out the weapons and abilities of the agents.

Another feature of Valorant is that there are relatively few maps yet (although not much time has passed since the release), which are chosen at random - you can't vote for the one you want to play. But all 7 maps are really interesting and unique. For example, the Japanese-style map Split is vertical, with many different paths, ladders, and ropes, and the defending players are initially at higher levels than the attacking ones.

The Ascent map, on the other hand, is inspired by Venice, although the floating air here hangs in the air. Its peculiarity is that the middle zone, the control of which is important in all locations, divides the map almost exactly in half. The sliding doors and the fact that at the very beginning of the round, you can see your opponents running through the middle zone, which allows snipers to step in.

Map Heaven is already done in oriental style, differs by the variability of tactics, both for attackers and defenders, as well as balance - the ratio of wins and losses in the attack and defense is about 50%. But on the map Blind there are teleporters for quick access to active points, which makes the battles here, as a rule, fast and explosive.

Initially Riot Games released 4 maps, and about a year later appeared the fifth - Iceberg, which already judging by the name takes the action to the snowy tundra, where the scientific complex is located. This is a combination of open areas and narrow corridors, and the main feature is the presence of cables that players climb to the top, right above the heads of opponents. The sharpest shooters can take advantage of this.

Finally, the Fracture and Breeze maps have recently appeared. The first features a certain secret research center, divided in two because of a failed experiment. By all accounts, this location offers interesting opportunities for defenders, who can even take attackers by surprise at their side by going through a bypass tunnel. Breeze is designed as an island located in the southern part of the Bermuda Triangle, features open spaces and is generally sharpened for long-range sniping.

We have mentioned more than once the agents who use their unique abilities. Indeed, this is one of the main differences between Valorant and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, which brings the game closer to Overwatch. About the same says a completely different visual style - instead of harsh realism and division into operatives / terrorists here we have a touch of science fiction and cartoonish, and the players are divided into agents. And all this the authors are trying to explain through the universe of Valorant, which, as in the case of League of Legends, is actively developing - it is not detached from the game, there are different events that may not be noticeable during the dynamic matches, but affect the design of maps, and on the composition of agents.

In short, a mysterious disaster called "Ignition" occurred in the Valorant world, causing unrest and causing some kind of division in the world. To prevent such incidents, a covert operation called "Valorant Protocol" was launched, which revealed that the device that caused the explosion and subsequent "Ignition" was powered by Radinite, a source of clean energy previously thought to be safe. The Valorant agents then proceeded to the Kingdom Omega base in Morocco, where another such device was discovered. There, in an attempt to neutralize it quickly, they encountered dangerous adversaries... themselves.

This explains why the agents on one team here are fighting the same agents from another. But what is this division of the world, what is Kingdom Omega? The authors gradually reveal details in story trailers and stories on the official website. Or they leave clues and hints in some maps like Fracture. All this makes you feel that you're not just involved in a "war", but that you're involved in some big story.

But what about the agents themselves? All of them here are divided into four basic classes and have four abilities - the main one is given out for free in every round, two need to be bought, and the fourth, the most powerful and ultimative, becomes available after charging with skill points, given mainly for killing enemies.

Duelists are the main attacking force, focused on the attacking style and endowed with many relevant skills. For example, the Korean Jett can make sharp jerks, soar through the air, throw smoke grenades, and her ultimatum skill activates a storm of blades that come back to her after killing an enemy. The main attack throws one dagger at the target, the alternate attack throws all remaining daggers at the target. Playing as Jett, you need to combine darting and lifting into the air with the use of a smoke screen - this allows you to quickly pass into the rear of the enemies, giving them a nasty surprise.

Another duelist, Rise from Brazil, uses cluster grenades, launches drones that hurt everyone along the way, and is armed with a rocket launcher that inflicts wide-area damage. At the same time, Rise can use an explosive satchel thrown under her feet to fly upwards and take out the high-altitude agents. There is a real fire mage among duelists - Phoenix - capable of throwing fireballs, setting walls of fire and blinding enemies. And he can twist spheres of fire - this should be used to lure enemies out of the corner. And his ultimatum skill allows him to regenerate with full health in the marked place.

Enforcers (or Initiators) are important support fighters designed to gather information about enemies and distract them, so they are needed in any cohesive team. The most famous instigators are, for example, Agent Owl, who can scan the terrain, mark the location of enemies, and also fire a shock arrow.

His most powerful skill pierces the entire map with energy bolts that not only deal damage but also mark enemies on the map. Agent Breech's abilities trigger seismic, blinding, and even nuclear charges that penetrate walls, which makes him great in small areas of the map - one of the best of all agents at this. His ultimatum ability (which is, of course, also a seismic charge) creates an earthquake wave that stuns and tosses anyone caught in the kill zone.

A relatively recent Australian, Skye, relies on totem animals - she summons wolves, hawks, and snares to her aid, which in ultimatum mode find the nearest enemies and limit their view by themselves.

Specialists are considered one of the most difficult agents to master - you need to know the map and work as a team to play them effectively. But these map control-oriented agents can do a little bit of everything. The most famous are Omen, Brimstone, and Viper. Omen is generally considered one of the most interesting and mysterious characters in the game. He is able to move inconspicuously on the map, hiding his location and blinding his enemies. Also he is able to teleport to any place on the map, and then he is invulnerable for a few seconds.

American Viper's abilities run on a resource unique to her, fuel - they spray gas, spill acid, and even create a poison cloud in ultima mode, inside which enemies both take damage and become illuminated for Viper - in skillful hands this allows her to destroy entire teams. The ex-military Brimstone is able to trap enemies, uses a beacon-stimulator to increase allies' rate of fire (but you have to make sure there are no opponents in its range, otherwise they get this bonus too) and is especially valuable for being able to cause a devastating orbital strike anywhere on the map.

Finally, Guardians focus on support and defense, are able to heal, and also limit the advance of enemies to team positions. For example, Sage the Guardian is a Chinese girl, a medic by profession: she not only heals herself and allies, but is also able to resurrect fallen comrades. In addition, Sage is the one who can set up a wall that seals the desired passage for quite a long time - she is especially valuable for this. Her slowing sphere is most effective when combined with Viper's poison cloud.

But Cypher's hacker relies on traps and stretchers that immobilize and stun enemies, and ultimatums the location information of their comrades from fallen foes. And he can also set up a spy camera and then view video from it and fire tracking darts at his opponents.

It should be noted that, unlike Overwatch, in Valorant the ability of agents is not a panacea for all the troubles - here there is a balance between the player's ability to shoot accurately and the skills of agents, which in addition, as you may have already noticed, are turned off in many modes.

Naturally, initially there are only a few basic agents available to you, but the rest need to be unlocked. To do this you have to choose the desired hero and take a contract for him, and then pump by earning experience in matches, completing daily tasks (like "buy 35 shields" or "play 10 duels"). Experience, traditionally in such cases, is accumulated as part of combat passes. It is clear that you can immediately speed up the pumping process by paying your hard-earned rubles and buying a premium combat pass with better rewards. But investing money will not give any direct advantage in battles - they allow you to open agents faster and buy all sorts of cosmetic items, guises and "skins" for weapons.

Naturally, Riot Games does not miss the opportunity to make money on this - the prices of "skins" can be very steep. But in response, the authors are doing a lot to make playing Valorant was comfortable. Here, for example, a very comfortable and detailed adjustment of the sight is implemented, it is possible directly in the game on the map to put a mark, there are graphics and statistics on the game. More here is a very cool anticheat. Cheaters - this is the trouble with all competitive online action games. So in Valorant with this in comparison with other games all much better and safer. Recently the developers have reported that the number of complaints about cheaters fell to its lowest values since the launch. At the same time they started working on "banning" not only those who use their accounts to pimp other users for money, but also the clients of such cheaters.

All this, combined with the high "tikret" on the servers (the higher it is, the better the conditions for accurate shooting) and low system requirements (with a rather nice picture) creates excellent conditions for the development of Valorant as a cyber sports discipline. The game features large tournaments and its own VALORANT Champions Tour, divided into stages - the final 16 teams from around the world converge. The success of the game in eSports is evidenced by the fact that many famous professionals, who have achieved great success in GS: GO and Overwatch, came here.

On the other hand, this means that this shooter has a rather high threshold of entry - that is, you can easily and immediately start playing, everything is convenient here, attractive picture, low requirements, lots of conveniences, accessible rules for everyone. But it's harder to survive and start winning - that is a classic situation from the category of "easy in training - hard in battle. What about newcomers? Well, firstly, don't get upset that you'll often get killed at first - it's a normal situation, you learn, watch and get used to it.

Secondly, you need to understand that this is a team game, where it is important to coordinate your actions with partners - for example, do not forget to ask to buy weapons, if you do not have enough credits, use voice chat (thankfully, Russian voice chat became available at last), cover for each other, put the marks on the map. In general, it is better to accustom yourself to use the mini-map - to follow it to monitor the movement of enemies and allies.

There are more specific tips and tricks. When you are using the knife, your movement speed increases - use this if you want to find the shelter faster. But when you use the Shift key on your keyboard, on the contrary, your agent will hide and will move slowly, so he can shoot more precisely and the enemy will not hear you approaching. By the way, if you actively move while shooting, the bullet dispersion increases significantly, so it is better to stop to shoot accurately.

Experienced players also advise not to neglect the purchase of shields in the store - especially in the first rounds and immediately after the change of sides. And remember that if you survived the round, the next round the equipment will remain with you. Always pick up cooler guns, dropped out of the enemies - they will also remain with you in the next round. Finally, pay attention to the spheres scattered here and there. They'll allow you to charge an ultimatum skill, even if you don't manage to kill your enemies often.

Valorant is a surprising combination of, on the one hand, a comfortable modern and cute online action, accessible to everyone, and on the other hand, a serious cyber sport discipline, which imposes rather high requirements to your skills. At the same time, the authors of League of Legends develop and support the game very competently, guaranteeing a certain "mark of quality" - that is why the game has not failed in spite of the expectations of "grief-experts", but on the contrary, it feels great. So if you dream about a career as a cyber-sportsman or just want to enjoy dynamic team fights, you should definitely try Valorant.