What is Valorant? An Introduction to Riot's Hero Tactical FPS

(This article has been updated as of 17th October 2023)

League of Legends development studio Riot Games worked hard on their online hero tactical-FPS called Valorant. Valorant is Riot’s first attempt at a shooter game. In addition to borrowing gameplay elements from similar games, it creates an original experience. In this article, we will answer the question, “what is Valorant?”

What is Valorant?

League of Legends' original announcement as Project A was made in October 2019, and it was announced in September 2019 that Valorant was the next project coming from Riot Games. A somewhat post-modern game combines elements of Overwatch, Counter-Strike, League of Legends, and Overwatch.

How do the matches work?

It’s a 5v5 Hero tactical-FPS game where one team attacks another team which must defend itself. Search and Destroy, the main game mode, is very similar to Counter-Strike Global-Offensive. The attackers' job is to plant a bomb (a spike) and see if it blows up the opposing team, while the defenders' job is to try and stop them from planting it. A team can be defeated even when all victory conditions are met. If the opposing team wins before any victory condition is met, it's a loss.

Matches last 24 rounds long, each with a duration of 100 seconds. The first team to win 13 rounds wins the game. When you start a round, you are given 30 seconds to obtain weapons and gear. If you die, you have to wait for the next round to respawn. In this game, you can choose between either ranked or unrated matches.

What makes Valorant different to Counter-Strike?

It sounds very similar to the Defuse game mode in CS:GO, but with Riot's own unique twist on the formula. As well as buying weapons, you can select an Agent at the start of each game.

Agent Select screen for Valorant (credits: Screenshot via Valorant // Riot Games)

Every Agent has different abilities, ranging from healing powers to making walls appear out of nowhere. Remember, Valorant uses a MOBA-based approach to Agents, so you will very likely need a wide range of abilities to be able to win a match. However, you will most likely need to purchase some abilities when you start a round.

Since launching the game, developers have added Spike Rush, Deathmatch, Swiftplay, Escalation and the latest Team Deathmatch to the list of game modes. Valorant‘s seasons are known as Acts, each one introducing new additions to the game such as new maps, modes, and agents.

What platforms support the game?

At the moment, the game exclusive to PC. Trevor Romleski, the lead game designer, confirmed during a Twitch stream that their focus is on PC right now. He also mentioned that the team is “open to exploring new opportunities for other platforms.” In the meantime, you can only play Valorant on PC. The Mobile version of the game is already in the Beta testing stages and we might get hands on it as early as Q1, 2024. Riot games is also exploring bring the game to console and if it goes as plans, we might even see Valorant released on PS5 or Xbox Series X.

That's the basics of Valorant in a nutshell! We hope this gave you a clear overview of the game.

You can follow latest Valorant News and Tournaments on Strafe.

Featured Image Credits: Riot Games

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