Riot Games studio game Valorant (originally known by the codename Project A) has sparked an unprecedented strength in player communities: the game has almost reached a record high on the Twitch streaming platform (1.7 million viewers, and yet not even the final version of the game), sparked a lot of debate about the future of current sports games and, simply put, aroused curiosity – after all, a new game is always fun. So what’s the game that tore the roof off the Battle Royale games for the gaming community that has begun to stall?

Game access

Game developers promise free access to the final version of the game (which will be released this summer) – the monetization model popularized by Fortnite Battle Royale appears to be more lucrative than a one-time fee when purchasing the game. And for now, those who want to try the game will have to perform a “geometric” odyssey – watch other players’ broadcasts and wait for a randomly shared game key; in this way, the game’s creators brought together such a large audience of spectators. The desired game key has to wait for about 20 to 40 hours, and those who don’t want to wait or spend time watching other players Riot Games have unpleasant knowledge – the game key is given by IP computer address, so buy or sell accounts … possible, but very soon the account will be Blocked – The player so eager for the game will probably only have to play a few rounds.

So for now, those who want to try the game will have to arm themselves with patience and travel to Twitch; comfort – this game is also played by many of the most popular broadcasters, so there is a good chance that your favorite broadcaster is also in the ranks of Valorant players. Well, and for the most impatient, we can offer a video of a member of our community that provides quick and clear information and tips on how to get the key to the game without the boredom of watching the broadcasts yourself.

Genre Modes Graphics

Valorant is the first Riot Games studio first-person shooter that combines the features of benchmark Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and heroic shooters (such as Overwatch). So far, players have access to the familiar bomb demining game mode from the Counter-Strike series, but the developers promise to add more different modes. As for the currently available mode, it is gratifying that the studio did not blindly copy Counter-Strike and made even the slightest difference – the most interesting and most troublesome for players could be named three (instead of two) bomb detonation sites – Counter-Strike for players accustomed to two pitches, this difference is one of the most unpleasant, because it requires a change in the style of play – after all, it is not possible to spread to all pitches, because the chances of survival will approach zero.

The graphics in the game are similar to Overwatch and Fortnite, the photorealism so fascinating to Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare players is not here. Because Valorant is a competitive game, the goal of the graphics is to achieve maximum non-interference for players so that victory is determined by the player’s skills or knowledge, rather than a cookie ambush in the bushes. The design of the game belongs to the low-poly category – a minimal amount of geometric shapes is used to reproduce objects, so that the player’s attention is not distracted only by visually attractive, but useless details.

Similarities and differences

Like Counter-Strike, fighting teams consist of five players, the dead player rises only in the next round, one game consists of 25 rounds (probably Riot Games chose not to torture players during extremely long and tedious continuous game sessions and Counter-Strike reduced the former number by five), at the beginning of each round, players buy weapons, grenades, armor, and abilities.

The money to buy equipment is the same as in Counter-Strike: at the end of the round, after eliminating an opponent or successfully detonating / demining a bomb – the economic aspect of Valorant will not surprise new players with experience with Valve. The weapons in the game are also almost identical copies to their counterparts in Counter-Strike; the names have changed, of course, look a little different, but a rare player will call the weapons new names – the habit of calling the most expensive and powerful pistol Deagle or the most powerful sniper rifle AWP is much stronger than the desire to learn fancy names.

Valorant’s resemblance to hero shooters is much less than that of Counter-Strike. At the beginning of each game, the player chooses his agent (so-called heroes in the game), the agent cannot be changed during the game (e.g. during breaks between rounds) (unlike Overwatch, where the hero can be changed an unlimited number of times).

Hero abilities and access to them in Valorant are also different: each agent has four different abilities, the importance of which can be compared to the use of Apex Legends hero abilities in battles – the first ability is used once in a round (in the next round access to the second and third abilities is purchased at the beginning of the round (ability, again, one-time, but when the ability is not used it is retained for the next round), and the fourth, ultimate ability and access to it is most reminiscent of Overwatch – the ability to use an ability is obtained by eliminating opponents’ players and earning points for which a sufficient amount of ability can be used.

And it can already be said that the game is more reminiscent of the Counter-Strike variation with the ability add-on, which gives the game just a seemingly innovative look so far. Counter-Strike’s typical actions still play a decisive role in the game – careful positioning, hiding and getting out from behind the shelter, covering narrow passages (choke points) with fire, the need to fight in a team and not to foolishly stand in an open fight; while skills mostly speed up the game only by reducing the amount of passive camping (however, hiding around the corner is not wise if the opponent knows where all the players are), in fighting skills do not play the most important role and victory is determined by the ability to use weapons (win the battle closing your eyes and based on hearing how that is possible Overwatch, Valorant will fail).

Esports scene

Valorant is a game that requires skill and practice, which is similar to the main popular sports shooter games (Counter-Strike: GLobal Offensive, Overwatch), so it is very likely that Riot Games will bring Valorant to the forefront of the sports scene. Rumors and news are already circulating on the Internet about the game developers ’meetings with major sporting event organizers who are believed to be providing advice on turning the game into an sport.

It is believed that the start of Valorant’s sporting events is due to spectators and even players mostly fighting Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. Why? Because the features and pace of the game are much more similar to the Valve piece than to the Overwatch, whose, by the way, sporting events are organized by the game’s own developers, Blizzard. And although nothing exactly is known yet, it is easy to wait for the game to appear on sports scenes.

Closing remarks

Although only the initial, unfinished and upgraded version of the Valorant game is available so far, it has been enough for the gaming community to realize that it is another noteworthy game that could become a new wave of popularity (as was the case with Fortnite or PUBG). will reach all areas of the gaming world. Leveraging the experience gained by players in Counter-Strike and the use of abilities seen by Overwatch and Apex Legends, crossing the frames of conventional combat weapons and changing combat rules; Valorant may not offer something new or invisible, but it combines the best features of the shooters, giving players a more interesting, targeted experience. And there wasn’t much left before the game was released – we should be able to add it to our game library this summer.

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