For fans of Overwatch or Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Riot Games’ Valorant represents the game to beat in 2020. A tactical shooter with incredible 5v5 team-based dynamics, the title also has exactly the sort of sharp learning curve we’ve come to expect from the genre. So, read on and dig into OGN’s definitive guide on what you need to know before you boot up the game’s beta.
Before you dive into the gameplay, you’ll be required to choose from one of 10 agents to play as, including AJ, Howie, Nick, Kevin, Brian, JC, Chris, Joey, Lance, and Justin.
At the end of each round, you can alter your weaponry’s skin by using Valorant Points, which can be easily purchased by swiping your parent’s credit card when they aren’t looking and buying as many as you can before they send you off to boarding school again.
Accept the human instinct to kill. Yes, our soft, coddled modern lives have made it unsavory to oblige our natural desire to hunt. But success in Valorant depends on reconnecting with that atrophied lust for the blood of one’s enemies. Let the raw, animal rage wash over you and watch the Creds pile up!
Like most tactical shooters, Valorant’s maps will take place in a seemingly three-dimensional world defined by Newtonian physics. Gamers from similarly governed universes will come in with a distinct advantage.
The gameplay itself is based on two teams of five battling it out—a clear nod to the 2004 NBA Finals between the Detroit Pistons and the Los Angeles Lakers that only true fans will appreciate.
In a touching tribute to the Polish composer’s passing, the only song available on the game’s soundtrack is Penderecki’s “Threnody To The Victims Of Hiroshima.”
Playable characters are classified as either Initiators, Controllers, Sentinels, or Duelists. To find out which is the best fit for your play style, just complete and print out the game’s bundled Myers-Briggs or Enneagram personality test and send the results in a postmarked letter to Riot Games Inc., 12333 W. Olympic Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90064