Valorant for Windows

A fast-paced action game for Windows PCs

Valorant is one of the most popular free action games for Windows PCs. It has been developed by Riot Games, which has released multiple games like League of Legends, Teamfight Tactics, and Legends of Runeterra. Valorant was released on the team’s 10-year anniversary as ‘Project A’. The game focuses on a 5 v 5 character-based gameplay, where creativity is your greatest weapon. The title has been quite popular among gamers and continues to garner attention around the world.

Valorant requires you to build a strategy and use certain skills to win the game. The fast-paced strategy game comes with a relatively new anti-cheat system, which blocks common forms of hacking. As such, the game is considered to be unique in comparison with competing titles like Counter-Strike: Go, Overwatch, and GTA: Vice City.

A solid shooting game with multiple weapons

Random headshots, thrilling bomb plants, and ferocious attacks are the key takeaways from the game’s sequences. Since Riot Games has been a leading developer in the industry, the release of this shooting game piqued interest among global gamers. Fortunately, the gameplay and graphics have lived up to the hype.

Whether you want to play Valorant for a short duration or hours in one go, you’ll feel overjoyed with the brilliant gameplay, amazing weapons, superb cast, and engaging storylines. It’s worth mentioning that the learning curve can be steep, and you need to play the game quite a few times to master the art of killing and defense.

What about the gameplay?

Currently, the PC game features eight primary characters, namely Omen, Cypher, Brimstone, Phoenix, Sage, Jett, Sova, and Vyper. Since various achievements allow you to unlock the full roster, you get access to numerous hero characters with unique abilities. This keeps you engaged with multiple storylines and skill sets.

Some characters need to be purchased with in-game currency, which can be earned while playing the game. It’s important to note that most abilities are somewhat similar to Overwatch, except specific character abilities that last multiple rounds. Overall, Valorant gives you numerous options to mix and match strategies and use unique abilities to affect the gameplay and storyline.

What’s the range of weapons?

Like Counter-Strike and other similar games in this category, the heroes aren’t locked into using a single weapon throughout the journey. The action game lets you purchase various weapons, secondary abilities, and other skills at the beginning of each mission. Some of the most popular offerings include SMGs, sidearms, snipers, melee, heavies, and rifles.

With excellent reflexes and accuracy, the game lets you kill enemies in a single headshot. Rifles can be used to kill enemies in a few shots to the body. Without a doubt, the gunplay in this strategy game is as lethal as other titles in the action genre.

Does the game experience any lags?

Riot Games had initially developed the same-server technology for League of Legends. It’s being used in this shooting game, and gives Valorant the capability to give characters precise and rapid gun reflexes. In addition to this, players can be assured of a lag-free experience. 

The game offers a 128-tick rate for specific servers in every region. With minimum system requirements, the game runs at 30 frames per second. On the other hand, advanced computer systems support 60 - 144 frames per second.

In order to ensure lag-free experience, Valorant also uses Riot Direct, which is a global networking infrastructure. It allows you to establish stable and fast game connections. Riot Games has partnered with a range of ISPs around the world. As such, the PC game leverages routers added physically to the service providers’ data centers. 

A continuous rebalancing process

One unique trait of Valorant as a competitive online first-person shooter is that Riot continues to tweak the game years after its original release. For example, every Act sees players rotate between its various maps. There are nine playable maps in all, seven of which are kept available as a part of a map rotation scheme, applying to both Unrated and Competitive gaming modes.

As of the 6.11 Patch, most guns have undergone accuracy adjustments. Most of these changes are geared toward reducing gunfire accuracy during movement. For example, zipline or rope movement has adjusted spreads for mid and far-range shots, making ropes advantageous for close-range fights but not anywhere else. Beyond that, most guns have changed prices. Shorty, which is the secondary shotgun weapon, has reduced reserves and increased prices.

Agent abilities, on the other hand, were fixed from bugs. Omen no longer gets interrupted when he’s debuffed with a Suppressed status as he teleports. Similarly, Killjoy’s utilities now fade back into stealth mode after returning from their disabled state. Other quality-of-life fixes include party groups appearing in the wrong section. Also addressed was the issue where push-to-talk doesn’t work together with the Buy screen.

What else should you know?

There are a lot of gamers who haven’t spent hours playing Counter-Strike or similar games. These players can find it difficult to get a hang of the shooting system. For instance, before shooting the enemy, Valorant requires you to stand still. Fortunately, the game features a practice arena, where you can try a range of tools for training sensitivity, movements, and aim. Another advantage is the bullet tracers, which make it easier to track shots mid-air. They also allow you to recoil and react while on the run.

Unfortunately, some CS-style mechanics, like Buy Phase and weapon economy, isn't explained well in the game. While Valorant has been designed to attract people who haven’t played CS, it lacks demos or on-boarding tasks for simple strategies like playing for picks, bomb placements, save rounds, etc. Other drawbacks of the game included an underdeveloped knife combat system and the map pool. 

There are times when you get matched with friendly players. In this case, the shooting game may give a basic introduction. On the other hand, matching with ‘rude’ assassins can get you killed within seconds. The game play has been designed to be competitive, and keeps you on the edge of the seat throughout the mission.

It’s worth mentioning that the PC game lets you mute players with a single click. There’s also a reporting tool, which can be used to block and report abusive matches. 

The action game offers four maps at launch. While there could be more options, you’ll appreciate the style and layout. According to Riot Games, the development team wants each map to offer something unique. Thus, ‘Bind’ comes with portals to connect two sites, ‘Haven’ has a third bomb site, ‘Split’ comes with climbing ropes, and ‘Ascent’ features one-way metal doors.

Showcase your skills to a world of gamers

Valorant download has become one of the most popular choices among straightforward yet challenging strategy games. With a unique anti-cheat system, the game encourages players to win on the basis of skills and creativity. The action-packed shooting game is highly recommended for gamers interested in testing their capacity for FPS strategy games. With a lag-free play that doesn’t disrupt gameplay, this ensures a hassle-free gaming experience.

New Patch 6.08 Brings Exciting Updates to Valorant

Bind Returns and Icebox Exits Map Rotations

Valorant's Patch 6.08 reintroduces Bind into Unrated and Competitive modes while removing Icebox from the map rotations. This change allows players to enjoy the refreshed Bind map and offers a different experience to the gameplay.

Agent Gekko and Killjoy Receive Ability Updates

Gekko's Wingman plant and defuse audio cues are improved, enhancing their clarity during intense combat situations. Additionally, Gekko's in-game portrait has been updated for better readability and quality consistency. On the other hand, Killjoy's abilities have been tweaked, including an increase in the reveal radius of Nanoswarm and updated audio cues for her utility. The yellow warning indicator on Lockdown has been removed, as it created too much visual noise.

Visual Enhancements to Brimstone and Omen Abilities

Brimstone's Sky Smoke, Orbital Strike, and Omen's From the Shadows abilities have received updated targeting visuals, allowing for more precise ability placements on the map.

Shorty Cosmetics Update

Several Shorty models, including the default Shorty, have been visually upgraded to match the quality of other weapons. This update is purely cosmetic and does not affect gameplay. Players who own specific Shorty skins will notice the updated visuals.

Bug Fixes and Gameplay System Improvements

Patch 6.08 addresses several issues, such as fixing a bug where the Spike progress bar would speed up or reset while defusing, and resolving an issue where Yoru couldn't drop his weapon during Dimensional Drift. These improvements ensure smoother and more enjoyable gameplay for Valorant players.