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If you feel your learning curve in Valorant has been static for a while, our tips and tricks should get you back in shape. We’re also on the grind to improve our ranks so read on for some helpful beginner tips.
Valorant tips and tricks for beginners
These tips and tricks should help you get into the flow of Valorant’s intense matches. By refining your skills, you’ll become a valuable teammate who can help shift the tides of combat in your favor.
1 – Start with optimizing your game settings
Before we get into what you need to do to improve your gameplay, let’s talk about optimizing your game settings. Smooth gameplay without any stuttering and lag plays a pivotal role in making those micro plays that can help you come out on top during 1v1 duels. A general rule is that your FPS output should be at least double your monitor’s refresh rate. Ensure that your Display Mode in Settings is set to Fullscreen too. This allows your PC to get the best frame rate in Valorant. Remember to fine-tune your sensitivity settings in Valorant too.
Here are the settings that can get you the most FPS during a match:
| Setting | Value |
| Material Quality | Low |
| Texture Quality | Low |
| Detail Quality | Low |
| UI Quality | Low |
| Vignette | Off |
| VSync | None |
| Anti-Aliasing | 1x |
| Anisotropic Filtering | Off |
| Improve Clarity | Off |
| Experimental Sharpening | Off |
| Bloom | Off |
| Distortion | Off |
| Cast Shadows | Off |
2 – Communication is key in teamfights
Whether you’re playing with your friends or solo queuing, remember that without any communication, your probability of winning a game goes down drastically. Giving accurate and quick callouts to your teammates is essential since one wrong piece of intel can cost you an entire round. Try not to fire into smokes as well as you might catch a teammate by mistake. Communication can prevent such blunders.
It’s also pretty simple to learn callouts in the game if you’re new. Head over to a custom game by yourself, choose the map you want to learn callouts for, and press the “M” key (default key bind) on your keyboard. This will expand the minimap and you’ll be able to see the names of all the places around the map.
Take your time, learn them all, and return to the battlefield. You’ll feel more useful after you’re knocked out by keeping your allies updated with fresh intel. Even if you didn’t complete the job, they can pick up from where you left off. Moreover, if you’re in the middle of a round, you can also see the location where you’re standing in the top left corner of your screen.
3 – Learn how to jump-peek for intel
As you climb the ladder in Valorant’s rank system, you’ll meet players either with you or against you who will be jump-peeking to gain intel. While knowing how to jump-peek isn’t mandatory, it’s a great tool to have when you don’t know where your opponent might be. This can be useful if you’re trying to make Chamber empty out his Tour De Force ultimate or annoy an enemy who is using an Operator rifle.
Here’s a quick step-by-step guide you can follow to learn the jump-peek:
- Jump-peek with your knife instead of your weapon since it will be faster. After you’ve equipped your knife, turn towards the angle you want to peek from.
- Let’s say you want to peek from the right side of a wall. Go towards the edge as soon as you’re near it, jump, and use W to move forward.
- After you’ve gained some momentum, look a little to the left and press S to get back in cover.
4 – Know the difference between spike sounds
Some players don’t know that a spike that is half-defused has a different audio cue than the one that isn’t defused at all. This can come in handy, especially in a post-plant situation where mind games matter more than gunfights.
If the defuse sound is slightly high-pitched than usual, this means that it’s already half-defused. At this point, you don’t want to wait too long before peeking at your enemy since they could end up completely defusing the spike before you know it.
5 – Watch pros play to understand their approach
The best way to learn Valorant is by watching the best in the business play against each other. While some people aren’t into watching the professionals play, it allows you to learn a lot as they usually come up with strategies that no one has ever seen before. You’ll also notice their sleek movement and mechanical skills, which you can try to implement in your gameplay.
You can watch professional Valorant matches on Twitch. You can also search for other pros playing competitive games and implement their playstyle in your matches.
6 – Learn how to strafe effectively
Movement is an essential part of any FPS shooter, especially Valorant. Your movement helps you become a difficult target to kill and allows you to make plays that open up spaces for your team to aggress into. In a gunfight, try to move sideways as much as you, so the enemy has a hard time sticking their crosshair on your head.
Bear in mind that while strafing, you need to shoot your bullets after a short delay to allow your recoil to reset. If you’re moving too much, your shots won’t be precise. To counteract this, it’s recommended to stand still for about half a second before you shoot again.
With practice, you’ll automatically strafe around corners
This will give you an edge even if you’re caught off-guard by an enemy attack.
If you’re looking to master the art of strafing, here’s what you need to do:
- Go to the range and change your settings to Eliminate 100, Strafe, and then shoot on Start.
- Once the drill starts, try to kill as many strafing bots as you can without moving.
- After you’re done with the initial drill, play another round. This time, move your agent as well and try re-entering your crosshair along the bot’s heads as you move.
7 – Try bunny hopping to confuse enemies
Bunny hopping is another advanced strafing technique you can learn to get to your designated location faster and avoid enemies from sticking their crosshairs on you. Bunny hops make your movement unpredictable. The key to Bunny Hopping is making successive timed jumps which can be hard to do if not practiced in the range. Before you learn how to Bunny Hop, add Mouse Wheel Up as an extra bind to your jump control to make things simpler.
Here’s how you can Bunny Hop to annoy the enemy team:
- Press the W key to move forward and then jump.
- As you’re in mid-air, release the W key.
- As you’re about to land, use your scroll wheel up to jump. Press W + A or D to strafe mid-air.
8 – Keep track of enemy agents and abilities
Keeping track of your opponent’s ability is a great way to read their moves in the game. It can also help you know when to initiate fights with your enemy and whether you’ll have an advantage over them or not. For example, let’s say you’re in a 1v1 with an enemy Pheonix who’s taking cover and you know he’s used both his flashes. In that case, you can charge at him with confidence, knowing he can’t blind you mid-way. Similarly, if you’re playing Kayo, you can save your ultimate and only use it to nullify Chamber or Neon’s ultimate against you. This renders them useless, especially if it’s their save round.
You can check how far an enemy is from their ultimate through the scoreboard. The numbers represent how many orbs are needed to gain their ultimate. For instance, 0/7 means that the player needs 7 more kills to get access to their ultimate. This information is vital if you want to protect your teammates from an enemy’s devastating ultimate. And if an opponent fails to capitalize on their ultimate, you can use this to push your advantage.
9 – Remember to play your role first
It is essential that you fulfill the role you’re playing in a match. If you’re playing an entry duelist, it would be pointless to go solo and lurk alone when your team needs you to help them enter the site. Similarly, if you’re playing a Sentinel, your job is to watch your team’s back so they can focus on what’s in front of them. Here are the four roles that Agents fill in Valorant:
Sentinel
These Agents opt for defensive strategies and focus on watching flanks. Sage, Cypher, Killjoy, and Chamber are Sentinels.
Initiator
They focus on gathering information, wrestling for map control, and pushing enemy positions. Sova, Breach, Skye, KAY/O, and Fade are Initiators.
Controller
Lock down areas by blocking sight and disabling foes as a Controller. Brimstone, Viper, Omen, Harbor, Clove and Astra are Valorant’s Controllers.
Duelist
Open team fights and apply pressure as a Duelist. Remember not to lurk too far though. Phoenix, Jett, Raze, Reyna, Yoru, Iso, and Neon are Duelists.
So coordinate with your team to see what they require. If they want you to lurk, then lurk or if they want you to enter, then enter with them. But playing solo on another side of the map won’t do you any good since you’re stronger with your allies than by yourself. Unlocking Agents can take a while so pick them based on which roles you prefer. You’ll need to rake up 200,000 XP per Agent after the 2 unlocks as a part of the Play to Unlock contract (7000 XP and 12000 XP earned).
10 – Don’t crouch too much in combat
While crouching can be a handy mechanic to have at your side, overusing it isn’t a sign of a good player. When you crouch in a gunfight, you’re committing to it, meaning there’s no way out. You restrict yourself, and your odds of winning the gunfight drops significantly. So the question arises – when and when not to crouch? While instant crouching isn’t ideal, you can crouch in a gunfight if you’ve whiffed the first 5-6 shots in a duel. The enemy’s crosshair placement will also get thrown off this way, and since crouching provides your gun more stability, you might just come out on top.
When you re-peek a corner, it’s also sometimes a good idea to crouch and shoot since your enemy will be waiting to shoot at your head level. Not only will this simple trick throw off their aim, but if you spray correctly, you’ll be able to kill them off before they even get a chance to re-adjust their crosshair. It is also recommended to crouch if you’re using a machine gun like an Odin since its high fire rate and stability will help you devour down targets in no time.
Crouching is a bad idea if you know there are a couple of opponents ahead of you. If you initiate a gunfight with one, it is quite probable the other will come to pick you off. That is because when you do, you’re impeding your movement and won’t be able to move back quickly after killing the first person, letting the other one finish you off like a sitting duck.
11 – Select a small crosshair to aim better
While Valorant offers you a lot of options to customize your crosshairs, it is recommended to have a smaller crosshair since it improves your aim’s precision. You’ll be able to land more bullets on the enemy with a smaller crosshair even if your aim isn’t the best, helping your team secure the kill. If you like the crosshair of a teammate you’re spectating, type “/cc” in the chat. The crosshair will automatically be added to your game. You can head over to Settings and equip it later on. It’s one of the easiest of these Valorant tips and tricks to implement.
Here are some of the smallest crosshairs recommended that will improve your aim and help you crack some heavy heads in the game:
Dot Crosshair
Crosshair Code: 0;P;o;0.7;d;1;z;1;0b;0;1b;0
Dot crosshairs are the most commonly used crosshair in Valorant. Standard dots are the easiest to set up, despite the fact there are many variations. Dot crosshairs are also used by many pro league players since they improve precision and accuracy.
Four-Line Crosshair
Crosshair Code: 0;s;1;P;c;7;h;0;m;1;0l;3;0o;2;0a;1;0f;0;1b;0;S;c;4;o;1
The four-line is another handy crosshair you’ll encounter while playing Valorant. Many of the best pro league players, including TenZ, use this crosshair in the Valorant community. This crosshair has a small opening in the middle that makes it easy to locate and tap the enemy’s head.
Plus Crosshair
Crosshair Code: 0;s;1;P;c;5;h;0;0l;4;0o;0;0a;1;0f;0;1b;0;S;c;0
The Plus Crosshair is another option that you can switch back and forth to if you’re bored of your current crosshair. While it is quite similar to the four-line one, the plus crosshair doesn’t have an offset in the middle. However, it still works great, and you’ll see many players acing games with it.
12 – Warm up before going into ranked matches
If you’re into sports, you’ll notice that the athletes take a fair bit of time to warm up before going into the real game. That is because warming up helps to open up their joints which in turn helps them perform better in the game.
The same concept applies when playing Valorant or any other FPS. Having a warm-up routine or even playing a couple of deathmatches before queuing in a competitive match revitalizes your muscle memory and heats up your aim.
Many players have a warm-up routine before queuing and if you’re looking to adopt one as well, here’s what we suggest:
- In the range, select the Strafe and Eliminate 50 option with No Armor.
- Then, get a Ghost and click Start to begin your routine. After you’ve killed all the bots, keep replaying it until you feel your aim is starting to get a little crisp.
- Next, repeat the same routine, but this time with a Vandal in hand.
- Once you’re done in the range, play a Deathmatch. Play it with the weapon you’re more comfortable with (Vandal or Phantom).
- Then queue up another Deathmatch and practice with your secondary choice gun, like a Sherrif.
13 – Don’t spray and pray against targets
Valorant is all about controlling your gun’s recoil. Most players make the grave mistake of just spraying their gun, hoping that they’ll get lucky and a random bullet will hit the enemy’s head. While this method has a low chance of being successful, what if you could improve the odds?
The best way to use a Vandal or Phantom is through small bursts of fire. It makes both weapons more controllable and you’re bound to whiff less in gunfights too. If you haven’t been getting on top of the scoreboard, it’s probably because you need to revamp how you use your gun.
Relax, take a deep breath, and when you see an enemy, tap instead of just holding the fire button. While it may feel a little overwhelming at first, throw in some practice and you’ll be annihilating foes in no time.
14 – Master a handful of agents first
Don’t play different agents all the time. Rather, only play a handful of agents that you’re comfortable with. Many people make the mistake of filling their roles while solo queuing. While filling a role is a noble deed, only do it if you’re comfortable enough to play a role that is different from your role of choice.
We recommend spamming an agent first in competitive to master it and its abilities. When you’re satisfied with it, switch to another. Fill a role only if it’s your secondary or primary and given you know its fundamentals. If you end up playing an unknown role, you’ll be damaging your team more than when playing a role that was already picked. If you want to experiment with random agents to build your agent awareness, opt for casual matches to do so.
15 – Manage your economy between rounds
Knowing how to manage your economy is a crucial difference between high and low-ranked players in Valorant. Most of the time, it’s a better option to save one round and play with a pistol and then play the succeeding round with a full buy and Shield rather than keep playing with half buys and substandard weapons. If your team saves, remember not to let your credits go below 1500. Even if you lose the round, you’ll have 3900 credits at the beginning of the next round, which is enough to buy a Phantom/Vandal with full shield (given you aren’t purchasing any abilities).
Also, most players make the mistake of not handling their economy in the first couple of rounds. If you’ve lost the pistol round, then it’s recommended to completely save the next round so you can have a full buy in the third. Similarly, if you’ve won the pistol round, then get yourself a Spectre/Stinger with a Full/Half Shield. If you win your second round as well and don’t die, play the third round as a bonus round without buying anything extra.
It’s also recommended to match your economy with your team. Communicate with your team and initiate eco rounds if you’re low on funds. If they are full buying, match up with them. Your full buy won’t be of any use if the rest of your team doesn’t have the weapons to match up for it, and you’ll probably end up losing the round and your hard-earned economy. It’s okay to request your teammates for good gear too. You can see how much you’ll have next round by opening the shop and looking at the top left of your screen, right next to “MIN NEXT ROUND:”.
16 – Don’t aim down your weapon’s sights unless necessary
If you’ve shifted from other FPS shooters such as Rainbow Six Siege or CoD, you’ll be pretty accustomed to aiming down sights. However, that is not a good idea in Valorant since aiming down slows the fire rate of most guns and also makes it difficult to keep tracking enemies with your crosshair.
The only time you should aim down sights is if your enemy is far away and you know that shooting without the additional zoom will hurt your accuracy. We recommend aiming down your sights only with the Operator, Odin, and Guardian since they can provide you with more value and precision that way.
Valorant isn’t a piece of cake to master. However, following some essential tips does help speed up the process. We hope our Valorant tips and tricks guide helps you improve your gameplay and rise through the ranks.
Valorant tips and tricks FAQs
How do you get better aim in Valorant?
Opt for the right sensitivity settings and try not to spray while aiming at enemies.
How do you make yourself harder to hit in Valorant?
Use strafing to win duels against opponents.
