16 Valorant tips and tricks to get better as a beginner

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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 we can share 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 improving your skills, you’ll become a valuable teammate who can help contribute to the match and even swing the outcomes.

Valorant tips and tricks: valorant in-game settings. Image captured by VideoGamer.
Use these settings to get the best performance. Image captured by VideoGamer.

1. Optimize 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 major 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:

SettingValue
Material QualityLow
Texture QualityLow
Detail QualityLow
UI QualityLow
Vignette Off
VSyncNone
Anti-Aliasing1x
Anisotropic FilteringOff
Improve ClarityOff
Experimental SharpeningOff
BloomOff
DistortionOff
Cast ShadowsOff
Valorant tips and tricks: callout locations map in valorant. Image captured by VideoGamer.
Here are the locations you can use for your callouts. Image captured by VideoGamer.

2. Communication is key

Whether you’re playing with your friends or solo queuing, remember that without any communication, your probability of winning the 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.

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. 

Valorant tips and tricks: player with their location marked on the in-game display. Image captured by VideoGamer.
Look at the top left to see your current location. Image captured by VideoGamer.

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:

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. After you’ve gained some momentum, look a little to the left and press S to get back in cover.

The advantage of jump-peeking, besides speed, is that your opponent is more likely to miss if they’re pre-firing that angle. If done correctly, you’ll at worst be hit in the leg, which generally takes substantially less damage than torso, and especially head.

Valorant tips and tricks:  player holding gun and a planted spike in valorant. Image captured by VideoGamer.
Be mindful of what sounds the spike is currently generating. Image captured by VideoGamer.

4. Know the difference between spike sounds

Some players don’t know that the 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 higher-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. 

Valorant tips and tricks: Valorant's Twitch page. Image captured by VideoGamer from Twitch.
The official channel has some great pro coverage. Image captured by VideoGamer from Twitch.

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 into 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. This practice is called counter-strafing. 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. Alternatively, you can counter-strafe by pressing the opposite strafe key briefly to stabilize your aim.

✓ Tip

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:

  1. Go to the range and change your settings to Eliminate 100, Strafe, and then shoot on Start.
  2. Once the drill starts, try to kill as many strafing bots as you can without moving.
  3. After you’re done with the initial drill, play another round. This time, move your agent as well and try re-aligning your crosshair along the bots’ heads as you move.

7. Try bunny hopping to confuse enemies

Bunny hopping is another advanced movement 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.

Note that Bunny Hopping can be risky in Valorant, especially if you’re caught out in the open. There is a stagger after you’re hit, meaning that you will be an easy target if that happens while hopping around. For that reason, best-use scenarios for Bunny Hopping are usually short distances when you’re trying to escape from a bad position to a better one and have to cross in front of enemy guns.

Valorant tips and tricks: An image of the scoreboard with the ultimate ability highlighted. Image captured by VideoGamer.
Use the scoreboard to see whose ultimate abilities are ready. Image captured by VideoGamer.

8. Keep track of enemy Agents and abilities

Keeping track of your opponent’s abilities 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 KAY/O, you can save your ultimate and only use it to nullify Chamber’s 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 unlock their ultimate. For instance, 0/7 means that the player needs 7 more kills, deaths, or orbs 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.

Similarly, knowledge of enemy Agents and their abilities can be crucial in planning your strategy. For example, being able to count their smokes one one site, will let you plan a rotation to the other one, knowing they won’t be able to smoke you off as effectively. The same goes for any other ability in the game.

9. Remember to play your role first

It is essential that you fulfill the role you’re playing in a match to help your team. 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, site lockdowns, 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

Controllers isolate areas by blocking areas or sight, and disabling foes. Brimstone, Viper, Omen, Harbor, Clove and Astra are Valorant’s Controllers.

Duelist

Open team fights, apply pressure, and use your abilities to cut off foes as a Duelist. Remember not to lurk too far though. Phoenix, Jett, Raze, Reyna, Yoru, Iso, and Neon are Duelists.

Therefore, 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 the Odin since its high fire rate and stability will help you devour 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. Similarly, many players aim at neck level to account for crouching. That way, you’ll be hit if you’re standing or crouching. You’re slower while crouched, so plan accordingly.

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 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

Valorant tips and tricks: a Dot crosshair next to a bot. Image captured by VideoGamer.
Here’s a Dot crosshair to the right of the bot’s head. Image captured by VideoGamer.

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

Valorant tips and tricks: a Four-Line crosshair next to a bot. Image captured by VideoGamer.
Here’s a red Four-Line crosshair. Image captured by VideoGamer.

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

Valorant tips and tricks:  a Plus crosshair next to a bot. Image captured by VideoGamer.
Here’s a cyan Plus crosshair. Image captured by VideoGamer.

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 with 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 for a Competitive match revitalizes your muscle memory and warms up your aim.

Valorant tips and tricks: An image of the Shooting range settings in the game. Image captured by VideoGamer.
The Shooting Range offers a lot of choices for players. Image captured by VideoGamer.

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 main weapon you’re more comfortable with (Vandal or Phantom).
  • Then queue up another Deathmatch and practice with your secondary choice gun, like a Sheriff. 
Valorant tips and tricks: An image of a player aiming their gun at bots in the game. Image captured by VideoGamer.
Improve your aim by fighting bots. Image captured by VideoGamer.

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. Try to control your bursts by limiting them to 3-4 bullets before resetting your aim. 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. Besides that, invest time to learn the spray patterns of your preferred guns. Each one is different, and in situations when you need to commit to full spray, learning them will pay dividends.

14. Master a handful of Agents first

Try not to 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 or Agent that is different from your usual 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 Unranked matches to do so.

Valorant tips and tricks:  the buy menu in valorant game with the next round amount highlighted. Image captured by VideoGamer.
You can see how much you’ll have next round by checking the top right of the buy page. Image captured by VideoGamer.

15. Manage your economy between rounds

Knowing how to manage your economy can make a huge difference between high and low-ranked players in Valorant. Most of the time, it’s better to save in one round and play with a pistol and then play the next 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 2000. 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 or 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 or Marshall 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 buying menu and looking at the top left of your screen, right next to “MIN NEXT ROUND”.

Valorant tips and tricks: a player aiming down sights in the game. Image captured by VideoGamer.
Aiming down your sight can hold you back in firefights. Image captured by VideoGamer.

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 constantly aiming down sights. However, that is not a good idea in Valorant, since ADS 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 (and other snipers), Odin, Ares, 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.

About the Author

Antony Terence

Antony Terence is a Guides Writer for VideoGamer. While he is particularly fond of city-builders, shooters, and strategy titles, he won’t turn down a good JRPG or a turn-based roguelike.

Valorant

  • Platform(s): PC
  • Genre(s): Action, Shooter, Strategy