Move over, there’s a new contender in town
Valorant is priming itself to take on the current juggernauts of the team-based PVP scene. Valarant offers gameplay that comes across as a carefully melded combination of the accurate gunplay and short time-to-kill of CS:GO, with the class-based abilities of titles like Overwatch.
Riot Games have made a big deal of the quality of their netcode, boasting of the kind of lag-free connection essential for high-level competitive gameplay. They have decent pedigree when it comes to competitive gaming, with acclaimed MOBA League of Legends still pulling in a steady player count and playing host to large purse eSports tournaments.
What is Valorant?
Valorant is a tactical, sci-fi, 5v5 shooter. At the beginning of each match you choose from a roster of eleven characters (to be expanded in much the same way as R6: Siege over time). Each character has four abilities, although two are locked and must be purchased between rounds with credits earned, along with armour and weapons.
Once you’ve chosen your character, you have to stick with them for the duration of the (sometimes lengthy) match, so choose wisely. At alunch, theyre is only one game type: Plant/Defuse the bomb. Hopefully they introduce some more game types, as unless the gameplay is absolutely perfect, it could be hard to attract and retain an audience when other titles offer so much more variation, along with the giant elephant of Battle Royale in the room.
Gunplay is perhaps most closely related to CS:GO, as opposed to R6: Siege, as although the time to kill is similar for both, CS:GO more closely matches the pace. Where Valorant hopes to differentiate itself from the current crop of games, though, is with its unique character abilities. They add an extra layer of tactical abilities that can turn the tide of battle.
Can I play Valorant?
Valorant has very accommodating system requirements. Indeed, even those with older rigs or basic gaming laptops will be able to play.
Minimum / 30 fps
- OS: Windows 7/8/10 (64-bit)
- RAM: 4Gb
- VRam: 1Gb
- CPU: Intel i3-370M
- GPU: Intel HD 3000
Recommended / 60 fps
- OS: Windows 7/8/10 (64-bit)
- RAM: 4Gb
- VRam: 1Gb
- CPU: Intel i3-370M
- GPU: Intel HD 3000
High-end / 144+ fps
- OS: Windows 7/8/10 (64-bit)
- RAM: 4Gb
- VRam: 1Gb
- CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 @3.2Ghz
- GPU: Nvidia GTX 1050 Ti
