Valorant Tips For Beginners – Learn How To Play Valorant In 2025

Since its launch in 2020, VALORANT has surged in popularity, offering a diverse range of agents, abilities, unique features, and distinctive maps. I am employed at Immortal Boost, where my role involves staying updated on all agents, maps, upcoming features, and any game updates.

If you’ve recently downloaded VALORANT and are a newcomer, there are several useful tips and tricks to help you play more effectively. If you haven’t downloaded the game yet, you can download Valorant from the official website.

How to Play Valorant in 2025

Implementing the right strategies at the right time can significantly influence the outcome of a match. After mastering the basics of VALORANT, the next step is learning how to consistently win each round. From selecting the optimal agent to choosing the most appropriate weapons for every scenario, this guide will assist you in making smart decisions to survive and excel in the game.

Perfect Your Aim

Experiment with the crosshair settings used by professional players in Valorant and select the one that best suits you. The average sensitivity among pro VALORANT players is approximately 0.35 in-game sensitivity at 800 DPI. Once you’ve fine-tuned your crosshair and sensitivity, focus on crosshair placement, which is one of the most critical skills in Valorant.

Maintaining your crosshair at head level is essential. Many maps provide objects and landmarks to help you keep your aim at head height. For example, on the Ascent map, you can use the height of nearby boxes to align your crosshair at head level. Practice keeping your aim steady and correctly positioned, and over time, this will become second nature.

Understanding your reaction time is crucial. When holding an angle at head level, avoid resting your crosshair against a wall. To compensate for your reaction time, keep your aim slightly in the open. Another common confusion is deciding whether to use bursts, single shots, or spraying during engagements.

• Bursts: Refers to firing your weapon in short, controlled bursts.
• Single Shots: Involves making precise and deliberate individual shots instead of firing continuously in automatic mode.
• Shooting Spree: The technique of holding down the fire button to spray bullets continuously.

Shooting sprees are effective at close range. At longer distances, focus on headshots and utilize single shots or bursts. At medium range, bursts are the optimal choice, especially when combined with strafing, which greatly enhances your effectiveness.

Movement in Valorant

Smooth movement is vital in Valorant. Walk by holding down the shift key to move stealthily without revealing your position. Running is the standard movement in Valorant and doesn’t require holding any key. Use running when enemies cannot hear you or when your position is already known. You can determine whether enemies can hear you by observing the large sound circle on the minimap.

Effective times to run include when turning from one side to the other, sprinting to a site with your team, or when the enemy team knows your position. Crouching is essential when you need to protect yourself or improve your accuracy. Strafing, which involves moving a few steps to the left or right, is important for dodging enemy fire. The best way to utilize strafing is by combining it with burst firing. Burst strafing is undoubtedly the most powerful firing technique in Valorant. To perform burst strafing, fire three to four bullets in quick succession, strafe in one direction, and fire again. Repeat this until you win the engagement.

Let’s discuss peeking and preparing yourself for success. The way you peek and take positions in Valorant often distinguishes between a platinum player and an immortal player. The most important aspect of peeking is that the farther you are, the less time enemies have to react to your peek.

The closer you are to the enemy while peeking around a corner, the faster they can spot you in Valorant. When you peek from a distance, you minimize the enemy's advantage in holding an angle. There are several types of peeks in Valorant: Jiggle peeks and wide swings.

Jiggle peeking is typically used to gather information about enemy positions before fully committing to a peek. Players can combine jiggle peeks with jumps to make themselves harder targets to hit while collecting intel.

Wide swinging is used to aggressively clear corners, but you must be very confident when performing a wide swing, as committing to it often results in getting killed.

Good positioning allows you to win most engagements. Always position yourself in a way that isolates one fight at a time. Facing multiple angles, especially against multiple enemies, is akin to gambling. In Valorant, you always want to maximize your chances of survival.

Economy and Weapon Management

Valorant’s economy is the backbone of your team’s strength, relying on credits that you can use to purchase weapons and abilities. At the start of the game and the beginning of the second half, each player receives 800 credits. There are various ways to earn more credits, such as eliminating enemies, planting the spike, and winning or losing rounds. Killing an enemy grants you 200 credits, while planting the spike rewards your entire team with 300 credits. When your team wins a round, you receive 3000 credits, whereas the losing team gets only 1900 credits. If your team loses consecutive rounds, the credits awarded increase to 2400.

Once you understand how to accumulate credits, it's crucial to know how to spend them wisely. There are various weapon options available. For pistols, options include the Classic, Shorty, Frenzy, Ghost, and Sheriff. Light machine guns offer choices like the Stinger and Spectre. Rifles include the Bulldog, Guardian, Phantom, and Vandal. For machine guns, the Ares is an affordable option, while the Odin is a more expensive choice.

In pistol rounds, your purchasing strategy should involve either sticking with the Classic pistol, buying light armor, and some additional abilities, or purchasing the Frenzy along with key abilities for a more aggressive approach. If you prefer precision, the Ghost is also a solid option. Winning the pistol round allows you to force-buy better weapons in the second round and aim to win that as well. This sets you up for a "bonus round" in the third round, where your economic advantage can disrupt the enemy team's economy during their rifle rounds. After the second round, having better weapons increases your chances of winning and acquiring numerous weapon upgrades.

After the first three rounds, focus on engaging in as many rifle rounds as possible. Rifle rounds allow you and your team to afford rifles like the Vandal and Phantom along with armor. To achieve this, try to avoid excessive spending in rounds where your team’s economy is low.

In eco rounds, where funds are limited, good weapon options that can be purchased without significant investment include the Shorty, Sheriff, and Stinger. All of these weapons have the potential to eliminate enemies without requiring extensive investment. If you’re unsure whether to buy in a particular round, hold down the Tab key to observe what your team is doing and purchase accordingly. Even if you believe your team is making poor decisions regarding saving or force-buying, making these purchases as a team is better than doing it alone.

Map Strategies

Valorant maps feature three bomb sites, offering more options for attackers. The other two maps, Bind and Fracture, are similar as each has unique features. Bind includes teleporters, while Fracture has zip lines. Both maps have two entrances to each site, whereas maps with three lanes have one entrance and one mid-entry for each site.

After understanding the map layouts, players should learn the fundamental strategies in Valorant. Common attacking strategies include rush, split, and default. In the rush strategy, your team quickly pushes a bomb site together to overwhelm the defenders. In the split strategy, you take control of the middle and divide your attack into main and mid-approaches to the bomb site. The default strategy is straightforward: the team spreads out to cover all areas of the map and gathers information. The default approach is also effective when the defending team becomes aggressive.

On defense, your primary objectives are to delay the enemy team’s push to the site, prevent them from planting the spike, and defuse it if it gets planted. If you know the attacking team is coming to your site, use all your abilities to make your team turn around and assist you. Ensure clear and concise communication with your team, and make straightforward callouts. For example, if you hear two footsteps outside the A main entrance on Split, you should call out, "I hear two players approaching the A main entrance."

Remember, Valorant is not a solo game; you should rely on your team to assist you with their abilities and even peek angles for you. Map layouts and common strategies lead us to the following:

• Rotations: You should rotate when you have almost 100% certainty that the enemy team is moving to another site besides yours. Rotate when the spike is spotted or when your team indicates that there are three or more enemies at a particular site. While rotating, be mindful of enemy lurkers on your path, as they often anticipate your rotations.
• Flanking: If the enemy team is leaving a part of your map unchecked, you should attempt to flank them. Applying flank pressure is preferable because it forces the enemy team to allocate resources to counter flanks. Try to flank a few times mid-round if they allow it.
• Lurking: Agents like Astra and Omen can influence the map significantly without needing to stay with their team.

Terminology

One piece of terminology is "Clutch," which refers to the player who wins in a scenario where they are at a disadvantage, such as winning a 1v2 situation. When someone secures a clutch, don’t forget to celebrate with your teammates. Another term to remember is "Utility." When players mention utility, they are referring to abilities.

Another term is "Lineups." A lineup is when a player has practiced throwing a utility piece to reach a specific point or location. Molotov lineups are particularly useful for situations after the spike has been planted.

Self-Improvement

Setting goals can be beneficial. One thing players can do is play deathmatch with a specific objective. Enter deathmatch aiming to perform burst strafing or headshots. Tracking your progress can be motivating and encourage you to continue improving your gameplay. To make progress, you first need to make steps towards it.

Several things can be improved alongside gameplay, such as practicing range shots and firing at bots regularly for a few minutes. Then, press F3 to set bots to strafe and continue practicing for a few more minutes. While doing this, ensure your shots are precise and develop good firing habits.

The best way to eliminate mistakes you make while playing is to record your games and review them afterward. Watching your replays makes it much easier to identify and understand the errors you made during the game. Another way to improve yourself is by watching professional gameplay. Many of the moves professional players make might not be feasible in ranked matches since they have teams and have practiced many movements. You'll notice how professional players peek angles, isolate engagements, and utilize their abilities. You can apply all these techniques to your own gameplay.

Communication is Key

Communication is the easiest way to consistently add value to your team. There will be days when your aim isn't perfect, but you can always maintain good communication. Even if you're not getting many kills, you can have a significant impact by providing cover and effective communication.

• Push forward
• Deploy your Leer abilities
• Trade kills or create space
• Maintain clear communication

If you die early in the round, you can still influence the outcome by identifying your teammates' mistakes and guiding them towards more successful retakes or post-plant strategies.

Duelist

Duelists are encouraged to engage in fights and possess abilities like Stash, which can provide reliability since you have a way to escape. The problem is that having escape abilities often fosters reckless habits because you might engage in unnecessary fights without considering the consequences. Players may not fully understand how the game works and aren't penalized for making mistakes. This relates to the community's occasional tendency to play poorly. In Valorant, duelists will naturally secure more kills, which is not inherently a problem.

Initiators assist duelists in securing kills by using their abilities. This doesn't mean that an agent like Jet is useless to the team; while a Silver Recon can help everyone, a Jet primarily benefits their own team. This is a selfish role because duelists generally have higher KDAs than support players. "Bottom Frag" refers to the player blamed when the team starts to lose. By playing duelists, you’ll have fewer bottom frag incidents, not just because you secure more kills, but also because you’re less likely to become a target for retaliation in matches.

Pattern Recognition

Valorant is a game that requires continual refinement; think about the same maps, angles, and agents. At the start of each round, barriers reset, and you engage in the same confrontations and attack sites in the same manner. You repeat these actions, gradually improving your ability to win engagements and attack sites. This repetitive nature makes perfection a goal. Pattern recognition is a significant part of playing Valorant. Practicing daily helps you feel like you're learning new things, and each match feels more or less similar. Most teams play in the same way, making their strategies more predictable.

At the beginning of a round, teams adopt standard positions they plan to play. Additionally, you can predict their repositioning throughout the round. Unlike scrims in competitive matches, teams will almost always play from their default positions when spawning. This means they know where conflicts will occur and will accelerate their pace accordingly.

Players need to adapt quickly in the second round because, based on the timing of the round, your opponents have more options. The standard positions they start with begin to diversify rapidly. They may execute flanks or rotations. More time allows them to introduce greater variety into their gameplay.

Your Life Matters

You need to recognize when survival is more important than getting kills. There will be situations in Valorant where you hold a strong position and your primary goal should be to stay alive rather than securing a kill. If you're flanking and holding five players in an area, you should set up a rat angle to ensure you don’t die for no reason. If you have significant map control, attackers will open flank covers and your enemies can push from any direction.

Make sure to follow these tips, and staying alive in the game will become easier for you.

Remember, your goal is to hold the position, not just to get kills. Players often undervalue survival. Your life is crucial, and the moment you die, you lose all your influence on the round. Ensure that while you are alive, you are contributing enough to help your team secure the win. There are also ways to add value even after you die.

Backseating

When your team is preparing for a retake, they need to communicate with each other as that's how the game functions. If you notice your team approaching a retake and Omen isn’t indicating that he has a flash or explaining how he plans to use it, that's a problem. Similarly, if your teammates are in a 2v1 situation and aren't communicating their plan of action, that's another issue. You should be adept at reading your teammates and calling out things they might not be able to notice themselves.

Sometimes, if you’re fully focused, you might not be able to make a callout in the moment. For example, if Demon 1 is fighting five players at once and constantly ducking in and out of cover, they’re unlikely to activate their mic to call for help as they are too engaged. Someone else on the team who can see what’s happening should call out a flash, a flood, a smoke, or anything that can assist them.

Many players fear talking when they're dead because it might be perceived as backseating. However, if what you’re saying is helpful, it’s not considered backseating.

Sound Circles

At the beginning of a round, especially in lower Elo matches, you can gather a lot of information by standing in strategic locations and listening. Players sprint to various areas, so simply paying attention to sounds can provide tons of intel. Each map has specific spots where you can stand at the start of the round to listen for enemy movements. If you’re playing an agent like Sova, you might not need to use your recon abilities because you’ll hear the enemies right away.

For instance, on Haven, if you stand near the spawn barrier at C-Long, you can gather information from both Garage and C-Long. If the attackers are pushing towards C, you’ll hear it immediately. If you don’t hear anything, you can often walk forward and secure the area for free. This is particularly beneficial for Duelists playing at C, as controlling that space provides immense value to your team.

Play Every Role

Understanding how each agent operates can significantly impact your gameplay. While it’s generally best to focus on one or two agents as you climb the ranks to gain mastery, hearing players say things like "I can’t play smokes" indicates a problem. Knowing how every agent plays allows you to better coordinate with your teammates and execute moves you know are possible.

If you find yourself playing Breach too often, try playing Jett occasionally. When your team already has a Breach, you’ll naturally understand how to call for Breach's abilities. You don’t need to spend 100 hours on every agent, but playing three or four games with each one in Swift Play can provide enough insight into their mechanics, helping you understand how all agents function. It’s essential to learn how every agent operates.

Sensitivity

Sensitivity is technically a personal preference, but it’s important to fine-tune it so you can control it effectively. Sensitivity is often measured in eDPI (effective DPI), which you can calculate by multiplying your in-game sensitivity by your mouse DPI.

Find the sensitivity that works best for you to ensure consistent aiming and better control over your shots.

Spike Tips

The spike can be defused halfway, and many players don’t realize that tapping it results in a distinct sound different from fully defusing. Additionally, by checking your minimap, you can determine if you’ll survive the spike’s explosion. If the outer white circle on the minimap is outside the spike’s location, you’ll survive. Also, remember that the direction you're facing while planting the spike determines its orientation. For example, if you’re facing a Sage wall, planting the spike will break through that wall.

Develop Strategies Against Smurfs

Sometimes, you might feel like you’re playing against a smurf who’s completely dominating the game. When facing a smurf, they will likely win every engagement regardless of what they do. Your goal shouldn’t be to learn from their actions. They might be taking bad fights and getting away with it due to superior aim.

You should develop strategies to counter smurfs. If you’re playing against players who are better than you, you can learn to defeat them by improving. Stronger opponents will punish your mistakes more frequently, forcing you to adjust your approach. Playing against smurfs in this way can help you improve. There’s no magic solution for defeating smurfs. Just do your best, accept that some games might be losses, and recognize that some aspects are beyond your control.

You’ll always encounter Radiant players in Immortal lobbies who exhibit superior skills. Everyone can aim, but handling these players effectively requires better coordination in trades and abilities. Don’t give them 1v1 opportunities. Gather information about their positions and when you engage in a fight, ensure you have favorable trades immediately after. Use your abilities and numerical advantages to secure kills; otherwise, you’ll struggle to win.

Pair Up

When in doubt, pair up with a teammate to keep things simple. The entire game revolves around trading kills and using your team’s numbers to your advantage. You want to engage in fights with your teammates as much as possible, but especially on defense, many players tend to spread out and cover every choke point alone, rarely fighting together. Instead, use Sentinel abilities to hold one choke point, allowing your teammates to cover other choke points or even smoke off an entrance. Many players won’t attempt to walk through a smoke without using abilities, so use this time to group up with a teammate and fight together, especially on maps like Bind where coordination can make a significant difference. Stop trying to hold an entire push by yourself—you’ll likely get overwhelmed.

Cut Your Losses

If you’re doing well and want to keep climbing but find yourself losing two matches in a row, take a break from playing, especially if one of the losses is extremely frustrating. For most players, climbing ranks is a marathon, not a sprint. Progress gradually and aim to maintain high-quality gameplay in every match. If you play three or four matches in one session, you might start feeling fatigued, leading to worse performance.

Play and win a few matches each day, then stop while you’re ahead. Taking a break after two consecutive losses will prevent tilt queuing and stop you from losing all your rank points (RR) in a single day.

Select Your Main Agent

It’s important to determine which agent class you should play and which one suits you best. If you prefer a more passive playstyle and like to flank enemies, Sentinels are likely your best fit. Consider agents like Killjoy, Sage, or Cypher. Currently, Killjoy is probably the strongest, but new players often gravitate toward Sage because she can heal and resurrect teammates. If you enjoy running and engaging in fights, Duelists such as Jett, Neon, Raze, Reyna, and Yoru are solid choices.

For beginners, Sky and Kayo are recommended because they are relatively straightforward and easier to use compared to other agents.

We have Controllers, who are the smoke agents in the game. This is the most challenging role for new players because you need to know where to place your smokes. However, this role includes agents like Brimstone, Omen, Astra, Viper, and Harbor. Brimstone is the easiest to learn for smoke usage because his smokes are straightforward, and his ultimate is simple as well. Astra and Viper are quite difficult as they require extensive map knowledge and experience to use their smokes effectively.

Play Near the Spawn Barrier

At the start of rounds, you should play close to the spawn barrier. The main objective is to engage in action immediately. In low Elo matches, you might notice players staying back and returning to their sites, but finding that all their teammates have been killed, leaving them in 1v5 situations. Playing near the spawn barrier might not always be the best move, but as a general habit, if you’re in low Elo and struggling to make an impact, it’s a great way to get involved in the action.

Advanced Learning Tips

Following advanced tips for playing VALORANT will help players win every round. Each strategy can elevate your gameplay to a professional level. Below are some advanced techniques to apply during any round you play:

• Your mouse sensitivity should be your top preference. However, the general rule is that you should be able to perform a 180-degree turn with one swipe from the middle of your mousepad. The reason is that with good crosshair placement, most enemies should be in front of you, eliminating the need to turn your back frequently.
• A larger minimap is a great way to enhance your situational awareness. While many players lower their settings to maximize FPS and disable all extra features, enabling certain features like Bloom is recommended. Bloom makes it easier to spot recon abilities and character silhouettes, such as Sova’s recon darts and other agents.
• Sniping feels different when using toggle aim versus hold-to-aim. This is particularly noticeable with the Operator. If you use hold-to-aim instead of toggle aim, you can quickly aim and shoot without losing precision.
• To practice spray control, spend a few minutes in the range spraying against a wall.
• If you want to practice peeking, you can use a Sage wall or take cover behind a pillar.
• One of the biggest advantages of warming up in Valorant instead of using external aim trainers is that you can also practice your in-game movement and abilities.
• Many players have stumbled on ziplines in Valorant, but handling them is straightforward. Press the directional key corresponding to the zipline’s exit direction. For example, if the exit is to the left, press A; if it’s backward, press S.
• If you’re having issues during a match, try practicing headshots on your teammates’ avatars during the buy phase.
• In low-health situations, focusing on headshot angles is a good idea because it forces enemies to work harder to secure the kill.
• When playing deathmatch, stop trying to win and start practicing for real games instead. Instead of seeking kills, focus on clearing angles. You’ll develop better muscle memory, which will transfer more cleanly to actual matches.
• If you’re in a retake scenario, almost always prioritize smoking the spike instead of the entrance. This allows your teammates to hold off attackers while you safely defuse from all angles. If you smoke the entrance, your teammates won’t be able to hold off the enemies effectively.

Summary

These tips will help you learn how to play Valorant and enhance your gameplay. Being a beginner can be challenging, but with consistent practice and dedication, you’ll find yourself climbing the ranks swiftly!