PC Gamer - UK 2020-04)

ANATOMYOF A BOMB SITE

Here’sthebreakdownofa standardValorantengagement

H

uddled alone in a corner near bomb site

A, I knew I didn’t have a chance of

sneaking in and planting the package

strapped to my back. The defence had

just wiped out the other four members of

my team, and they knew the bomb was close. They’d be

waiting to dome me as soon as I stepped around a

corner. So instead I activated my ult, an ability I’d been

charging up for half a dozen rounds. After a tense,

vulnerable few seconds, I teleported clear across the

map to bomb site B and armed the bomb, adrenaline

pumping at the thought of pulling off a 1v4 upset.

“Unloseable!” says League of Legends shoutcaster David

‘Phreak’ Turley, who was helping my team of journalists

learn the basics of Valorant, Riot’s new competitive

shooter. Unloseable for him, maybe. It was meant to be

encouraging, but unfortunately Turley underestimated my

ability to choke under pressure. The defence raced to my

bomb site and I fumbledmyotherremainingabilities,

throwing down smokecloudsthatblindedmeasmuchas

they did them. Insteadofhidingtoscareoffanattempted

disarm, I went in– anddown– gunsblazing.Theyhad

just enough timetodefusemyunloseablevictory.

I’m still mad Iblewmychanceatglory,butthethrillof

that moment hasstuckwithme.Itshowedhow

dramatically a well-timedabilityinValorantcanaltera

match, and mademethink‘OK,maybeRiothas

something here’.Becauseatfirst,I wasn’tsosure.Hero

abilities allow forcleverstrategiesandexcitingupsets,but

look past them, andRiotGameshasfundamentallyspent

the last five yearsbuildingCounter-Strike.

TEAMFIGHT TACTICAL

Valorant is a 5v5 tacticalshooter,meaningyoumove

slowly, die real fast,andloseanysemblanceofaccuracy

when you try to run-and-gun.Weaponshaveheavyrecoil,

made more manageablewhenyoustandstillorcrouch.

Bullets penetratedoorsandlightcover.Oneround,one

life, with one teamtryingtoplanta bombandtheother

trying to stop them.Youevenbuygunsandarmouratthe

beginning of everyroundandrunfasterwithyourknife

games that force you to play as a team and think about

how you’re going to break through an enemy line and

conquer it. What we really liked is that concept,” says

game director Joe Ziegler.

“The bits and pieces that we took inspiration from

we’ve moulded into our own to create a package that we

feel is very unique, but really we were thinking about how

to expand on the creativity of it. Because in a lot of those

games, historically, it’s a game of inches.”

The parts of Valorant that aren’t pure Counter-Strike

are similarly unoriginal. Character abilities feel straight

out of a game like Overwatch (or League of Legends), but

are scaled way back to only a few uses per match. Riot

emphasised, again and again over two days of playing

Valorant and talking to its creators, that the shooting is the

main course and the abilities are the side dish.

“An obvious default for us would be like ‘Oh, just give

agents all the abilities every round,’” says lead game

designer Trevor Romleski.

But that’s not Valorant. Each character has a single

core ability they can use repeatedly while two others have

to be bought and replenished each round, and can only

hold a few charges. In the hands of a newcomer, trying to

use them in a firefight is liable to get you killed.

It only takes a few bullets to put you down, even with

armour. But a wall of poison or a flashbang that curves

around a corner can completely upset an encounter in the

hands of a pro. Their rarity does make them crucial, if

BELOW: Abilities like

this flame blast can

only be used a couple

times per round.

(there is, of course, no sprint). These

have been the fundamentals of

Counter-Strike for 20 years.

Seriously, when I went to Riot

Games to play its first new thing set

outside the League of Legends

universe, I didn’t expect to be pulling

out a knife to run at top speed in a

game released in 2020.

“When you think of everything

from old Rogue Spear, to Counter-

Strike 1.4 and Counter-Strike 1.6, and

even Rainbow Six: Siege now, they’re

all playing in this tactical tradition of

1

This attacher is

wide open, but

the bullet holes in

the wall imply the

defence don’t have

great aim.

t

2

If the other

bomb site is

undefended,

attackers could be

sneaking through

this back entrance.

3

Cypher drops a

tripmine and

keeps an eye on the

bomb site through a

sneakily placed

camera.

4

A smoke ability,

likely from our

POV agent, makes it

risky for attackers

to enter the bomb

site blind.

Va lo ra nt

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