With the imminent release of Valorant, there are many comparisons being made to other popular online shooters. The most prominent of these comparisons is with CS:GO, of which there are many traits that are similar. However, there are a few things that Valorant does differently, so rather than looking at the similarities, let’s take a look at how this new release will stand out from the long-running FPS from Valve.
Playing as Agents
The biggest difference to CSGO when it comes to Valorant is the use of the agents that you play as. Offering more of an Overwatch style of approach, agents are equipped with individual abilities, including an ultimate ability for you to use to your advantage.
Whilst it could play an important role in terms of tactics, there should still be more emphasis on gunplay. It doesn’t seem to be as reliant on these abilities as Overwatch perhaps is, so adapting to the game’s shooting mechanics will be vital.
Match Layout
Valorant offers a round-based system that is best-of-24, rather than the 30 rounds we see in CSGO. Usually, it is the first to reach 16 to get the win, but here you will only need to get a best-of-24 score of 13.
The use of agents isn’t the only change either. Whereas CSGO opts for the use of Counter-Terrorists vs. Terrorists, in Valorant you will simply use Attackers vs. Defenders.
Weaponry
Something that you will notice helps Valorant stand out is the weapons. You will notice that there are some kind of similarities, such as the revolver showing a striking resemblance to the type of gun you’d find in CSGO.
Apart from that, there is a wide variety of futuristic weapons for you to choose from. Weapons like the Kingdom, Guardian and Phantom rifles are part of the wide choice of guns that you can choose to use. As we mentioned with the revolver, there will be weapons that do bear a resemblance to CSGO guns, but there is a futuristic twist in most cases.
We also discussed that the agent abilities don’t have a massive effect like the do in its counterpart, and that’s the case for the Iron sights too. You will be able to aim down sights as you can elsewhere in other games, but it isn’t quite as effective in Valorant, so you will need to adapt your tactical approach accordingly.
Match Length
As with all competitive titles, the length of a Valorant game can vary. For the most part, though, you can expect most matches to last anywhere between 35 and 40 minutes. That’s a bit longer than your average CS:GO match, which typically only lasts around 25 minutes.
Setting and Style
In CSGO, you will have seen that there is a more contemporary approach to where it is set and how the game plays out. Valorant opts for a different way of expressing itself, with it going for a more futuristic outlook for players to indulge in. You will see similarities with a number of similar games here, but you may be familiar with it being made by Riot Games, so there is a slight League of Legends influence in there, especially from the colour palette that is present.
Server Tick Rate
With the exception of its overall direction with location, art design and overall gameplay, there is one other major difference between Valorant and CSGO, and that’s the server tick rate. On normal matchmaking, CSGO has 64-tick servers, whereas Valorant’s public matches can be played on 128-tick servers. This means that Riot’s new effort will be able to run a lot smoother than CSGO does when being played on public servers. Lag shouldn’t be too much of an issue either, if Riot is able to succeed with getting all players to have a ping of 35ms.
Another neat feature is Riot upsampling player movements to 128fps, so you won’t have to worry about being gunned down whilst there’s lag all over the map.
With Valorant set to release shortly, you can expect to see Riot making a huge impact on the online shooter stage. The game offers a sort of hybrid of popular titles like CSGO, Overwatch, and Rainbow Six Siege, whilst offering a whole new identity of its own in certain aspects. It has already made a massive impact on the live streaming service Twitch, and probably won’t show any signs of slowing down when it releases next week.
Have you tried out Valorant? Let us know in the comments section below!
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