5 Takeaways from the T1 x Nerd Street Gamers VALORANT Invitational

Here is the biggest mistake new players are making, particularly those who come from Overwatch compared to CS:GO . It takes a short moment to be eliminated in a round and running causes so much noise that you might as well yell loudly that you’re inbound to the opposing t

Gen.G, seemingly had the greatest understanding. Despite being arguably outclassed mechanically by Team Brax, Gen.G’s defense often seemed impregnable and their offense would steam roll through teams caught off guard. Michael «MkaeL» De Luca’s Cypher play was masterful, and the information he gained allowed Gen.G’s defense to become a brick w

One of Omen’s abilities, Shrouded Step, allows him to teleport a short distance. In the first few seconds of a round, this can do a lot to confuse the enemy team; they’ll be coming out and ak-47 skins looking at where your team should have to exit from, but meanwhile, you’ve teleported somewhere they weren’t looking and have an easy kill on your ha

With Omen’s ability to get to a lot of places on the map with relative ease, he has the unique opportunity to create pinches with his teammates, hitting the enemy team from two very different angles. Map knowledge is going to help make this possible, as will good communication with your t

Since VALORANT is a new game, everyone is learning the best practices for weapons, maps, and team compositions. While players should explore every Agent, their abilities, and the weapons available via personal experience – there is still a ton of information to be gleaned from watching top streamers and competitive play

Here is where VALORANT deviates strongly in theme from CS:GO and ventures into Overwatch territory. Each character, known as an Agent, has their own backstory with abilities that border on the supernatural to match their personality. Phoenix, unsurprisingly, is all about fire and the potential ability to respawn when elimina

The first of Phoenix’s abilities is his powerful Blaze ability. When using Blaze Phoenix casts a far-reaching wall of fire. This wall of fire does damage over time and restricts the enemy and friendly player’s vision from either side of the wall. When casting Blaze Phoenix is capable of curving and adjusting the angle to which the wall travels. Allowing Phoenix players to cover some tricky and crucial angles with this abil

At the start of each round, players will have a moment to spend their Creds (the in-game currency) to purchase weapons, armor, and abilities. This is called the Buy Phase, and the number of Creds available is directly related to securing certain actions in the previous round. Dying right away will award only a small number of Creds, whereas eliminating opponents, winning the round, and planting the Spike will award m

This ability can pass through walls just like Dark Cover, meaning you can activate from perfect safety and come around the corner assured that your enemy is going to have a tough time seeing much of anything, making it the perfect opportunity to erase them from the ro

VALORANT began its closed beta last week and there is no doubt that the game will be a hit. For players looking to dive into the newest tactical FPS, there is quite a bit of useful information to know in order to avoid simple mistakes and grow in skill. Comparisons online are being made to CS:GO , Overwatch , and other FPS games. In a sense, there are similarities or borrowed concepts, but VALORANT is ultimately a beast to learn in its own ri

Much like the Incendiary Launcher, this can be a great way to force an enemy out of good cover, or out of a small room, considering the damage radius of the ability. This can drastically turn the tide of a round, forcing an enemy to give up a really advantageous position and making them fight on your te

These can be used in an offensive or defensive capacity, with the latter usually used in order to force attackers around corners or through hallways blindly, giving you a severe advantage in any gunfight as they’ll have to get their bearings as soon as they exit the sm

It’s not an overstatement to say that T1 and Nerd Sreet Gamers’ tournament was incredibly fun to watch. From Hiko’s insane 1v4 clutch to EliGE popping off at every possible moment, VALORANT proved that it can live up to the hype as an esp

To find the most success with Phoenix understanding how to use his abilities effectively is a necessity. Thankfully, Phoenix’s kit allows for players of the character to combine his abilities to create a variety of synergies. Alongside the character’s potential for some powerful team-related combination, Phoenix players are spoiled for choice when it comes to optimal p

This means that walking is (almost) always the best idea. An Agent keeps their position obscured, and since there are no heavy footsteps, players are free to listen to other important audio cues made by the opposing team. Weapon accuracy is also vastly improved when standing st