Mastering Your Entry into Valorant: Tips and Tricks for Beginners

Are you eager to jump into the world of Valorant, but not sure where to start?

This comprehensive guide will walk you through the steps to access, download, and play this popular tactical shooter.

From creating a Riot Games account to mastering the game’s controls and strategies, we’ve got you covered.

Whether you’re a seasoned gamer or a newcomer to the FPS genre, these tips for success in Valorant will help you on your journey to becoming a top player.

Let’s dive in!

What is Valorant?

Valorant is a 5v5 first-person shooter developed by Riot Games, known for another very popular game, League of Legends. Valorant was officially revealed with its initial name of Project A on October 15, 2019, and its name was revealed as Valorant on March 2, 2020. The game is moment based, where agents choose to use their distinct abilities and utilities to fight strategic battles in matches of multiple rounds until one team wins 13 rounds.

Premised in 2050 the game involves a terrorist group called VALORANT, who wield abilities related to a catastrophic event referred to as The First Light.

Valorant has received prominent support from professional teams and many individuals contributed to its growth through play, beta participation, and live streaming. This outsized support contributed to the game rapidly becoming one of the most popular games, even in beta testing. The game launched on June 2, 2020 and its full version was made available in Asia, Europe, Oceania, and the Middle East. Riot Games has indicated it will gradually roll the game out to other regions, pending server and technology updates.

How to Get Access to Valorant?

Getting access to Valorant is as simple as visiting the Riot Games website and downloading the client. The first step is to sign up with a Riot account, and after that, you can download and install the game directly from their website. To sign up, fill out the registration form where you will be asked to provide some details including your email, password, country of residence, date of birth, and finally to verify that you are not a robot. After registration, log in and visit the Valorant website to download the game. It is 10.4 GB in size and the download will take a while depending on your internet speed. Following the download, the game is opened by clicking on it and can be accessed from the Riot Games Launcher. Playing the game is free and there is no charge nor are there any requirements to log in other than being online.

There are some regions including India, and many Middle Eastern and African countries where access to Valorant has been blocked due to specific laws and bans in those regions. VPNs – at least free ones or ones that do not have local servers in these regions – have not been found to be particularly helpful in enabling access to the game. The best method for such regions is to wait for changes in the specific regional laws to allow the game to be played again.

Create a Riot Games Account

Riot, the developer of Valorant, requires you to have a Riot Games account that includes a Player Name, Password, and email address for the account. You will also need to know the email address and password associated with the account, as you will need to log in on the PC you are playing on for every new account.

To create a Riot Games account, follow these steps:

1. In the browser, navigate to playvalorant.com.
2. Click on the PLAY NOW button.
3. Sign in or get started with Riot Games.
4. Fill in your date of birth and eligibility status. Click Next.
5. Select a name for your in-game character and click Next.
6. Link your Riot Games account by picking a unique username and by adding a password and email address.
7. Verify your email address using the link in the email Riot sent you, and then come back when your Riot account is verified.
8. If you are a new user to Riot games only, you will be redirected to Vanguard anti-cheat download page.
9. Before you are able to play the game, progress on the download for the Valorant game and follow the process of creating an account for Riot through these steps.

After following these steps, a Riot account for Valorant will be ready to use. Once you have your account details, log in to your Riot Games account on your Valorant-supported gaming computer. After that, follow these steps to enter the game.

Link Your Riot Games Account with Twitch

Linking your Riot Games account with Twitch will make it more convenient to receive drops and keep «Entry Enabled!» constant when watching specific Valorant streams. These are the general steps to link your Riot Games account with your Twitch account to enable entry:

1. Sign in to the Riot Games Sign Up web page.
2. Enter your credentials and click the Start button.
3. Go to your Twitch account, click on your profile, and select Settings.
4. Click on Connections from the menu on the left side of the page.
5. Scroll down to the Other Connections area and click Connect next to Riot Games.
6. A small pop-up window will appear requesting your permission to access your Riot ID. Click Authorize.

You will now see your Twitch account connected to Riot Games and can watch Valorant-specific streams for continuous eligibility. This feature grants access to in-game drops, and as described in the prospects for the «Entry Enabled!» badge, this level defines the smallest number of accounts with continuous eligibility restrictions.

Watch Valorant Streams on Twitch

Many esports players from various similar games such as League of Legends, and CS:GO have been invited to play closed betas of Valorant. As a result, there is a great array of Valorant content and streaming available on the Twitch network. This is an excellent way to research the game for free, seeing the various agents played and observing multiple styles for entry tactics in addition to learning game strategies and tactics.

Alex Goldie Ohlendorf, who is an assistant coach with TSM’s NRG Rocket League team, suggests that when watching Riot Streamers, pay attention to intangibles such as agents’ shot placement and overall positioning and create a ‘scouting report’ to build entry moves. Find low-rated content creators on YouTube or Twitch to learn entry tactics from mistakes.

Get a Drop from a Streamer

Getting a Valorant drop – that is, getting an invite to play the closed beta – is happening less frequently as it came to a close with the launch of the full game. Even so, it was still possible to get a drop by watching closed beta gameplay by others. You obtain a drop by watching specific streams of Riot-authorized streamers on Twitch and possibly on other platforms as well.

Summoner user aegisvalorantbeta, Riot Games’ official Twitch account, and any streamer that has drops enabled will provide you with the chance. There is no single, consistent list of authorized streamers, so a search in Twitch during the closed beta, and very early launch of the game, of someone playing the game with intent to get drops will give you numerous options to watch, and streamers to follow, on Twitch on that date.

Check Your Email for Access Code

To entry in Valorant you will need an account linked to your Riot Games account and have submitted a request for an entitlement to be granted by Riot Games themselves. Once you have met these requirements and signed in to your Riot Games account, searching “play valorant” on Google will take you directly to the game’s installation page.

After clicking “Find out if you have access,” you will be prompted to enter your entitlement request number or email address to see if you have access. The final step will be entering the unique entry code sent to you by Riot Games at login to download the game. Looking for help on how to install Valorant? Check out our guide on how to download Valorant.

How to Download and Install Valorant?

Valorant is a free-to-play game developed by Riot Games. Download and install the game from Riot’s website or install it via the Steam Platform. Follow this procedure to download and install Valorant to play on your Windows or macOS desktop or laptop.

1. Visit Riot Game’s website at www.riotgames.com
2. Create an account or Sign-In using existing credentials.
3. Go to the Valorant page
4. Click “PLAY NOW” from the “Extras” section.
5. Download installer and follow the prompts to install the game.
6. Launch the game and enter your region and in-game player name. Players will need to play 20 games to unlock the competitive ranked mode.

After downloading and installing Valorant on your Windows or macOS device, maximize your enjoyment by finding an entertaining streamer of your own skill level. Install streaming software on your system to create your own stream.

System Requirements

The system requirements for entry into Valorant are 4 GB RAM, 1 GB VRAM, 64-bit Windows 7/8/10, a 2.0 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, or a 2.4 GHz AMD dual-core processor. Note these are the system requirements for the valorant game that was initially launched in 2020. Players are encouraged to have a system that exceeds those requirements for optimal enjoyment.

The Riot Client uses the Partner devices (Oberon) the server lock for Ping Check and comms measurement with Riot friends. Turning it off would bypass both

Under these system requirements, a player would be able to run Valorant while at a Cyber Café. A player could also potentially run Valorant on a business computer, subject to workplace permissions.

This video shows Valorant Performance On Low End PC With C2Q Q6700 8GB RAM + GT 1030

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You Can Run on Both Valorant and Riot Client at Cyber Cafes and on Business Computers.

Downloading from Riot Games Website

The second way to Entry in Valorant after installing Riot’s official game launcher is to download from the Riot Games website. The process to download for Windows, any version of Mac, or on mobile is straightforward. First, navigate to the install page on the Riot Games website.

1. On a computer, type playvalorant.com into the URL address bar of any browser or use this link. On a mobile web browser, download the game on Google Play or the Apple iOS App store.

2. On the Valorant website, scroll through to read “GET VALORANT” and click on “DOWNLOAD” or directly follow this link to the right page.

3. Depending on which operating system you have, a download link will appear.

4. Click on the download link to have the game downloaded to the computer. For Mac, click the Apple option.

5. Wait for the download to reach the download directory.

6. Ubuntu options to download inside Linux can be reviewed here but Riot has not actively supported Valorant on Ubuntu. It requires the use of the Windows compatibility layer wine and constant steps to get it updated.

Installing the Game

Starting with signing up properly, you need to enter the following information for an individual gamer to create a Riot accounts:

• Country
• Birthday
• Email address
• Create a Name and Tagline if Desired
• Create a Password

After completing the form, click Sign Up. After you have created your Riot account, you must agree to the company’s terms and privacy policy. In which time you can then play Valorant freely as it is a freemium game.

How to Play Valorant?

Playing Valorant is simple. Install the game from the Riot Games website or via the YouTube channel of a popular streamer. Players should already have a Riot account or esports game center account, and a League of Legends account, for this purpose. Once the download is complete, create a player name and ID that other players can identify you with. You must already have a Riot account or use an account from the eSports Game Center.

Choose a Game Mode

In Valorant, Game Modes are different maps that have two attacking and two defending sites and a time limit of 100 seconds for each round. A game ends when one team wins the best of 25 rounds.

When a game begins, the attacking team has the bomb (called the Spike) and the defenders win if they defuse it within 45 seconds of planting, or kill the attackers. The defending team can also win the round by killing all attacking team members without the attackers planting the Spike.

There are five game modes in Valorant:

1. Unrated: the casual game mode.
2. Ranked: competitive mode based on player progression.
3. Spike Rush: game mode to practice, have fun, or work on economically aggressive play.
4. Deathmatch: practice mode to improve aim.
5. Custom: all players are controlled by friends, and rules set by the matchmaker, including modified rules such as unlimited money or reduced count of allowable buyable equipment.

Select a Character (Agent)

Next in the process of playing Valorant is to select a player-controlled character known as an Agent. These agents are drawn from a variety of cultures and diverse backgrounds, range in ages from mid-twenties to late fifties, as well as include various ethnicities both on Earth and in other galaxies.

At the time of the API release, there are 16 agents to select from. The primary layer of the game in both a meta and a tactical sense is exploring the combinations of agents on a team in either a competitive or casual setting. Agents are selected either between the agent selection and purchasing phase (Attackers) or the agent selection and planting phase (Defenders).

Each agent has 4 unique abilities. Plus the unique abilities, each agent has access to use all standard either attack or defense purchaseable weapons. Agents come in two categories: Duelists and Controllers. Duelists are like the Sky Needle in Seattle with the premise, “look at ME I’m amazing at this!!”. Controllers are defined as the polar opposite of a duelist with the premise, “I am the architect of your demise”. Both types of agents are useful but different in play.

Optional Agent description and Skills list with Agent release date.

Understand the Objective

Each map has either 2 or 3 sites to attack or defend. A round is won by the offense if they eliminate all defending players or plant the spike and it explodes without being defused. The defense wins a round and sets up a booby trap for attackers by killing all attackers or defusing the spike after it is planted. Except for Split, offensive teams outnumber the defensive one, necessitating spreading out.

Understanding the layout and advantages/disadvantages of each site must inform how to expand the map in Valorant entry fragging. Extra awareness and utility use may be required for some sites while others are better suited for more aggressive styles of play.

Learn the Controls and Abilities

Controls are keys that can assist in different components of the game. Valorant’s Control settings section provides a variety of crucial reassignable functions that are worth practicing with. Assign individual keybinds to each agent, practice their efficiency, and then move on to combining multiple functions to ensure that switching roles is fluid and that strategic versatility is maximum.

Experiment with different agent abilities in the Practice Range, note the impact of each ability on a character for strategic purposes, and always try to be the most useful one for the team.

Practice in Training Mode

As of the 2.07 patch on April 13, 2021, players can practice entry in Valorant in a training mode with similar mechanics to a live game. The training mode can be accessed by pressing `F11` and selecting “Shooting Test“. Training mode is a place where players can hone their aim, check their crosshair placement, and improve their spray control. This is useful to a player when entry-fragging, as they must have solid mechanics to ensure they have the best chance of success when going for the duel with the opponent.

There are nine different Agents to choose from as the player practices entry and aims to improve their ability to entry-frag. Example useful abilities for practicing entry-fragging are Phoenix’s Blind, Jett’s Dash, Viper’s toxin screen or Brimstone’s smokes. Any Agent with smoke that can be thrown to obscure the enemy’s vision is good to practice double-peeks in Valorant. This private mode proves useful in practicing jump, short, and tail shots in Valorant, given the time and space it provides.

Tips for Success in Valorant

Tips for success in Valorant are to use a marked entry player. Proper entry in Valorant means sacrificing one’s life to locate, call out, and draw out opposing fire while one’s team seeks to refrag, overtake, and secure a location. Proper attacking cannot be done without an entry, marred or not.

4 absolute must-have traits of successful entry players in Valorant:

• Bravery – Willing to risk it all
• Versatility – Comfortable in any situation
• Communication – Coordination with teammates
• Clutch shot expertise – Win duels

Communication is Key

Communication is a key requirement in order to entry effectively in Valorant. Use your in-game microphone to relay information about your team’s strategy, what the enemy position likely is, and how you plan to push a particular area. Make sure your callout style is clear and decisive but allows for rapid assessment of the situation. Here are some comm basics for executing entry frags:

• Revenge calls: If someone is caught off guard, trade frags.
• Mid-round repositioning calls: Finesse approaches and rarely used positions should be engineered if entry attempts fail.
• Callout objectives (screen control, site control, etc.).
• Smokewall placements (Omen, Jett, Viper).

Understand the Map and Strategies

After the gunplay, the most important thing about how to entry in Valorant is to understand the map layout and strategies. Most sites for most maps have a number of chokepoints, and some of these have readjustments that players can take to find better angles or catch the enemy off guard. Hold aim at common corners in the approach to chokepoints and take easy cover as much as possible during a push.

The following video by Kingscrusher examines various maps in Valorant, with particular emphasis on how to open sites effectively from an attacking side. He gives a reading of Valorant maps in an entry-level way that provides insight into how players can traverse chokepoints without being an easy target. Fully utilizing maps and strategies for each character, as well as useful tips, allows players to tailor their playstyle according to the given circumstances. The video addresses various in-game tips and tricks to maximize player strategies and improve team performance.

Use Your Abilities Wisely

From the start of each round in Valorant, use your class’s abilities as needed for each mission of the given round. Healers like Sova need to zig-zag behind their party members as they crest corners to enter peaceful/occupied territories, unexpectedly entering a gunfight with enemies on the other side of the corner. Every agent’s abilities help them control a different part of the battlefield, even after the all-out gunfights start.

Practice and Learn from Your Mistakes

The most effective way to enter in Valorant is to practice and learn from your mistakes. One common way to practice engaging properly is to train on Deathmatch or Team Deathmatch game modes which simulate low-stakes scenarios that allow you to explore and learn.

If you have the bandwidth for it, record your gameplay. This will allow you to re-watch matches and asses engagement strategies in different scenarios and adjust accordingly. This includes determining the best order of operations for entry fragging, identifying locations that foster strategic ingresses and minimizing the risk of being flanked, and even identifying operators with better platforms to charge from (e.g., Cypher’s Camera).

Talk to your teammates as well for feedback on what happened from their perspectives to learn what works and what does not.

Have Fun and Be a Good Teammate

If possible stay fun and casual while playing with random strangers. The team environment is much better when people are relaxed and openly having fun. Depending on your attitude and behavior, several of your teammates may ease up, including the teammate who picks her smurf account to not care about her score and relax from her competitive play. Using the mic for better gameplay communication is essential in competitive entry frag situations, but try not to add another stressor to the game if something goes wrong. You may have the best chance of getting good tips on what happened and how to prevent it if you calmly explain you have no clue how you just died and need help understanding.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1: What does it mean to “entry” in Valorant?

A1: “Entry” in Valorant refers to being the first player to enter a site or area during a round. This is an important and high-risk role that requires good aim, quick reactions, and effective communication.

Q2: How do I effectively entry in Valorant?

A2: To effectively entry in Valorant, it is important to communicate with your team and plan your approach. Use your abilities to gain information about enemy locations and take advantage of any openings. Also, make sure to have your gun ready and be prepared for a fight.

Q3: What agents are best for entry fragging in Valorant?

A3: Agents with good mobility and abilities that can provide information, such as Jett, Phoenix, and Raze, are often considered good choices for entry fragging in Valorant. However, any agent can be effective in this role with the right strategy and teamwork.

Q4: How do I adjust my gameplay for different maps when entry fragging?

A4: When entry fragging in Valorant, it is important to adapt to the unique layout and features of each map. Pay attention to common choke points and potential spots where enemies may be hiding. Use your abilities to clear out areas and always be aware of your surroundings.

Q5: What should I do if I’m having trouble entry fragging in Valorant?

A5: If you’re having trouble entry fragging in Valorant, consider adjusting your playstyle or trying a different agent. It may also be helpful to watch gameplay from experienced entry fraggers and learn from their strategies. Practice and communication with your team are also key to improving in this role.

Q6: Is entry fragging the only role in Valorant?

A6: No, entry fragging is just one of the many roles that players can take on in Valorant. Other common roles include support, lurker, and controller. It is important for a team to have a balance of these roles in order to effectively execute strategies and win rounds.