Master the Art of Knifing in Valorant: Tips and Strategies
Are you a fan of Valorant and looking to improve your knife skills in the game?
We will explore everything you need to know about using the knife in Valorant, from equipping the knife and approaching enemies to the benefits and risks of using it.
Whether you’re looking to increase your movement speed, practice knife techniques, or enhance your close combat skills, this article will provide you with valuable insights and tips.
Let’s dive in!
Contents
Key Takeaways:
What is Valorant?
Valorant is a tactical first-person shooter game developed and published by the Santa Monica, California-based game company Riot Games. First rumored with the codename Project A in October 2019, the game was officially announced as Valorant in March 2020 and released the same year but only available to those who received beta keys from Riot Games. With a free-to-play model like other Riot Games titles, Valorant was released on June 2, 2020.
What is Knife in Valorant?
Knife in Valorant is any of the five standard knifing melee weapons, the Knife, Classic, Fists, Buddy Sabotage, and Golden Knuckes, that can be assigned to past battle pass agents.
These have the same primary functionality with only aesthetic changes. The standard knife makes a loud noise when used and if you scroll your mouse wheel or use the alternate fire button, it spins and twirls. This indicates to others that you are knifing out in the open or for fun and not being sneaky. The Classic has the standard twirling but has a quieter attacking sound. The Fists have the same quiet attacking sound but no twirling. The Golden Knuckles and Buddy Sabotage are quiet and have no twirling.
How to Use Knife in Valorant?
You use the knife in Valorant by pressing the 3 key on a full-size keyboard by default (Middle Mouse Button for alternate attack). The knife is a melee weapon with a short hit range and fast hit speed, used for moving around the map without revealing himself through weapon noise. The knife is also a one-hit lethal weapon if charged and swung into the enemy’s back, left, or right, but not if you are facing him. When you are stocking on ammo and don’t have time to reload, just pull out the knife by using it sprinting, saving movement, and utilizing quick and silent tactics.
Equip the Knife
This is not the UI tutorial we know you seek. You most commonly equip your knife by having it in one of your linked gear spots. Your assigned starting pistol is automatically equipped in the pistol gear spot, which means your knife for Earth agents and the axe for Yoru (or pickaxe for Sovereign once you purchase) should be in that slot instead.
To ensure your knife is in the appropriate pistol geat slot, select your knife or purchase another equipment piece and right-click to link your knife to the slot. Pressing 3 on the keyboard will put away your weapon and you will have your knife equipped.
If you purchase other equipment and your pistol gear then has an extra weapon, selecting the knife and right-clicking will equip it to the slot even with the extra weapon equipped.
Approach the Enemy
Approach the enemy while knifing by using either sneaking to be completely silent or using strafing techniques (the A/D keys on a keyboard) to make yourself harder to hit in a knifing contest.
Use the sneaking function to approach the enemy silently. Synonyms for sneaking in Valorant include walking, not running, being quiet, and being slow. Walking – or sneaking – is a technique to prevent the enemy from hearing you. The most commonly played mode in Valorant is normal mode, with each player starting the round with a maximum of 5000 credits. Under these conditions, Knifing instead of shooting is a recipe for defeat if you are not able to successfully sneak up on an enemy.
Here, Viper walks toward B Main on Split and then sneaks to be completely silent when she sees Phoenix. Running to close the gap during a brief period of safety is a possibility. However, it may notify the enemy of your whereabouts and inability to prevent being seen. This should not be overused, as the slip off sound may be confusing for short distance audio cues, but it may still be used together with a short knife burst to achieve rapid progress. This could be particularly useful if you need to lure an enemy out of hiding or to rush after hitting them while taking cover.
Aim for the Head
The knife in Valorant does 50 damage on a body shot. To optimize your damage when knifing, aim for the head. If you are confident that your enemy does not know you are there, consider aiming for the head. The 68 damage-cap of the knife is unaffected by headshot multipliers, so aiming there will increase your chances of taking out the enemy.
While most players never upgrade the knife for the full 150 local currency, if you have done so, this means 1 knife kill will have you back to the 200 or 250 credits you would need to buy your team a gun, so play the long game (and the head). Finally, when attempting to sneak up and melee the enemy using the shift walking key is usually a good method.
Use Movement Techniques
Movement techniques with knives include peeking around corners or boxes while sprinting with the knife or using an agent ability, attacking a still target whenever possible, hopping while adjusting your aim, and running in certain directions while moving the aim to counteract the weapon’s movement pattern.
Many VALORANT weapons have moving firing inaccuracy patterns that are predictable. For instance, firing the Phantom while moving to the right has a pattern that resembles the letter L. Players can read these patterns on a gun-by-gun basis in TDM to determine how best to counteract them by moving in particular directions. knives in valorant. These techniques will take much practice to master, however, increased agility and map comprehension will make players more likely to be able to survive an initial engagement and slip away to fight another day.
What are the Benefits of Using Knife in Valorant?
The benefits of using the knife in Valorant are that it makes you run faster than with a gun or rifle; it recovers some health lost during battle; it only costs 150 credits and you can sell some other gun or rifle to recoup its cost when you decide you want to purchase a bigger gun; and its kill is humiliating for the opposing player or team.
The ability to run faster when wielding a knife is amongst the most notable benefits. The default movement speed of a character in Valorant when running with any weapon is 5.36m per second. When they have the knife out they move at an increased 5.6 m per second. On top of this, the right-click of the knife acts as a cheat code which will help you regain energy.
According to Gamer Location, the knife has a reclaimable recovery per kill of 50 hitpoint to the user. This was one of the many insinuations centred around the knife’s lack of utility in the game. Despite some players often first criticizing first-tier agents and only noticing them in play when they are used in Valorant Champions Tour matches, individual play and game awareness are also an essential part of the game. The provision or lack thereof of a cheap crutch like a knife is simply untrue. At 150 credits, it is nowhere near ‘free’, and the money can be better spent on utility gear or kept for later. It can become worthless if upgrades or crucial equipment are skipped because of purchasing ammo. This way, the knife then becomes another viable option for clutching when needed and it becomes incidental equipment for a game round. Its additional features contribute to the team and player.
Faster Movement Speed
Running with a knife in Valorant makes players move faster. The base movement speed for walking in Valorant is 90. This speed is augmented at +50% for those running with a knife, taking the movement speed up to 135. This is the equivalent of running while holding any other weapon aside from the stinger, which also provides that +50% speed boost while also functioning as a SMG. (In a weapon balancing update from July 21st, the movespeed of the Stinger was reduced from +50% to +42%)
Let’s talk numbers for a moment. Players with a knife will need 220ms to pull it out and a further 50ms to land their first knife hit. Instead of a knife attack, a normal pistol would be easier and quicker to land, with a firing speed of 6,0ms. Players can still run with their gun out ready to fire and can still be quicker to fire than with a knife. As a result, having a knife out is very rarely advantageous. Players receive the benefit of moving faster at the expense of not being able to defend themselves since it takes 270ms to ready the knife and only deal 50 damage
Faster rotation – because you move faster!
Quieter Movement
Movement in online competitive games with an emphasis on aim training skills like Valorant must strike a balance between positioning and readiness to control. The two movement keys that help with quieter movement are Shift and Control by default.
Hold Shift: Moving + Shift will reduce the sound that players make when they walk. This helps with stealth play and means that knives are less likely to be heard from far away. However, players are quicker to notice again when Shift is not being held if they hear the knifer.
Hold Control: Moving + Control will take care of crouching or walking as a toggle. Combining this with holding Shift can slightly increase speed while still maintaining relatively quiet relative movements.
One-Hit Kill Potential
Knifing in Valorant offers consistent one-hit-one-kill potential even when other guns don’t. Knifes allow players to grant a longer-lasting economy boost at the expense of lower fragging potential if it means reducing the enemy’s economy or defending it. This is the only known time a knife range has been tested and HS accuracy measured in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive on high-velocity faceit servers, so data is scarce (The warOwl, CSGO Knifing Then and Now, 2019).
What are the Risks of Using Knife in Valorant?
The most substantial risk of using the knife in Valorant is personal death. The time needed to kill with it puts the player at a disadvantage against an armed opponent. The 150 credits saved by default equipped knifes are not helpful if one dies and the opponents get a survivor bonus of 300 credits for using their guns.
Although it is the preferred method of regulation, a missed knife attack can financially burden and under-armored player even further. The default knife out speed of 4.75 ms in Valorant is relatively fast compared to pulling out a gun. While it is not exceedingly fast compared to other weapons in the game, it should be kept in mind when using the knife on low HP opponents.
The sound of the knife movement can alert opponents to the player’s strategy. The panic of being unexpectedly flanked with the knife up can cause a player to uncontrolably prospect without ever damaging an opponent. The animation of using the knife briefly obstructs a player’s scope of vision, possibly causing them to literally lose sight of an opponent during a knife battle.
Close Combat Only
If the majority of engagement locations on the map necessitate long range combat, then typically only playing on the defending side will give players the best chance to utilize knives. If players are forced to engage far away from doors to bombsites on Bind, train stations on Icebox, mailroom and garage on Haven, or sniper’s alley on Breeze, they will waste more time than if they instead used a gun. Lower-value targets can be considered and granting the team overall more time is where knife rounds can be especially useful.
Sprinting with the Knife. Although the default running speed is 5% slower than maintaining a knife in the hand, it is nearly as effective and changes the player’s viewing angle quicker. Use as a method for crossed paths behind teammates and slow reaction to a spotting enemy.
Vulnerable to Enemy Attacks
You are unable to use abilities or shoot while moving the attacking team can shoot. As almost the entire map is visible in Valorant, it is fairly easy to inflict quick damage with inaccurate pistol shots, and knives need to remain close to have a greater chance of being hit. This is a minor point of concern. As stated before, act confident to avoid possible enemies and strike when the time is right reported CompetePlus.
How to Practice Knife Techniques in Valorant?
There are no special techniques required to use a knife in Valorant, as the mechanics of using a knife match that of using another weapon like a pistol or rifle. You can practice using a knife by selecting the knife or melee weapon from the loadout instead of a gun and using only the knife/gun to fight opponents. This is very disadvantageous as knives do less damage, but it is a valuable practice to train to dual wield.
Play Deathmatch Mode
Playing Deathmatch via the ‘Spike Rush’ option is an easy way to improve both aiming and knife skills.
Towards the end of the game, it often comes to the situation where both players have very low health and are trying to knife each other. Use this opportunity to predict your opponent’s direction and distance in an environment that is less severe.
‘Knife Fight‘ is also a fun and lighthearted mode to give players extra time to practice together. Although it is not an in-game option yet, it is an active mini-game frequently played by the Valorant community.
Use Custom Games
Custom games in Valorant are player-created matches that do not affect rankings, especially when those custom games are Deathmatch death-only matches. Unlike training, here you will go up against real opponents and will not have the aid of the teammates present in Spike Rush if you wish to practice knifing without risking your rank’s win/loss statistics. In addition, no real teammates mean more potential kills for you. And a knife kill gives you 200 credits worth of bonuses, so you may find leveling up your characters’ weapons easier with knife kills. In Customs Matches > Create A Game, you will need to scout and see which custom games you would prefer. Sometimes it may take a minute as there are not always deathmatch only games in the server choices, but the time spent is definitely worth the knifing practice.
Player-created deathmatch games can be played as 10-player Free For All matches, or as 5v5 or 8v8 team games. Once in a deathmatch, press the comma key (`,) to buy a good knife, as you will have plenty of gold in these custom games. The default hotkey is V. Remember to practice combining the jumps as you make stab attacks so you can modify ranges and hit accuracy.
Watch Tutorials and Streams
Watch tutorials and streams of expert players to improve the way you use the knife in Valorant. Tutorials that show you how to approach and engage an enemy with the knife are limited because the number of opportunities you will have to use the knife in-game are rare. Still, players can work on their movement or abilities (duck strafing, turning corners, jumping accuracy, accuracy rates while moving quickly, etc.) which can help improve how one uses the knife by watching tutorials.
Watching streamers and pros play and use knives in Valorant can give you enhancement tips. This includes handling knife engagements, adjusting crosshairs, or sneaking around unnoticed. To make the most of information gained from streams, it is helpful to increase the playback speed, which can be difficult on certain platforms. Valking Omen’s tutorials and knives only videos may help improve your melee accuracy. An average viewer can understand the intended impact of knife abilities and standard knife movements, as well as watch the expert pros’ individual knife moves and adjustments.
Conclusion
Knifing is used in Valorant to either save costs or for VIP treatment. Knifing is especially needed when an enemy is isolated and you do not need noise to conceal bomb actions. All players in Valorant start with the option to use the knife in every round and sometimes switch weapons during a round. New players are encouraged to use this option to master the art of knifing opponents at a safe distance.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. How to Knife in Valorant?
To knife in Valorant, you must first equip your melee weapon by pressing the “3” key on your keyboard. Once you have the knife equipped, you can use it by getting close to an enemy and pressing the left mouse button to attack.
2. Can I use my knife as a primary weapon in Valorant?
No, your knife is considered a secondary weapon in Valorant and is primarily used for close-range combat or as a last resort when you run out of ammo.
3. How much damage does a knife do in Valorant?
A knife attack in Valorant does 50 damage to an enemy player. However, if you hit an enemy in the back, the damage is increased to 75.
4. Are there any special techniques for knifing in Valorant?
Yes, there are a few techniques you can use to improve your chances of successfully knifing an enemy in Valorant. These include crouch-walking to make less noise, using your abilities to disorient your opponent, and strafing to make it harder for them to hit you.
5. Can I knife while using my ultimate ability in Valorant?
Yes, you can use your knife while using your ultimate ability in Valorant. However, keep in mind that using your ultimate ability will cancel any other action you were performing, so be sure to use it wisely.
6. Is knifing a viable strategy in Valorant?
Knifing can be a fun and satisfying way to eliminate an enemy in Valorant, but it is not always the most practical strategy. It is best used in close-range situations or as a surprise attack, rather than relying on it as your primary means of combat.
