Master the Art of Knife Spinning in Valorant: A Step-by-Step Guide

Are you a Valorant player looking to level up your game with some flashy knife skills? Look no further!

We will dive into the world of spinning knives in Valorant, exploring why it’s a valuable skill to have, how to master the technique, tips for success, and common mistakes to avoid.

Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned player, this guide has you covered. So grab your favorite knife skin and get ready to spin your way to victory in Valorant!

What is Valorant?

Valorant is a free-to-play first-person shooter game developed by Riot Games – famous for League of Legends. Valorant was released for Microsoft Windows on 2nd June 2020. The game was announced by the media as a combination of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS: GO) and Overwatch, offering an easy to learn, hard to master competitive experience with a unique cast of characters with specific abilities. But the developers produced a different, more creative crafting: Riot Games released the kernels of each game, then combined guns, design practices, and vital strategic gameplay elements such as clear sightlines and a purchase system.

The game is run equally with 5 versus 5, where one team attempts to plant a bomb while the other team attempts to prevent this. The game heartens players to use creative ways to master the game mechanics, map layouts and special abilities of agents; to bring new strategies and tactics into the scene; while presenting opportunities to expanding on their technical abilities: gun spray, firing, and dozens of tweaks to what has become known as VALORANT. This creative and freedom-centric mindset has resulted in the knife mechanics becoming a high-level broadcast spectacle but at the cost of discouraging its use in-over game.

Why Spin Knife in Valorant?

In Valorant, spinning your knife is an action that allows you to cover a 360° Radius while giving you more flexibility in your mobility and quick directional changes in your movement patterns. In some rare moments, a 360 no-scope knife kill has even been witnessed. The 360 spinner is a rare occasion to show off a kill by knife and is generally only used to be obnoxious or when a player has completely out-performed an opponent and is playing in a high-skill game<.p>ountains. Spinning knives is best used as a practice skill for experienced players to avoid giving away information to opponents by predictable turns and ensure your victory in a better position. Jack Courtenay’s GamingRant article on February 8, 2021 provides a comprehensive guide on How to Play Knife Only in Valorant.

What Are the Benefits of Spinning Knife in Valorant?

The benefits of spinning the knife around in Valorant include a 0.4-second spin animation that may be used to spook an opposing player and the possibility of most accurate and/or fastest attack spin angles that may provide in-game advantages to the player who takes the time to master it.

When brandishing the knife, pressing 4 on the keyboard and right-clicking with the mouse will spin the knife with a horizontal axis, while pressing 3 on the keyboard and right-clicking will spin it with a vertical axis. Whether the horizontal or vertical spinning of the knife is better is up for debate, but the main benefit of spinning the knife is to intimidate enemies when playing Valorant by making the opponent think the attacker is better than they actually are, distracting them. As Ryu said after winning a Smash tournament at Mandalay Bay, “Sometimes just doing wacky stuff throws off their groove. It doesn’t matter if it’s the most optimal way to play the game. You’ve got to make your opponent respect you.”

According to a video analysis by a Valorant expert on the Gamemode channel, the side spin is the most accurate way to proceed when not moving and attempting to knife someone. If the enemy is even slightly to the left or right, this will allow for the most accurate direction on the knife. The most accurate angle is the 39-degree angle, which is slightly less than half of the maximum turning speed of the knife. But this is difficult to determine without a protractor and will have to be done based on the feel of the movement in the opposite direction.

How to Spin Knife in Valorant?

To spin the knife in Valorant is to switch between weapons rapidly. This is known as quick switch in gaming as it helps in speeding up the animation speed of the knife. Just go to a safe map, equip the knife and choose the heavy armor, equip a gun and hold the “1” button while shooting the wall to see how long it takes to switch to your knife. If an enemy attacks while you are switching between weapons, you will be able to determine whether or not you will be able to kill them with the knife.

Step 1: Choose a Knife Skin

Choosing the right knife skin in Valorant refers to selecting a melee weapon that is a reskin of one of the Phantom, Vandal, Specter, Guardian, or Bucky skins rather than the Classic. As Valorant operates on the same game engine (Riot Engine) as League of Legends, any weapon skin that has been used in League of Legends will work in Valorant. The prices of Phantom, Vandal, Specter, Guardian, used in Valorant vary from $7.49 for a Competition Classic Knife to an astonishing $6,000 for a Sovereign Knife which sold in 2021 during the Prime Meltdown drop release. The decision of which knife skin to choose is a personal one based on appearance and cost. It is usually better to choose the lower cost Phantom, Vandal, or Specter skins because they will be less expensive to replace if broken.

Step 2: Practice the Basic Knife Spin

The basic knife spin is simply a full circle or 360-degree spin of the knife around the index. Leave the finger slightly loose, giving momentum to the knife so it swings on its own while you continue turning your finger. You can also give it some speed ahead of time with your thumb.

One key to performing the knife spin in Valorant or any other unlockable knife game is to lightly grip the mouse and to not let the motion get out of control. Follow along with KingflipperTV on Twitch for a demonstration of all the key components of the Knife Spin. You can even switch from spring to ball-point to get a feel for both methods. Playing with and getting a feel for each type of pen grip used in the office environment will give you a better idea of how the thumb is used to add force to the momentum of the knife spin.

Step 3: Incorporate Knife Spins into Gameplay

A big part of how knife spins add value is how it’s used strategically in gameplay. Players should practice knife spins in an empty server to get a feel of doing multiple spins in the course of a match accurately and follow up on a finish to a high degree of accuracy.

To incorporate knife spins into the competitive aspects of games, players must start by applying the correct amount of spin after getting a knockout and/or after successfully knifing an enemy player. Beyond this, they will have built their spin foundational skills to use it in a real match. Repetition is key and knowing even just one knife spin can add a layer of fun or showmanship to your normal playing style. The following is an example from the professional CS:GO scene where the player oliwer ‘rain’ Gustafsson twirls his knife multiple times around a fallen enemy player before finishing them off with a flick of the wrist.

Tips for Spinning Knife in Valorant

Tips for spinning knives in Valorant include being aware of the time it saves, when not to use it, the gain in accuracy, and the psychological effect of spinning a knife. Spinning a knife in Valorant law helps to develop dexterity and keyboard accuracy when learning Valorant.

Spinning a knife in Valorant saves about one-third of the time it would take to wait for the knife animation to finish and return kept to its normal position at the low ready. It will not improve running speed, but spinning increases mobility in terms of side-to-side motion.

It makes you a harder target to hit at longer ranges in open areas. It likely makes you an easier target when being fired upon at close to medium ranges when you get caught in buildings, enclosed areas, or need to jump.

It is slightly less accurate than the minor accuracy that is maintained when walking with the knife held normally as well as slightly less accurate than when running with the knife held normally. Thanks to YouTube, there is now ample opportunity for toxicity online. Spinning knives may be a means of saying to other players that despite their stances in the chat, the spinning player will win no matter the obstacle against them.

Spinning silver spoons, learning about different knives and styles, and even playing Valorant’s game of Knife Skin Roulette are all additional hobbies or spectacles to consider when not playing Valorant.

Use the Right Knife Skin

To spin a knife in Valorant, you should first choose the right knife model and knife skin for the most impactful and visually entertaining spinning effect. The best models for spinning are the Melee Frenzy, the Hivemind Dagger, and the Forsaken Karambit. Use the Chroma 1 and TA10 Ares skins for the Melee and Sovereign models to bring the best spinning effects. You can buy the Hallows Frenzy knife in collection 7 of a numbered set to add capital growth prospects to visual entertainment.

Practice in Custom Games

Once you have the basics of spinning down, practice knife spinning with full squads in private games. Full squads can provide you with boosts and niche roles in the event that the opposing team is competitive. In custom games, you can set parameters for whether you will play knife only and/or spinning required. If you are serious about developing your spinning technique and want to immerse yourself in a full knife-only experience then browse through Valorant’s custom settings to tweak the parameters according to the following settings in the Career tab and Settings tab, as well as selecting the Icebox map. Parameters to set in the Career tab are Shift walk, Infinite ammo, Shortened buy phase time, and Restricted gear purchases.

Don’t Overuse Knife Spins

As mentioned earlier, it can be annoying to teammates if the player is spinning knives too often. This will likely result in the commander asking for expulsion. Simply spinning the knife without a purpose acts as no benefit to the game apart from being a psychological booster. A player can choose an optimal time to use the knife.

According to a video featuring Joshua Gray “steel Marzano”, a former professional CSGO player and current Valorant streamer, he is of the opinion that weapon chances should only be attempted when the opposition is an easy target. That is when you should try to show your skill of rotating knives.

Therefore, to summarize How to Spin Knife in Valorant, remember the following 5 recommendations:

• Use knives only on players who are already weakened, do not have a primary weapon (or not using it), or standing still spray transferring.
• Try to finish the round with flipping a knife if you are confident, in a clutch play, the opposition is too easy.
• Learn the basics of spinning a knife using left and right click and utilities then practice by using obstacles to hide, increasing the speed of spins, and creating unique motion patterns.
• Attach knife flips to practice warm-ups so it is seamlessly integrated into gameplay.
• Do not spin the knife too much in the game or be flashy and entertaining with the knife. Sing in the shower or felling to much weeds when you don’t feel happy is hyper annoying. Do it in the good time.

Use Knife Spins as a Distraction

Weapon sound in Valorant travels far as you may know from sneaking up on unaware opponents. A knife spin can be tantamount to shouting, “Hey, I’m over here, look at me!” to the enemy. This is not always a bad thing to do as long as the enemy is firing back at you. As noted in this article from the cleancsgo blog, the sound of an attacking opponent’s gun is just as good of a distraction and announces to the rest of the team where an enemy is located. In such a chaotic environment, a knife spin has been known to break the concentration of opponents and distract their aim-making their next shots miss playing off this immediately opened opportunity to fire back while the enemy is disoriented.

Common Mistakes when Spinning Knife in Valorant

Common mistakes when spinning the knife are:

Players circle the knife for no reason




No control of the knife




Starting the spin knife too late




Running before completing knife spins




Spinning knife in improper situations




Spinning knife in the wrong direction

Players circle the knife for no reason. The point of spinning your knife is to show confidence and have some ability to one-tap before swapping a weapon which is faster than a knife but slower than idle. It is not like a soccer player warming up in the middle of a match. When they circle the knife, they make themselves vulnerable targets who can be easily killed by opponents who spray at them and successfully hit them.

No control of the knife. Start to get a feel for how to spin the knife during actual rounds. During any round in the game decide to use your knife and become accustomed to spinning the knife around your character. Being able to draw different circles or trace other shapes around your character in quick succession will improve your ability. The more at ease you are at knife spinning, the more it will benefit your overall game.

Starting the spin knife too late. If you start too late with the knife spin, you may not have enough time to finish before your target appears. The number of knife spins necessary to pull off the motion perfectly differs for various characters in Valorant. Because of this, you should start spinning before you suspect that an opponent may enter your field of view, even before you begin rounding a corner.

Running before completing knife spins. Even after circle-knifing has been successful and you have located the threat, many players mess it up by going directly into their running stance with the gun rather than completing the knife spin. This leaves them with no time to work with their mouse and aim properly. Take the time to ensure your mouse movement to the enemy is correct before transitioning into a fight.

Spinning knife in improper situations. Spinning the knife isn’t good during critical situations because it leaves you vulnerable. It’s just another form of BM and should not be used in highly competitive matches. And while in less critical contexts, declined 1v1 duels might have just as much significance, since they affect your previous performance perception. Avoid spinning the knife in scenarios when you know you have teammates and the round is on the line.

Spinning knife in the wrong direction. To appear at full size, spin the knife in the direction in which you plan on seeing your opponent. Dive-finished science has determined that the most successful method is to move diagonally across your screen to the goal. You have already positioned the character and yourself properly this way and will have sufficient instructions to target and aim accurately after completing the spin.

Not Practicing Enough

Some players simply do not play enough, and because they don’t practice often, they might have difficulties in spinning the knife correctly. If they don’t assign time in their individual day to focus on utilizing a knife, there could be potential problems. Beginners in knife spinning may attempt the 2007 Rollout or automatic Rollout where the knife spins on its own once part of the way around and can be guided by the player’s wrist. Merging small movements together slowly helps them conquer the knife spinning basics. Similar to a flick, a knife spin in a match necessitates swiping the mouse and dragging the mouse.

Using the Wrong Knife Skin

Using the wrong knife skin in Valorant is subjective and depends on personal taste as to which Knife Skins are overvalued or rare. However, in considering which knives are better according to practical and somewhat objective considerations, knife damage can be measured. All Melee (Right-Click) swings from knives do 50 damage, but different knives have primary (left-click) swing speeds and hitboxes that vary their range advantages.

The Talon, Sovereign, and Reaver Knives have some of the slowest primary swing times in the game and are slower than Rifle, Pistol, and SMG kills. The Scorkel Knife and the Hivemind Valorant bundle knives are the nimblest in the game and are great for heist maps like Bind with great mobility and vital one-shot hits. The Karambit Knife falls in the middle in terms of primary swing time at .75s and is notable for its hitbox location with a slightly extended range of 200 cm with a central hitbox.

Using Knife Spins at the Wrong Time

Using a knife spin at the wrong time in Valorant often results from a player using it when moving faster while aiming unnecessarily. Using the knife at the wrong time opens the player up to switching back to their secondary weapon or primary weapon and missing an important frag.

Some key drawbacks or dangers of incorrect knife usage include the following points from ProGuides and 3kliksphilip.

• Making mistakes in check the corners too soon
• Binds and buttons for spinning to help user quickly remount their gun
• Being overconfident and trying to outplay opponents
• Spinning and showing a lack of discipline
• Pulling out the knife in the wrong situation will take more time to switch back to the main weapon and can turn out as a suicidal move as it might be difficult to use a slow loading knife if an enemy suddenly appears.
• Not training well using a knife, as a bad fail often leads to death
• When you are advocating for knife spins, you have probably already developed the base-level skills, but remember that there are instances where it is best to have your gun always out.

Conclusion

Finally, spinning your knife in Valorant is done to entertain oneself and the ideal method to achieve the spin is through the use of the Toggle Walk button. Spin knives are widely popular and there are even many streamers and youtubers who are experts and have tutorials on this process. LILBANE is one of these, and videos by him/her on channel can be a good option for Valorant players seeking to learn how to spin their knife.

Remember to Have Fun and Stay Safe!

Enjoy your knife spins in Valorant. Remember that to spin your knife safely, keep your wrists and hands close to your body where you can closely control their movements. If the knife is too large or the blade too sharp to spin safely, don’t attempt knife spinning.

These are examples from hunting and survival knives that have serrated cutting edges, combined w/a poor grip or losing control of the knife motion, leading to injuring either themselves or someone nearby. If you get hurt from dangerous knife spinning, like members of the CutleryLover YouTube Channel (Read our Coverage) did during a demonstration, you may have trouble with the law like the two youtubers in Australia who spent time in jail. Be very careful with the direction of your knife spins. Do not move the knife towards your body or face. Acrobatic knife spins can hurt you and anyone around you if not executed properly.

Acrobatic knife spinning can hurt you. For example, one of the youtubers of CutleryLover YouTube Channel did two knife spinning tricks which had the potential to hurt him or someone standing behind him. His first trick during the 4-Second Bald Guy Challenge includes spinning a cold steel chaos knife that is relatively large (w/a 7.5-inch full tang blade) and sharp. The knife is out of his control and nearly sweeps his hand – causing himself a nasty cut. His second trick was to throw a knife while spinning. The momentum of the spin is redirected into the squeeze-out gloves, and he almost catches the swivel post in the palm of his hand.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I spin a knife in Valorant?

To spin a knife in Valorant, you can use the command “äknife_skin” to select the knife skin you want to use. Then, while holding the knife, press the “&” key to spin it in your hand.

Can I use a custom knife skin to spin?

Yes, as long as you have the knife skin equipped, you can use the “&” key to spin it in-game. Keep in mind that custom knife skins may not be allowed in competitive play.

Is there a specific way to spin the knife?

No, there is no specific way to spin the knife in Valorant. You can spin it in any direction or speed you prefer. Experiment with different movements to find your desired spin.

Do I need a certain level or rank to unlock knife spinning?

No, knife spinning is available to all players regardless of their level or rank. However, you will need to have a knife skin equipped to be able to spin it.

Can I spin my knife while moving?

Yes, you can spin your knife while moving in Valorant. However, it may be more difficult to control the spin while in motion, so it is recommended to stand still for better accuracy.

Is knife spinning considered a useful strategy in gameplay?

No, knife spinning is purely for aesthetic purposes and has no impact on gameplay. However, it can be a fun way to show off your knife skin to other players in the game.