Mastering the Art of Spraying in Valorant: Tips and Tricks for Beginners

Are you a fan of Valorant and looking to improve your spraying skills?

This article delves into the world of Valorant and explores why spraying is essential in the game.

We provide tips on how to effectively spray, including understanding recoil patterns, mastering burst fire techniques, and utilizing the right weapons.

Learn about common mistakes to avoid when spraying in Valorant and how this article can help you enhance your gameplay and dominate the battlefield, whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned player.

What Is Valorant?

Valorant is a free-to-play first-person shooter (FPS) developed by Riot Games. The game is classified as a tactical shooter and owes some of its mechanics to the popular Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) game. Early suspicions of whether Valorant was a CS:GO clone were confirmed when people noted that it originally was to be called Project A, taking its name from the character Gaster in the Undertale series to symbolize the character’s lone wolf status in the game. Valoran’ts core gameplay focuses on shooting opponents in a 5v5 match played between teams.

Why Is Spraying Important in Valorant?

Because it allows high-volume sustained medium-range of automatic fire with decent chances of landing killing blows against exposed opponents, making it a critical aspect of shooting in Valorant. It should therefore always be practiced by every player. General accuracy and control of being able to hit at least half the shots in a tight pattern or in close quarters at medium range are of greater use and importance than mastering the jump-and-peak techniques that can give temporary and situational advantages.

A minimal level of spray control improves many aspects of playing valorant. If one does not learn how to control spray approximately, it is easier for the whole range of shots to remain inaccurate at recoil. This approach results in being more reliant on a laucky headshot to get a kill instead of using the weapon as it is intended such that it is more likely to miss opponents entirely or blow the cover, and giving notice to the opponents that shooting has begun. If a player practices his/her control of sustaining fire at mid-range and shooting precision bursts may give a player the necessary three quarters of a second necessary to steer the trajectory of his/her crosshair up and to the left or right. At this point, the shaking of the entire body and the coordination of the keyboard and mouse muscles come into play, which must work hand-in-hand to adjust the crosshair continuously until they are on target.

How to Spray in Valorant?

Smoothing recoil patterns in Valorant requires players to get proper crosshair placement, learn control and stabilizing techniques for the gun they are using. To spray effectively in Default mode, players need to counter-strafe. This involves tapping the opposite movement key to stop very fast or precision-aiming, then spraying. In tapping-_ALT_, players should control initial controlled bursts for the first two or three shots and use spray from the third to fifth shot. Players who now struggle with their spray control can search for Valorant weapon spry pattern and recoil control guides on YouTube to learn some scratches.

Understand the Recoil Patterns

Recoil is the backward movement of a gun when it shoots. Aiming for the ideal headshot height of the second bullet and remembering how many bullets you need to control are the mainstays after the first shot. Horizontal Spray Patterns zig-zag across the screen left and right, while Vertical Sprays go straight up. Understanding these as well as the control mechanisms of each sync is what you must perfect to spray in Valorant.

Practice in the Shooting Range

The quickly accessible shooting range is Valorant’s practice playground for players to experiment with spraying and determine which weapon’s spray pattern they like the most. Players can switch between weapons and practice their sprays against the wall that the holographic training dummies stand in front of. When walking into the range, the main spraying walls are to the right near the near building corner, and separate isolated ones are directly across from the open transition to the main range that are useful for small arms or SMG jump-hipfire practice.

Marcos von Orelli, member of the Quiver Public CSGO team in Switzerland recommends using the following training routines in the shooting export:

1. 5 minutes starting from one corner in the main range, transitioning to each new dummy without stopping and firing 10 round bursts, attempting to hit the head only.
2. 3-5 minutes on any small, hipfire range – Start from anywhere you want, with the goal to have 90% accuracy with 10 bullet hipfires and slowly run across the range. Convenient for pistols or running with machine guns if you think you will ever use them.
3. 5 minutes on tracking – (Vitchel, 2021) From various distances, begin to trace each dummy with your crosshair. While keeping the crosshair on target, move back and forth in line with the dummy. This will take some time to focus on, don’t rush it.
4. 2 minutes on jump shots. (Vitchel, 2021) Ascend the moving platform with one of the dummies standing or sitting on it, firing a shot at the dummy with each jump, aiming for the head.

Master the Burst Fire Technique

The burst fire technique is often used to minimize the horizontal spray of rifles in Valorant and to maintain their spray accuracy at ranges where they normally are not accurate spray weapons. You are allowed to move when firing under the burst fire method, as long as you are moving from one point to a close point or from a far point to a very far point.

After the first few bullets your accuracy has already heavily deteriorated, so if you can’t finish the enemy in the first few bullets you have to burst fire in the standing method to maintain some accuracy. A small amount of time between bursting is required for your crosshairs to shrink before they suddenly grow again after pressing the fire button, so aim at the target then let go of the fire button and burst again when the crosshairs shrink to hit the accurate shot. The following are the time required for crosshairs to reset to pre-shooting shrinkage as per Impact’s analysis of horizontal spray patterns:

• Sheriff and Vandal: 0.075 seconds/li>
• Bulldog, Guardian, Phantom, and Odin: 0.055 seconds

Use the Right Weapons

Knowing which weapons are most effective is a key part of learning how to spray in Valorant. Spraying in close-range fights is generally more effective than in long-range fights since the weapon’s spray pattern is more controllable. Understanding both the general and weapon-specific spray patterns can allow you to anticipate and control your weapon’s spray. The Assault Rifle and SMG weapon classes can be more effective in exploiting special sprays than Heavy and Sniper rifles.

Aim for the Head

The most important spray control tip for guns is head level. Headshots do two and a half times the amount of damage compared to a body shot and the sprays for guns like the Vandal and Phantom make it likely that the initial bullets in the spray will hit the head.

According to Beaulo there is approximately 30% recoil reduction for Phantom and Gradient assists when doing Phantom and Vandal recoil control and mastering spray control habits such as aiming for enemies’ heads helps get more kills. Have a lower mouse sensitivity if you tend to spray standing still and a little higher if you find yourself strafing more.

Utilize Crosshair Placement

Valorant’s crosshair placement should always take into account different spray patterns determined by the weapon choice of a typical target distance. The higher initial rounds of a spray tend to kick horizontally and in a set direction, though high persistence patterns exist in all varieties. Where a spray is likely to go vertically in the early rounds is almost always different between weapon types, with rifles often moving upward, slowly sinking, and then moving upward again, and SMGs and sidearms tending to maintain revolve around the starting spot in the medium-to-last shots.

To understand how crosshair placement impacts the spray, consider the SMG Spectre from Valorant’s pool of arms. The first three bullets take the barrel of the Spectre relatively directly up and right, and all bullets including unique recoil in Valorant’s weapons take the barrel slightly down after three shots as the shot count increases up to medium-length targets, and then up again during the last two-three shots.

To ensure all shots as much as possible hit a target in a medium-range spray pattern with the Spectre generates a spray from the third ultimate right edge of the center of the crosshair down to the second ultimate right edge, before repeating upwards again.

Control Your Movement

Control your movement while spraying in Valorant means to move your character in the opposite direction in which the spray is headed. This direction is the opposite of the spray pattern. Therefore if the spray goes up and to the left, then moving up and to the right will increase accuracy.

It is better though to not move at all. Whenever possible, find cover behind static objects and walls and eliminate any movement by crouching or remaining stationary in Valorant when shooting a primary weapon.

Adjust Your Sensitivity

Sensitivity, also called `Sens` in Valorant, refers to how quickly your aim moves when you move your mouse. Higher sensitivities can make aiming at close targets when spraying easier.

Horizontal and vertical sensitivities are equal by default, and all guns except the Vandal and the Phantom have a different scope sensitivity. It is recommended to have one scope sensitivity for all weapons with a scope as this makes it much simpler, and then adjust your overall sensitivity as you see fit in settings.

To adjust sensitivity in Valorant, go to the Options menu within the game by going to Settings > General > Mouse. Adjust the value shown in the Sensitivity control box by moving the slider to the desired sensitivity. Test this sensitivity by aiming at a wall and strafing to the left to right to see how you perform. If your crosshair moves away from the target while in motion, this means your sensitivity is too high and you should lower it. If your performance is very slow, decrease the number of DPI/mouse sensitivity values you have available.

Keep it low. Most pro players have a sensitivity value of around 0.5 in Valorant. For context, pros like Tyler ‘skadoodle’ Latham (T1/NA) and Mathieu ‘ZywOo’ Herbaut (Vitality/EU) play in the 0.5-0.68 range, and some extremely skilled players like Adil ‘ScreaM’ Benrlitom (G2/NA) and Aleksandr ‘s1mple’ Kostyliev (Natus Vincere/EU) play as low as 0.3-0.4.

Use Cover to Your Advantage

In Valorant, the cover system allows the defending side to hide behind walls and boxes while peering out to attack the attacking side. This is known as the spray and pray mechanic, where players can blindly fire as they move from cover to cover in order to gain an advantage. This is the absolute worst time to spray in Valorant. If you are behind enemy lines or pushing aggressively, take the extra second spread may not give you. The shots at a distance are not your shots to spray. Fire single shots in aim or small tactical sprays only.

By allowing them to see you and then pushing forward while firing, you improve your chances of getting a kill. If you’re at a range where you feel confident in your ability to spray and hit your target instead of tap-shooting (headshot range ideally), do so. Your enemy has a choice to either hit you or hide from you. The more aggressive you play, the more you force them to do the latter. If in an all out firefight, encounter it’s still a smart play to randomly crouch up and down behind cover/approach boxes. You’ll potentially make some shots miss you while only lowering your movement speed slightly. A small randomnesses in your movement can save you, and you don’t give anything up for it.

Communicate with Your Teammates

Communication with teammates is vital in any team-focused online multiplayer game, especially with the Spray-and-Pray shooting mechanics of Valorant. Briefly informing teammates of your overall intentions can be very helpful for them. The following are examples of the information that you and your teammates can share quickly:

1. Angle of Attack: Pushing B main
2. Location of other team members: Viper somewhere in heaven
3. Special abilities used: Jett’s dash ability already used
4. Upcoming tactics: Let’s go for a smoke execute
5. Types of weapons teammates are using: Oh, I didn’t realize you were using a specter.

On the pragmatic side of communication, good in-game design and strategies can be developed for your individual agent and the place you are contesting which will assist in communicating your intentions and capabilities better. Remember that tagging two opponents while controlling the spray in any situation means you can and should go for the kill. An example of communication while controlling your spray in Valorant is seen in YouTuber ShahZaM’s Kellogg’s NuttyFFM video where he taps onto omen and then proceeds to eliminate the Phoenix.

What Are Some Common Mistakes to Avoid When Spraying in Valorant?

Some common mistakes to avoid when spraying in Valorant are unsustainable movement, such as strafing, neglecting recoil control, and overcompensating loss of accuracy with heavy overcorrection. Common mistakes may lead people to do false spraying, which other opponents can easily take advantage of as well. In more detail, unsustainable movement during full-auto spray means the player’s (lack of) accuracy may be taken advantage of because they accidentally overdo the side-strafing in an attempt to “dance” while firing.

According to a gaming tips resource from The Loadout, Joshua “steel” Nissan suggests that it is unrealistic and detrimental to player success to expect their full-auto spray to be perfectly accurate when side-strafing. Ideally, players should instead take car-bursts and then quickly disengage to reposition before bursting again or attempt to target the player, especially in an open area to be “on strafe” to maximize their inaccuracy. At this point, a player can instead consider moving laterally while bursting and then stopping to finish with a crouch spray in a tight space.

Spraying While Moving

Spraying while moving is a tactic for players who need to make it harder for opponents to hit them, while they are attempting to spray an opponent. This tactic degrades accuracy significantly and only should be used in situations where the player believes their speed and cover hopping can save them from a potential elimination at the expense of eliminating their opponent.

Moving speed degrades the accuracy of a player attempting to spray an opponent. In a study done by a group of gaming scientists as reported to ProGuides, they discovered that moving decreases both a player’s spread and precision, depending on the gun they are using. Precision was affected by 1 to 12.5% (pistols being the hardest hit), while spread was less dramatically affected in comparison, at 0.5% to 7.5%.

That, in combination with performance benchmarks offered by TG Gaming who suggest increasing speed to alter performance around -12%, shows the most optimal speed to maintain dueling potential which combines the most useful elements of both greater accuracy and the hopping movement intended to save a player from a potential elimination reduces speed by just 21%. At higher levels or with the wrong weapon, moving and spraying is a losing combination as players lose the ability to accurately spray their opponent with many weapons. Speed and varying movement along with cadence are far more useful in those circumstances according to the overall performance data collected by Tactical Gaming.

Not Adjusting Crosshair Placement

Players do not adjust their Crosshair Placement Strategy while spraying. This is a potential mistake because during a spray a player can reasonably change where they think the enemies are likely to be. This map confirms this is possible as players in the high-tier competitive zones are forced to fight from different angles while spray-controlling similarly throughout the process.

Not Utilizing Cover

In VALORANT, savvy players are able to utilize the geographical cover. This means creating a spray pattern by spraying behind cover as opposed to direct fire. It will not yield a kill but it can help with time management. Once tagged, the agent should focus immediately on finding new cover so they can re-engage with the enemy. Make sure to use smokes to create the required cover next time you play.

Not Communicating with Teammates

This is a rather secondary reason when discussing the question of why people spray in Valorant. Communication is vital for members of the team to know what is going on, and when members of your team who are with you physically or sentries highlight enemy positions, it is often easier to just spray in the direction communicated. If the information is outdated, needing to remind directional information can result in employees spraying in the air.

Conclusion

Spraying in Valorant maximizes the odds of hitting enemies and getting kills. The primary method of spraying is using 5 to 7 shot bursts whenever standing at long range. When fighting at medium and short ranges, you can move to a 1 to 2 shot spray moving the opposite direction of where you want to hit. To spray, fire in controlled zig-zag movements that define the shape of a vertical line with pieces jutting out from each side.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is spraying in Valorant?

Spraying in Valorant refers to the action of firing a weapon continuously by holding down the trigger, instead of taking single shots.

How do I spray in Valorant?

To spray in Valorant, simply hold down the trigger while aiming at your target. This will result in continuous fire from your weapon.

Is spraying effective in Valorant?

Spraying can be effective in certain situations, such as close range combat or when facing multiple enemies. However, it can also decrease accuracy and make it more difficult to control recoil.

How can I improve my spray accuracy in Valorant?

Practice and learning the recoil patterns of each weapon can greatly improve your spray accuracy in Valorant. You can also use the shooting range to test and adjust your sensitivity settings.

Are there any tips for spraying in Valorant?

One tip for spraying in Valorant is to aim for the center mass of your target, as this will increase the chances of hitting them. Additionally, try to burst fire instead of holding down the trigger for long periods of time.

Can I change the spray pattern in Valorant?

No, the spray pattern in Valorant is fixed for each weapon and cannot be changed. However, you can learn and adjust to each weapon’s spray pattern to improve your accuracy.