Valorant - New player in cybersports

The popularity of CS:GO makes Valve's competitors uncomfortable. For the second decade they do not give up their leadership position. Blizzard with its Hearthstone and Overwatch have also failed to squeeze Valve. But the cybersport arena needs a fresh throat. This is not an industry where static is quoted.

That's what the new Valorant shooter was supposed to help with. The game originally targeted e-sport, and its creators - Riot Games, creators of League of Legends - do know something about e-sports.

Valorant - what is the point?

There are two teams of special agents. There is a map with three points where the "bomb" is planted. One must place the "bomb", the other must not allow it to be placed at all, or if the "bomb" is still placed, it must be defused.

Special agents have a set of unique skills: some create an impenetrable pillar of smoke screen, some launch an arrow with radar to mark the enemies, and some are engaged in the treatment of the team. Also, each hero has his own ultimative ability, which becomes available not only for frags, but will also require you to gather special spheres on the map.

We mentioned CS:GO and Overwatch for a reason, because Valorant looks like a mixture of these two games. You can't get rid of the feeling of deja vu for a minute, we've all seen it before. Even the weapon purchase before the rounds is almost identical to the one in CS:GO, only the choice of weapons is a bit more.

After a couple of hours of playing the game the persistent feeling that you are playing for cheap. Even the special agents have their own synonyms in Overwatch.

Apparently, Riot Games literally took the meaning of the phrase "All that is new is long forgotten old", dusted off the Blizzard's creation, which is slowly starting to fade, looked up the classic approach to shooters from Valve and called the resulting product their own, but did it work?

Why did they have high hopes for Valorant?

Despite the fact that the game was received rather coolly, Valorant had every chance to become the next cybersport discipline. The following facts indicate this:

Riot Games developers know their business - Who better than the creators of LoL to create a balanced game? The weighty argument - the experience of more than 12 years in the MOBA genre (multiplayer online battle arena, where you fight two teams, most often 5 players each). But MOBA is not a shooter, so you have to go through a long way of trial and error.

The tickrate in Valorant is 128, while in CS:GO it is only 64 - the tickrate is responsible for registering movements. The higher the ticrete, the more accurate the picture on the screen is with the game server data. Valorant has 128 ticrets, which guarantees comfortable game play: opponents are not "teleported" and the damage is registered clearly.

Valorant has low system requirements - the game was specifically made for the masses. Graphics in 2020, let's say, does not shine, we had to sacrifice it. But now Valorant runs on any "toaster", and for today's realities good optimization - unfortunately, nowadays, a rarity.

A fly in the ointment...

I did not want to end the article on a minor note, but I have to.

The first thing in the case of Valorant is extremely alarming is Free-to-Play. The game's accessibility, coupled with its low system requirements, attracts immature minds who somehow know the entire makeup of your family. The game should not be too accessible.

Second is the fact that the game, still in closed beta testing, allowed itself in the game menu "Shop" and there ... are skins on the weapons. It would have been fine if the painted guns looked good, but looks like a portfolio of not too talented 3D-artist, but not the point ...

And the point is that the game at that time had not even had time to come out, and we already suzvetvet microtransactions, unpleasant.

Third - the developers clearly rushed the game's release. There are few maps, a few modes, and, most offensively, there is no way to create and connect to user modes. You can not play around before the game, but the statistics Valorant collects all, not just the ratio of kills and deaths.

Fourth is the questionable aiming system. For some guns shooting from the shoulder not only increases the accuracy, but also changes the mode of fire, for example: from automatic fire in the sight we now shoot in bursts of 3 rounds.

Fortunately Valorant has a shooting range where you can try out unfamiliar guns, but at the risk of being biased, in a game that relies so heavily on CS:GO experience, the ability to shoot in sights only interferes with the dynamics.

It's too early to summarize the experience with Valorant, and it's too early to talk about a cybersports icon. But remember League of Legends at the start, and what a game it has grown into, and in fact Riot Games is at the helm here as well. It remains to wish the guys smooth roads...