Valorant: What We Know so far

Everything we know so far about Riot's new shooter, Valorant.

Valorant, previously known as Project A is fast approaching. With people all over esports and gaming hyped for the next game from Riot Games we’ve compiled all the info both official and rumor that we have on the project thus far.

The game is a cross between Counter-Strike, Siege, Overwatch and a hint of Team Fortress 2. While it’s far from a copy of any, it tries to combine elements of each to create something unique. The slower round structure of CS:GO is on full display, with buy menus while Overwatch and Team Fortress 2 appear in the character abilities and “Hero-Shooter” style. Visually the game is much more like the latter. With Riot Games clearly using Blizzard’s formula for getting the game into as many people’s PCs as possible by using an art style rather than going for realism.

What we know

• We know that Valorant is a 5v5 character-based tactical shooter from Riot Games. The game aims to reward creativity and good use of mechanics
• Each match has 25 rounds; the first team to 13 wins
• You pick your character (Agent) at the start of each match. You cannot change mid match
• The main game mode is basically Counter-Strike’s Defuse mode
• The story takes place on earth, just in a cataclysmic future version of it
• Valorant will be free-to-play
• The game's story will be told in a similar style to Overwatch
• The game will run on 128-tick servers, at least 30 FPS on most min-spec computers with the main aim to be 60 to 144 FPS on any modern PC (full specs below)

• Riot Games is also aiming for <35ms for players in major cities around the world
• Anti-cheat will be in the game from day one. Riot claims to have been obsessed with it for years. It will certainly be a big change for the developer going from a MOBA to an FPS
• Valorant aims to have precise, consequential and highly-lethal shooting. With the goal being that your skill and strategy alone wins the fight
• Creativity is a big part of the game. With Valorant’s playable characters having a plethora of abilities and powers at their disposal (see Overwatch) Riot Games’ aim is that you’ll use your powers to outplay your foes
• The game or beta will be out in Summer 2020
• It will feature (at least) eight characters at launch
• The game features a CS:GO style start of round buy system for guns
• The guns will feel like a traditional shooter. Recoil/spread/error etc
• Wallbanging is a thing, though Riot says the system won’t allow for cross-map wall bang kills etc

• Valorant currently has two maps. More will be added
• The full list of eight characters are: Sage (China), Cypher (Morocco), Brimstone (USA), Phoenix (US), Viper (USA), Sova (Russia) and Omen (unknown) – full details here
• New characters will be added over time, though Riot won’t commit to a schedule at this time
• The game will run on the Unreal Engine
• Each character will have one ultimate, one main ability, and two purchasable extra abilities
• Valorant currently has gun skins, there are no plans for character skins currently
• Valorant will have a Battle Pass. No details on seasons or how often it will refresh
• Valorant will not feature loot boxes

Valorant PC Specs

Recommended Specs – 60fps

•     CPU: Intel i3-4150
•     GPU: Geforce GT730

High-end Specs – 144+fps

•     CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz
•     GPU: GTX 1050 Ti

Minimum Specs – 30fps

•     CPU: Intel i3-370M
•     GPU: Intel HD 3000

PC Hardware recommendations:

•     Windows 7/8/10 64-bit
•     4GB RAM
•     1GB VRAM

Images via Riot Games