How to Get Better in Valorant 2022 guide

Do you feel like you're spending way too much time in Valorant Ranked without getting any better, neither in skill nor in rank? Then you're doing it wrong. Valorant is an FPS game, that's true, but it's not only about having a God-like aim. There are many things you will need to work on if you want to improve in Valorant and climb the ranks to reach the top, such as your reflexes, mentality, and teamwork.

To help you with getting better, we are going to share tips and tricks that will make you improve in this game enough that you’ll be able to go toe to toe or maybe even completely dominate any enemy team you might come across.

Maintain your mentality

Yes, believe it or not, your mentality is one of the most significant factors when trying to improve in Valorant. Always try to be positive, or at least understanding, towards your teammates, and maintain an eager-to-learn attitude so that you can absorb new ideas and learn new things in the game every time you play a match.

A bad habit most players have is that they're easily frustrated when they get killed by the enemy, or if they come across trolls or gamers with fragile egos. All getting mad does is deteriorate your mental health and negatively affect your gameplay. Instead, when you die, think about what you could have done better for such a situation, and then make sure you're prepared the next time you’re put in the same position.

Being hungry to learn new things isn't a bad thing. On the contrary, it could help you to improve. Valorant is a mental game as well, so if you maintain your mentality, you just might yield results that surprise even yourself.

The most important thing, however, is remembering that Valorant is a game, and climbing to the top should be a fun adventure, not an obligation. If you feel like you’re getting tilted or increasingly frustrated because of you losing matches or not being able to play as well as you would like, then take a short break instead of forcing yourself to carry on.

Warmup routine

Warming up is important for Valorant and any competitive FPS game if you’re looking to improve your aim. After all, a good aim is a cornerstone, or foundation, for getting more frags and leading your team towards victory. Therefore, you should always have a proper warmup routine that you tend to follow before playing a competitive or ranked match.

There are different styles of warm-up routines you could follow. For example, some Professional Players in Valorant play anywhere between 7 to 10 Deathmatch games before jumping in ranked, scrims, or even big tournaments, ensuring that they’re prepared for anything! There are also some aim training programs such as Aimlab and Kovaaks you could try to see if they yield results. If not, you could always jump into The Range and hit some bots in the head.

Of course, you have to find the type of warm-up that best suits you first, but when you make a habit of doing it regularly, you’ll definitely feel a noticeable improvement in your gameplay!

Reviewing your gameplay with VODs

To improve in Valorant, you'll find that recording most, if not all, of your gameplay sessions and watching them when you finish playing will take your gameplay to the next level.

When in a match, the excitement or adrenaline might get to you, and, in the heat of the moment, you might make a decision you think was the best when you could have done something better. This element is nonexistent when watching VODs, and because of that, you can critically analyze your gameplay in a non-pressure state and environment.

While watching your VODs, try to write down what you think you did wrong, as well as how you could have done better in any situation in a notepad. This will not only ensure that you don’t repeat the same mistakes in future matches but will also help you catch any habits you might have that negatively affect your gameplay, such as reloading too quickly without first making sure you’re safe.

How to watch Valorant VODS

Since Valorant doesn’t have any built-in game recorder, the best way to record VODs is through SquadOV or any similar recording program. You’ll have to install and then enable one, after which it will record and save all your matches in the selected location on your drive.

However, if you have an Nvidia GPU, you can take advantage of its instant replay function by clicking Alt+Z when booting up the game. If it doesn’t show up, go to the GeForce experience, click the gear-like icon on the top right, scroll down until you see ‘in-game overlay,’ and turn it on.

Finding the right agents

It's no secret that Valorant depends not only on aim but on a bunch of agents and their unique abilities as well. Abilities that, when used correctly, can almost always outplay your opponent. Before even thinking of doing that, however, you will have to first find the agents or agent that suits you best, but to do that, you'll have to ask yourself a question. What do I want to play?

If it’s a lack of choices you are worried about, then worry no longer. Duelist, Controller, Sentinel, Infiltrator, the choices are many, but it all depends on you and how your playstyle is. If you want to be a self-sufficient fragger that operates in the front lines, then you go for a duelist. If you want to support your team, you go for Controller or Initiator. Finally, if you want to watch the flanks and lockdown sites, you might want to go for Sentinel.

The secret is trying out multiple roles and agents to see which ones you best vibe with. Then, when you find the best ones for you, it’s just a matter of spamming them in every match and slowly but surely getting better and better as you get used to them.

If you want some extra help in picking out the best agent for you, take a look at this

that’s helping you with just that.

Grind

So you have the mentality, the aim, and the right agent. Now what you have to do is put as much time, effort, and practice into the game as you can. Professional players are so good at the game because they have dedicated so much time and effort to the game, learning new strategies and polishing their skills with every match.

Put in so much practice that you start knowing the maps like the back of your hand. Try using different agents and guns so that any time a specific agent is against you, you can instantly think up multiple strategies to counter it. Not to forget, learning when and how to utilize abilities best to get the most out of them.

Try to find yourself a team that you feel comfortable with so you can work more into coordination and strategies without the risk of burnout or getting infuriated at teammates. This, however, is not a necessity, neither when wanting to get good at Valorant nor when attempting to learn new strategies. This is because there’s always the option of solo queueing or playing with AI.

Efficiently communicate with teammates.

As you know, Valorant is a five-versus-five-player game, so you never go into a competitive match alone. As such, gathering and relaying information with your teammates is vital in your wish to get better at this game and win matches.

While communicating via voice chat is always preferred because it is much easier to give quick and direct callouts, the game also comes with a ping location mechanic that, when used properly, can alert your teammates of things like enemy whereabouts.

Furthermore, you’ll find that having a buddy or two with you makes it easier to ambush enemy players and win gun fights. Having friends to play with makes the game much more fun, as with randoms, there’s the risk of your teammate being a troll, abuser, or an all-around poor player.

How to effectively communicate with your teammates

Some tips on effectively communicating with teammates are

• Don’t be afraid to ask your teammates for help.
• Try your best to answer your teammate’s call for help. If you can not for some reason, communicate why that is.
• Give specific callouts; may that be the enemy’s location or what agent they’re using.
• Try to be understanding if something doesn’t go well.
• Communicate before you do something risky like rushing in.

For an in detail guide, check out this video on

Watch how the pros do it.

As they say, doing something for yourself is only the latter half of learning something. The first half is watching someone else do it first. Who better to watch than a professional, may it be from a twitch stream or gameplay from a tournament? By watching other skilled gamers, you’ll be able to pick up on habits, strategies, and patterns.

If you’d rather be part of the action yourself, then boosting sites such as Eloking have the play with a booster option, which makes it so that you pay to have a skilled and high-ranking player play on the same team as you. Like this, you’ll be able to see firsthand how they act under pressure, how they give callouts, and how it feels to play in the big leagues.

Hire a Valorant coach

Many leading boosting sites such as Eloking offer coaching services for Valorant, with some of their coaches being professional players. When hired, these highly skilled players use various methods to teach their customers how to be the very best, such as replay analysis and setting up a training plan.

What’s more, seeing as how Valorant is a team-based game, it’s possible to have the coach teach not only you but your entire team at once. In addition to strengthening the individual skills of every team member, this also improves teamwork, coordination, and communication amongst everyone. To learn more about this, check out what Valorant coaching is like.

Play on the rank you deserve

This might sound weird since the better you play, the better rank you get, but what rank you are on also determines how good your gameplay is. This is because if your skill is higher than your rank, you won’t be challenged enough to increase your skills further.

For example, a person who gets only an hour a day to play the game might be extremely skilled at it, but because of a lack of time, he might not be able to play enough to get to the rank he deserves. Always coming against players with a lower skill level than him, his abilities will never be put to the test, and he won’t be able to learn and improve.

Of course, when put in this predicament, the only way to get out of it is by getting to your deserved rank. This could be done the long way or the short way. The long way is continuing to play as much as you can until you eventually increase your rank enough that you start feeling challenged.

The short way is paying someone to boost your account rank to whichever one you feel you deserve. By choosing this method, the next time you get time to play a match, you’ll do so against and with players of the same skill level as you, ensuring that your abilities are put to the test and that you’re forced to improve or risk losing your rank.