【Valorant】What I am aware of when I play Valorant

I've decided to leave a brief note on what I was aware of in ranked match on my way from Gold to Immortal.

List of things I was aware of

Gunfight

Shoot to the head

In this game, you can kill enemies by shooting them in the head in less time and with less ammunition than if you shoot them in the body. If you can kill an enemy in a short amount of time, you are more likely to be able to deal with them if another enemy comes out soon after. Also, if you use less ammo, you won't have to reload as much.

Match the headline

The headline is the height of the head. During a match, you should always keep this headline and cross hairs at the same height. This is because you can align your cross hairs with the enemy's head by simply moving your aim left or right. If the headline and cross hairs are at different heights, you will have to move your aim up, down, left, or right in order to align the cross hairs with the enemy's head. This will increase the amount of Aim you have to move, which will reduce the accuracy of your Aim.

Do not sit when facing the enemy

If you sit when facing an enemy, your headline will drop, making it difficult to shoot the enemy in the head, so don't sit. Basically, if the enemy you're shooting at sits down, you can sit down, too.

Kill on the first shot

The more you fire a weapon in this game, the more the bullets are scattered and the more difficult it becomes to handle. In addition, when you fire a certain amount of shots in a row, the direction in which the bullets fly becomes random. It's hard to aim at the enemy's head with a weapon that has a lot of randomized bullets. Try to kill the enemy with your first shot as much as possible, so that even if another enemy appears soon after you kill him, you can still engage him without the bullets scattered.

Move if you miss a bullet

If you miss a bullet when shooting an enemy, you should move a little to the right or left to displace your own head. This will make it harder for the enemy to shoot your head. Moving in a way that makes it difficult for the enemy to hit you is also a key to strength in a shootout.

Shootout in the Off-angle

An off-angle is, in other words, an unexpected place. By ambushing your enemies in unexpected places, you can catch them by surprise or defeat them unharmed. Don't stand in places where you can easily expect to find enemies.

Shootout in a position where you can pull back

By shooting at the enemy in a position where you can immediately pull back, you can avoid being killed because you can pull back once you are about to lose a strike or when something unexpected happens.

Shootout in a high place

The higher the altitude, the wider the field of vision, and the quicker you can spot enemies in low places. It is also easier to hit a target from high ground than from low ground.

Do pre-aim

Pre-aim is the process of aligning your aim with the enemy's position in advance. If you peek while doing pre-aim, the amount of Aim you move when you peek will be less, so you can start shooting before the enemy does.

Do decisive-shooting

Decisive-shooting is when you predict the location of an enemy and shoot there even before they come into view. If you shoot at a place where the enemy has appeared several times, or a place where the enemy is about to appear, the enemy may appear at just the right moment and kill you.

Shoot smoke

If there is a possibility that the enemy is in the vicinity of the smoke, it is better to shoot smoke, as you will likely be able to deal damage one way or the other. However, if you use a weapon that you can see the trajectory of, or if you shoot smoke from an obvious location, you will be shoot back.

Consider the appropriate engagement distance

If you do not use your weapon at the proper engagement distance, you will not be able to use its strength. Shoot each other as much as possible at a distance where the kill times of the weapons you and your enemy have are the same.

Don't reload too soon

At higher ranks, even if you defeat an enemy, another enemy will immediately come out to support you. If you reload immediately after defeating an enemy, you will not be able to deal with the enemy that comes out to cover you. Reloading should be done in a safe place, and only when you are low on ammo.

At the start of the match

Say hello.

When you are working together with someone, the atmosphere of the place is very important. It is the same when playing this game. It makes it easier to give reports and advice, so make the atmosphere better by greeting your allies in chat or VC from the start of the game.

Look at the composition of your allies

By looking at the composition of your allies, you can get some idea of how they attack and defend, and what combinations of abilities they have. Knowing this before the game starts will help you during the game.。

Look at the composition of your enemies

There are some things you can learn just by looking at the composition of your enemies.
This is what you will find.
・If enemy team doesn't have flash agent
　→ You don't need to be careful about flash
・If enemy team has Sova
　→ Sova might use ult to stop you from defusing
・If enemy team has Jett
　→ It's better to keep Cipher's traps close
・If enemy team doesn't have Cypher
　→ Easy to lurk
・If enemy team has a lot of Duelists
　→ Looks strong on offense, but weak on defense

Purchase Phase

Buy weapons for your allies

If you have a lot of credits and one of your allies only has a few credits to buy a weapon, you should buy him one. This is because you will have a better chance of winning if all your allies use the weapons you want to use against the enemy.

Match the buy

If there are a lot of allies who are too low on credits to buy weapons, it's better to eco-buy yourself along with your allies. This is so that all your allies can buy the weapons they want to use in the next round.

Check enemy credits

By looking at the enemy's credits, you can usually tell whether the enemy is going to eco or buy the next round. If the enemy is eco, they often haven't bought any weapons or shields, so you can often kill them easily, but you have to make sure they don't drop any more weapons than if they are bye.

Check enemy ult

By checking enemy ult, you can see which enemies are most likely to use them in the next round. If you know this, you can predict what the enemy will do. For example, let's say you're a defender and the enemy Viper's ult is one point away from being ready. In this case, you can predict that the next round, the Viper will set up a spike and then use his ult. If you can predict this, you know that you should prioritize killing the Viper.

During a match

Move with allies

By moving together with your allies, you can cover for each other, combine abilities with your allies, and more.

Do clearing

Clearing is the process of checking where an enemy may be waiting to ambush you. It is possible that your allies are neglecting to do clearing the area, so when you have enough time, try to do clearing the area even if your allies are ahead of you.

Cover

In this game, the less people you have, the harder it is to win a round, so it is important to cover for each other to avoid having a gap in numbers. And players who cover will earn ult ponts, and players who are covered by others will receive assists.

Look where your allies aren't looking

If all of your allies are looking at the same place, when an enemy comes out of a place that no one is looking at, all of your allies can be killed at once. To prevent this from happening, try to look in places that your allies are not looking. It's like using your own eyes to fill in the blind spots of your allies.

Do line of fire management

The line of fire is the line from where the enemy is likely to shoot at you to where you are. Line of fire management is the management of that line. The line of fire can be reduced by placing a shield between where the enemy is likely to shoot and where you are. Reduce the number of lines of fire by burning smoke where there are lines of fire, or by going through areas with fewer lines of fire. If you can reduce the number of lines of fire, you will be less likely to be shot by multiple enemies at the same time or be covered by enemies.

Don't overlap with allies lines of fire

If you and your ally line up in a straight line to where the enemy is coming from, you can both be headshot and killed with one tap when the enemy shoots at you. To avoid this, don't line up with your allies in a straight line.

Look at minimap

When you hear a gunshot or see a kill log, you should look at the minimap. You can see the location of the enemies and the number of enemies that your allies have identified.

Consider the far wall and near wall theory

The far wall and near wall theory is that the player closest to the wall is at a disadvantage in a shootout. The reason why players close to a wall are at a disadvantage is that the closer the wall is, the narrower the view becomes. If the view is too narrow, you cannot see the enemy, but the enemy can see you. To avoid this, move as far away as possible from walls where enemies are likely to appear.

Consider area theory

Area theory, in a nutshell, is the theory that the information you gain from controlling an area can be used to your advantage in a game. The more areas you control, the better you can predict where the rest of the enemies are, and the easier it will be to defeat them.

Inform your allies

It is better to share the information you get during the game with your allies to get an advantage in the game. For example, if you report to your ally that the enemy has started to plant spike at the site you are at, your ally at the opposite site will be able to get to that site sooner and start retaking earlier than if you had not reported it.

Don't give the enemy any information

Try not to give the enemy as much information as possible, because if you do, they will be able to take advantage of you.
You should not do this kind of thing.
・Make footsteps
　→ Enemies will know where you are
・Falling into a Cypher's trap
　→ Enemies will know where you are
・Breaking Sage's wall with an ally who has a different weapon
　→ Multiple players will be revealed

Don't do the same thing every round

If you do the same thing every round, the enemy will remember it and counter it, so you should not do it.
You should not do this kind of thing.
・Attack the same site every round
・Wait at the same spot every round
・Lurk every round
・Put the trap in the same place every round

Consider the enemy's tendencies

If the enemy you fight changes, the way the enemy attacks and defends himself will also change. That's why you can't just do the same thing every time and get a good score consistently. In order to win, you need to adapt to such changes. Grasp the enemy's standings and the tendency of how they use their abilities, and make moves that will give you an advantage against them.

Predict enemy behavior

By always thinking about what the enemy wants to do and what you would do if you were the enemy, you may be able to take early action against what the enemy is trying to do.

When plant spike

Plant spike at safety

You can't use weapons when you are planting, so if you face an enemy when you are planting, you will get a one-sided kill. Therefore, it is better to plant in a safe situation. If you can't plant in a safe situation, it's better to fake the planting, kill the enemies that come out, and then plant.

I'll have someone without ult plant it

In this game, when you plant, you can get one ult point. So if you're in a situation where you can afford to plant anyone, it's better to let players who haven't accumulated enough ult points plant.

Defence after planting

After the plant, you don't need to force yourself to defeat the enemy. Even if you don't defeat the enemy, you can still win as long as the spike is not defused.

When retake

Wait for allies

There are players who retake an area by themselves without waiting for their allies, which means they enter an area defended by multiple enemies. Since it is difficult for a single player to take on multiple enemies, it is best to wait for your allies to gather before retaking an area together.

When you die

Report to your allies

This game is not a game that ends when you get killed. If your allies are still alive after you are killed, you should share the information you got when you were killed with them.
Please report this kind of thing.
・Location of enemies
・Number of enemies
・Enemy's remaining health
・Enemy's weapons
・Enemy's remaining abilities

Consider the cause of defeat

When you lose a shot or a bargain, you should think about why you lost. This will help you understand what was wrong with you and help you grow.

At the end of the round

Pick up the expensive weapons

When you win a round and an ally drops an expensive weapon such as Odin or Operator, pick it up and give it to them. This way, you won't have to spend a lot of credits to buy them again.

Praise your allies

Praise your allies when they fight hard to the end, even if they don't win the round. No one likes to be praised. Let's make the atmosphere better by praising them all the time.

Others

Reviewing your gameplay

You can easily find your good and bad points by recording your gameplay and watching it back. You may think you're doing well while playing, but when you look back at the recording, you may be surprised to find that you're not.

Practice

Just reading this article will not make you better. You have to learn it by practicing it over and over again. By the time you are able to do what is written in this article without being aware of it, you will be an Immortal.

Postscript

Not everything that has been written so far is correct. In some situations, it may be better to disobey.
These are situations like this.
・Dare to give information in order to attract the enemy
・Dare to crouch and shoot each other in order to catch the enemy by surprise
・Dare not cover allies to prevent your position from being discovered
・Dare not move with your allies to get information about the opposite site