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Tips & tricksDominating the Valorant Economy: Insider SecretsYou probably already know that the economy is super important in Valorant. But what does it mean to manage your economy? Buff is here to give you the full breakdown to ensure that you maximize your time winning rounds with the best weapons you can get.
» Need more VPs? See the best ways to get free Valorant Points
The Basics—Credit Earnings and Buys
No matter how you perform in a game, there are some numbers that are constants. Every player starts the match with 800 credits, and the maximum amount of credits you can have is capped at 9,000. There are different ways to earn credits:
Credit Earnings for Wins
Winning a round gives a flat 3,000 credits to each player on your team. However, there are opportunities within the round to earn even more, such as 200 credits for each enemy you kill.
There are also side-specific ways to earn credits:
On the attacking side, planting the spike will give you and each member of your team 300 credits. As the defenders, defusing the spike will grant each member of your team 300 credits. Though not directly tied to economy management, the player who successfully plants or defuses the spike, or kills an enemy, also earns 1 Ult point.
Credit Earnings for Losses
With each consecutive round loss, your team will earn more credits, capping at three straight losses.
One Loss: 1,900 creditsTwo Losses: 2,400 creditsThree or more losses: 2,900 credits
Types of Buys
Full buy
This is the ideal scenario where you have enough credits to have your loadout decked out. This will mean full armor (heavy shields), Vandal, Phantom, or Operator (your most preferred weapon), and key abilities. For this, you need 3900 credits, plus the cost of key abilities.Eco round
This is a credit-saving buy, where you are typically getting the Ghost or Sheriff and light armor (light shields). Depending on the role, this may mean just buying key abilities rather than focusing on your weapon loadout. The goal is to have enough credits saved for the following round to make a full buy. Anti-eco
This is a response tactic when you know the enemy team will be doing an eco round. Rather than saving along with them, you spend credits to greatly increase your chances of winning the round with a loadout advantage. The most common occurrence of this is after winning the pistol round (first round of the half), as the enemy will almost always go Eco to build a losing streak for the credit earnings increase.Half buy
This is a middle-ground buying tactic to save for a full buy in the following round when you have enough credits to buy better weapons than a sidearm, but not enough for a full buy. The range is pretty wide here in terms of weapon and armor choices, but the most common ones are the Spectre, Marshal, or Guardian.Force buy
As the name states, this is when your team is forced to buy the best loadout they can. This is typically either when your team is one round from losing or at the last round of the first half, as everyone starts with 800 credits at the first round of each half.
» Looking to improve your aim? Here are 5 sensitivity settings that could help you
How to Manage Your Economy
Simply put, the goal is to have as many full buy rounds as possible. There are some rules of thumb that are a good place to start:
For the second round of a half, go with a half buy if you won the first round or an eco round if you lost the first round. This is the best way to capitalize on the losing streak to make a comeback, or to take advantage of the enemy team when you know they will be coming with a very weak loadout.Understand the role you play and what abilities take precedence over a weapon in a loadout. There are many new players that misinterpret a full buy as being 3,900 credits and just buy a Vandal and Full Armor with no abilities, when the team may be relying on them to smoke key choke points.Dying during a full buy round means that you have to spend at least another 2,900 credits for a Vandal or Phantom on your next full buy, whereas staying alive effectively means you've saved that same 2,900 credits. The same applies to getting a kill on eco or half buy rounds. If you kill somebody on the enemy team during their full buy, you can save 2,900 credits by picking up their gun and staying alive for the rest of the round.Some new players also fall victim to endless half buys, where they die and only have enough for another half buy the following round. Remember, the goal is to maximize the number of rounds you can make full buys.
Buying After the 3rd Round
The 3rd round in the half is a pivotal moment because this is the round where momentum can really change. There are a few scenarios, all of which dictate what type of buy you should be making:
If you lost the first two rounds, this is your opportunity to turn the tides with a full buy from the extra credits you've saved from your losing streak.If you won the first two rounds, this is what is called a bonus round. You are typically coming into the round with the weapons from your half buy last round still intact. Most teams hedge their bets by not making a full buy, knowing that the other team will surely be doing so, effectively saving 2,900 credits for the following round.If you won one round and lost the other, it's best to communicate with your team. See how they'd like to proceed, as it's best to be coordinated.
» Need help with Fracture? Discover the pro tips for Valorant's Fracture map
Additional Tips for Maximizing Your Earnings
Here are some extra tips that can help you manage your credits better:
Choose the Right Armor
You may have seen some pros buy light armor when they are against an opponent's full buy. The idea behind this is that the Vandal is already a one-hit headshot kill, even with full armor, so it is more cost-effective to just buy light armor. However, pros are playing in an extremely high-skill environment where landing headshots consistently is all but expected. For newer players, getting Heavy Shields is the more sensible purchase.
Don't Forget Your Abilities
Next, some agents have ultimates that equip them with a powerful weapon. Abilities like Jett's Knives, Chamber's Tour de Force, or Neon's Overdrive equip you with some of the most powerful weapons in the game, allowing you to save credits for that round.
Don't Waste Your Credits
The last key tip is to not waste credits by earning over 9,000 of them. Offer to buy weapons for your teammates, as that would improve the team's overall econ. Similarly, watch your teammates loadout and wallets, and ask them for a buy should the same opportunity arise.
» Read our tips for climbing the competitive ladder more efficiently
Perfect Your Economy Skills for Higher Win Chances
Perfecting your economy management is essential to improving as a Valorant player. By understanding what decisions to make and when to make them, you allow yourself the best loadout, which translates to more kills and more wins! And while winning, don't forget to run Buff in the background for some extra rewards.
Tips & tricksDominating From a Distance—6 Pro Tips for Sniping in Apex LegendsSniping is one of the more challenging roles in any first-person shooter, and sometimes you just need a push in the right direction to start sniping like a pro. That being said, here are our top 6 tips for sniping to help you dominate in Apex Legends.
1. Learn the Differences Between the 5 Snipers in Apex Legends
In Apex Legends there are only a few options when it comes to weapons to snipe with, but in the right hands, any of these snipers are deadly at all ranges, though some are certainly better suited for certain situations than others.
1. Charge Rifle
Best for: Beginners and poking enemies from a distance
ProsMost user-friendlyNo bullet dropDecent damageGood for short- and long-range fightsConsConsumes 2 ammo per shotDamage drop over 150mSlow damage outputReduced ability to peak and use cover effectively
The charge rifle's laser does 45 damage, as does the round at the end, so poking is as good as hitting the rounds if your tracking is good enough. Since the beam travels in a straight line, the charge rifle is also good for short-range engagements since its hip-fire is pretty good up to 10m.
However, you'll need a bigger backpack to carry the extra ammo, just so long as you're comfortable with tracking enemy movement from a distance to control their movement rather than go for kills. Don't distance yourself too much though, in order to avoid the damage drop.
2. Longbow
Best for: Versatility at all ranges
ProsGreat at all rangesBiggest mag sizeFastest sniper fire-rateFast ADS speedSkullpiercer hop-up buffs headshot damageConsHarder to useLeast body-shot damage
The Longbow is my personal favorite sniper rifle due to its great balance of damage, rate of fire, and ADS speed. The large magazine and fire rate make it the best all-around sniper rifle for dealing damage and getting knockdowns, but it takes some practice and patience to remain calm and pause between each shot. The skullpiercer hop-up makes it extra lethal if you can land headshots against your opponents.
3. Sentinel
Best for: High single-shot damage
ProsHuge base-damageGreat for medium to long-range engagementsCan be amped with shield cellsFast ADS speedBuilt-in Tempo ConsSlow rechambering speedSmall magazine sizeBullets are loud and visible
The Sentinel has the highest single-shot damage of any weapon you can find on the floor and an incredible ADS speed, but lacks in firing speed. However, the Tempo hop-up (now built-in) allows you to fire shots in quick succession if you time them correctly. You can also charge the weapon with shield cells, massively increasing the damage of each shot for 120 seconds at the cost of louder sound and more visible bullet tracers.
4. Kraber
Best for: Situational damage dealing
ProsMost damage per shot in the game1-hit headshot in most casesInstills fear in your opponentsAmazing at long-rangeConsVery slow rechambering speedSlow reload timeRed weapon onlyVery few bulletsHighly situational
The Kraber has been the only weapon to stay as a red weapon since the game's launch and can only be found in neutral care packages—and for good reason. The gun is a 1-shot demon where landing a headshot will almost guarantee you a knockdown.
Though the weapon has the highest damage per shot in the game, the Kraber isn't a gun you'll want your hands on at all times. Its 12-round max (4/mag), slow reload time, and huge scope makes it ineffective and unreliable at close range. Its situational properties make many people ignore the weapon entirely or make an effort to throw it off a cliff so it doesn't get used against them.
5. Vantage's Custom Sniper
Best for: Recon and buffing your team's overall damage output
ProsHuge damage potentialActs as a 3rd weapon slotGives team info and a damage boostFree bulletsConsBullets recharge slowlyOnly 5 rounds max at a timeNeeds consecutive hits to be effective
Vantage can pull out an old version of the Sentinel with unique damage mechanics as her ultimate ability. The first shot Vantage lands against an enemy with this gun will deal 50 damage to the body and mark the target for you and your team. Consecutive hits with the sniper will double that damage, as well as increase the damage dealt to the marked target with any weapon you or your teamies use against them. The rifle charges up bullets over time, gaining 1 bullet every 40 seconds to a cap of 5.
» Struggling to understand the shop in Apex Legends? Learn how to utilize the daily shop better
2. Understand Long-Range vs. Close-Range Sniping
Long-Range Sniping
This is where players use distance to their advantage and practice hitting precise shots over a range that other guns can't compete in. You'll do better with the Kraber and Sentinal in these engagements, but chances are you'll be chunking off large portions of damage from players more than actually getting kills.
You end up trading the safety and damage of range for the disadvantage of trying to finish enemies from a distance. If the squad you're fighting has enough cover, they can revive their downed teammate, heal up, and find a way to escape before you can reposition fast enough to finish the kill.
The best ways to take advantage of long-range sniping are to count on third-partying other fights as it's a lot harder to pay attention to snipers in the distance when you're in the middle of a fight, and securing kills on knocked-down enemies over doing more damage, making it harder for them to re-group and escape.
Close-Range (Combat) Sniping
Combat sniping is a different ball game that uses quick peaks and fast movements to dodge and weave while doing damage. Breaking off an opponent's shield early with a well-placed shot can dramatically swing the fight in your favor, so using a sniper or marksman rifle at close range can act as a major damage initiator or a 1-hit finisher at the end of your other gun's magazine.
The best way to start stepping into this role is to play with the 30-30 Repeater, Longbow, or Sentinel, and get used to playing with open sights, and 'quick-scoping' your opponents so you can track them more effectively.
» Need more Legend Tokens? Discover the best ways to get them with gameplay only
3. Choose the Right Attachments
There's some confusion around how effective some attachments are for certain weapons over others. There are attachments that suit different situations, and different attachments for each weapon should be prioritized for the playstyle that you're choosing to run.
Optics
Optics are the most important factor in aiding the playstyle you plan on choosing.
It's important to remember that the longer the scope range you put on your sniper, the longer it takes to aim down sights.
This is fine for long-range, but less so for short-range engagements where you'll have a problem acquiring targets quickly if you have to spend that extra heartbeat aiming through a scope.
Stocks
The stock not only lets you reload faster, which is essential for close-range combat or a heated fight, but it also gives your weapon better handling (faster weapon switching and ADS speed). The stock is definitely one of the attachments you'll want to prioritize if you're going for close-range engagements, but don't discount it for long-range fights either due to the added benefit of reduced weapon sway.
Magazine
Getting a magazine for your sniper or marksman weapon is self-explanatory: you get more bullets per mag. Essential in all ranges, but more so for short-range.
Barrel Stabilizer
Like the magazine, the barrel stabilizer is self-explanatory and will reduce your weapon's recoil, helping you aim between shots.
Hop-ups
Hop-ups are very weapon specific and are probably the attachment you should prioritize least unless you're hunting for a specific one that changes the way you use a weapon, like shatter-caps on the 30-30 Repeater. They certainly do add a big advantage to your weapon, but you shouldn't rely on hop-ups to make your weapon efficient.
» Accidentally bought some Apex Coins? Learn how to refund them
4. Tweak Your Sensitivity Settings
This may take some time based on what sensitivities you're used to already. Lower sensitivities tend to yield higher accuracy from fine-tuned movements, while higher sensitivities are suited to flicking to enemies and require a lot of muscle memory to pull off effectively.
Pros recommend using a sensitivity that, when dragging your mouse from the left-hand side of your mouse-pad to the right without aiming down sights, your character turns around one-and-a-bit times so that you can do a 360-degree turn comfortably.
5. Practice the Right Way
How to Optimize Your Firing Range Practice
Spending some time in the firing range doing a routine or practicing before each play session is a great way to get warmed up, get your aim in, and hype yourself up for some Battle Royale or some Arenas.
My favorite routine is to take Mirage into the range, send out a clone, and do a 180 before activating the ability's mimic function to make the decoy mirror your movements so you can practice strafing and shooting at a moving target.
Don't spend too much time here, professional players spend 10-15 minutes doing warm-ups, and max 20 minutes at a time when practicing a new mechanic, like wall-jumping or tap-strafing.
Best Game Modes for Sniper Practice
The best game modes to practice sniping are the limited-time modes like Control and Gun Run as there are fast respawns and you can really get some good practice in against other players, but when these aren't on rotation it's not a bad idea to take up a sniper rifle in the Arenas.
Armed and Dangerous is another great limited-time game mode that's been around a few times that only allows shotguns and sniper rifles to spawn on the map, making it a great time to pick up Sniping as a skill.
Best Legends for Sniper Practice
Defensive characters like Gibraltar, Newcastle, and Rampart are much better suited for the long-range sniping game. Putting cover up to hide behind and peek from with these characters' abilities means that your sustainability from a distance is difficult for enemies to deal with, even if they have range as well.
Legends that have high mobility and can travel vertically well are definitely worth looking at if you're looking for all-around sniping potential. Pathfinder, Valkyrie, Vantage, Revenant, Horizon, and Octane are amazing at getting to great sniping locations and can get out of a spot quickly in a pinch.
» Want free in-game items for Apex Legends? Download Buff and earn
6. Develop Your Sniper Positioning
Where to Snipe From
There are spots all over the map that are great places to snipe from, the most obvious spots being on top of roofs, high ledges, and cliff edges. While they do provide superior vision, it's also where players expect you to be standing if you're sniping. It's not unwise to use the positions for yourself, but don't stick around for too long, lest you find yourself the victim of another sniper.
The biggest threat to a sniper (aside from being pushed or ganked) is another sniper, so knowing where other snipers might peek or camp could give you a real advantage in a ranged fight.
Repositioning After Firing
Moving after taking a shot means that you're far less predictable when enemies prepare for your next assault and can prevent enemies from effectively pushing to your position or potentially controlling the fight if it turns out they have snipers of their own. Moving also means that any 3rd-party squad looking for an easy engagement to jump in on can't attack you effectively, hopefully triggering them to attack the other squad instead and leaving the new 3rd-party opportunity to your squad.
» Discover how to get the Apex Legends Battle Pass without spending money
Dominate From a Distance
Hopefully, after reading this article, you can see that everyone can become competitive as a sniper in Apex Legends. All you need to do is put in the practice and apply our top tips and you'll be picking off your opponents from a distance in no time. And don't forget to download Buff to earn some free rewards along the way.
Tips & tricksSurfing in CS:GO: From Beginner to Pro in 5 Easy StepsWhen players used to ask in-game, "how do I surf?" my favorite way to respond was to type this back into chat:
With WASD: D -> /ramp\ <- Adon't touch W or S.
But, truthfully, it's a little more complex than that. I'll try to break it down as best as I can so that you'll be more prepared the next time you hit the ramps.
1. The Basics of Surf Movement
Thanks to the way Valve built the physics of their engine, games like Counter-Strike, Team Fortress, Portal, and even Apex Legends all have a movement mechanic setting called "Air Acceleration."
It's a bit difficult to explain, but if you're in mid-air, and you push a directional button while looking in a certain direction, your character model will actually speed up. This would allow you to hop around pillars or 'curve' in mid-air. On the other hand, hitting the backward input can make your character halt their momentum altogether.
There are 2 main types of surfing, and 2 main 'modes':
The first type of surfing is standard WASD surfing. Here, you're strafing into the ramp with your left or right movement key while looking forward, which is what you should be practicing.The second type is a 3-quarter surfing. It's way more advanced and requires multiple directional keys to be pressed. Pros say that they can finetune their movements better with this, but I would avoid it completely in the beginning.
As for the game modes, there's Skill surfing and Combat surfing:
Skill surfing implies either going through maps that are broken up into stages or surfing along one long map that will have its own challenges and obstacles to get past. Players tend to compete for the best completion time for a competitive edge over just practicing the mechanic to enjoy it and get good at surfing.Combat surfing is my favorite form of surfing. I've sunk way more hours into it than I'm willing to admit. Here, guns and damage are enabled, and your goal is to take out the enemy team or plant/defuse the bomb, much like the standard Counter-Strike.
» Have some extra cosmetics you don't need? Read how to sell and trade skins in CS:GO
2. How to Gain Speed While Surfing
If boosts aren't an option, gravity is the answer for gaining speed. If you're heading perfectly straight on a horizontal ramp, when you look down, you'll start gradually picking up speed. Inversely, looking up simulates going up a hill or ramp, so you'll slow down a fair amount.
Speed is key in many surfing situations, and knowing how to speed up or slow down is essential to getting good times on skill maps. It also gives you the control you need for an upper hand in combat maps.
3. How to Strafe and Bunnyhop Properly
Bunnyhopping is the act of conserving or even increasing speed by limiting your contact with the ground as much as possible. While hopping, you're spending most of your time in mid-air, touching the ground in split-seconds, so most of your momentum and speed will come from the aforementioned "Air Acceleration."
Today, in most bunnyhopping servers, admins have added a bind where if you hold down your jump button, the game will simulate a continuous input. This would allow you to hop up and down without having to time a jump perfectly. If this isn't available to you, I suggest binding your jump to "scroll-wheel down," so you can achieve the same effect.
Once you've got the hopping mastered, try using just your A and D keys to move around while looking in the same direction as the input you're pushing.
*while hopping or in mid-air*
Holding D + panning right = speed in a curve going right
Holding A + panning left = speed in a curve going left
4. How to Handle Curves
Let's say you're heading down the left side of a ramp, but there's a left turn coming up. You can't just keep holding "D" to stick to the ramp as you make the turn—you'll just yeet yourself off the ramp. In order to make the turn, you have to look to the left and hold A to "pull" yourself in a curve left along the ramp.
It'll make more sense in practice, and it'll take a while to get the proper feel of the turn. Eventually, you'll know how to conserve your momentum along the ramp and when to "push" against the ramp or "pull" away from it in order to make turns or jump from one ramp to another.
5. How to Change Direction Mid-Air
After you've got the basics of bunnyhopping and handling curves on ramps, turning becomes much easier, too. If you apply the same rules (hold left input and look left etc.), you can turn in mid-air without the need for ramps at all.
Remember that surfing is all about maintaining your momentum, so turning too sharp can slow you down.
» Learn how to trade your DOTA skins for the CS:GO ones
Where to Find Surf Maps in CS:GO?
The easiest way to get started is to find a running surf server online by heading to the community section in-game and scrolling through the available server browser.
If you're keen on a more private experience, you'll want to start a private match with a surf map you've found on Steam or online. Just head over to Steam's community workshop section, and search for "Surf" in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. Once you've found the maps you want, follow the respective authors to download them, which should then automatically end up in the right folders for you to start playing.
This next step is *SUPER* important to get started with surfing:
Open CS:GO, find and launch your first surf map, and increase the round timeOpen up the console by hitting the ` key (the button under your 'Esc' button) If nothing comes up, "enable console" in "game settings"One by one, enter these lines and hit "enter"
sv_cheats 1
sv_airaccelerate 150
sv_accelerate 10
god
sv_autobunnyhoping 1You can now start surfing!When you're ready for a new map type this in:
changelevel [surf_mapname]
If the bug bites you as hard as it bit me, you'll find yourself sinking hundreds of hours into trying to perfect this unique form of mobility—though I do wish I had Buff running in the background for some free gaming gear and gift cards.
Tips & tricksClimb the Valorant Competitive Ladder: 7 Pro Tips & TricksValorant is one of the biggest FPS games in the esports gaming industry, quickly overtaking its Valve counterpart, CS:GO, in popularity and general interest. Though the two games are very similar in their genre, they have a few key differences that set them apart from one another, creating some interesting challenges when trying to climb the ranked ladder in both games. We've collected the 7 best pro tips and tricks to help you do just that in the Valorant competitive scene.
1. Pay Close Attention to Your Individual Performance
Sure, you should always be paying close attention to your performance during a game, checking the scoreboard to gauge how well you're doing against your current opponents and how you're synergizing with your team, but that's not the review we're talking about.
The best way to get the most information on how you're doing and how you should improve is to watch gameplay footage of a match after it's done.
I've had the accidental privilege of reviewing tons of my own footage since stepping into the streaming and content creation world, and even though the majority of my clips are ones I think I'm doing excellently in, I can still spot loads of little errors in my gameplay, ones I'd never have spotted or thought about during the match itself. Since I've started paying attention to the bad habits I've spotted myself doing in play-backs, my in-game performance has accelerated way faster than just trying to grind the hours to get better would have done.
» Need help with Breeze? Here are our game-changing tips
2. Learn to Play a Small Pool of Self-Sufficient Agents Well
Though being a jack of all trades is great for understanding how each Agent is played, you lose the opportunity to really master some Agents since your spells and mindset for the right time to use them are always changing. Choosing a small handful of Agents to play and practice with—a favorite Agent, a second favorite Agent in the same role, and an Agent in a secondary role—means that you can focus on and refine a specific play style that you and your team can rely on.
It's nice to try out all the agents, but pick a few that you really like and really develop your skills with them.
3. Play in a Party Rather Than Solo
Admittedly, this one's harder when you've got a small friend pool who aren't interested in joining you competitively or don't enjoy the same games as you. Though it does present an opportunity to chat with people in casual or other ranked games until you gather a group that is keen to play more consistently with you on a competitive level.
The perks to having partied-up teammates are that you eventually know how they perform, what roles and weapons suit them, and vice versa, as well as being able to identify their callouts and unique strategies. Managing to gather a full team of players who consistently play with one another and practice together can be a major advantage against a team full of solos.
4. Work on Your Communication Skills
Practice Your Callouts
Giving clear and concise callouts to your teammates is vital to making sure your team functions well together during a match. Learning how to give short and specific call-outs to your team can tell them where to be watching when moving around corners, or when they should be rotating effectively. Admittedly, the callouts themselves take a good while to master: the fastest way to learn each area is to look at the name of the area you're in underneath the map as you move around. Watching pros make callouts in clips and watching streamers play online is another great way to learn how to communicate the right things to your teammates.
» Struggling with Fracture? Discover the pro callouts, strategies, and tips for Valorant's Fracture map
Keep Your Cool When Winning and Losing
As important as callouts are, so is being a good teammate to talk to. Making sure you don't lose your cool and keeping the morale of you and your team up is an important thing to keep in mind. If all of your teammates are with you on this, round losses and match defeats start to feel like a learning process instead of a kick to the face. I think it's much better to have a teamie saying things like "ah dang, you'll get him next time," or, "try this gun out there instead, I'll support you," when you die, instead of things like telling you to uninstall or throw the game.
Nobody really likes a toxic teamie, so keep your chins up, and you'll find your wins up.
5. Target Enemies That Are Broke
When you're in a match and you've lost a few rounds consecutively, you'll already know the struggle of trying to save up funds to get a better weapon to compete with, only to get bombarded by the enemy team. Well, use this strategy against them as well.
Since you can see how much cash the enemy team has, picking on the guy with the least cash can insure that he stays in a disadvantaged position for a longer period of the match. It's not the nicest tactic, but this is ranked we're talking about, and if you can keep 2 or 3 members of a team broke, then you'll have a serious advantage in the overall match.
6. Warm Up Before Jumping Into a Ranked Queue
This may sound silly, but physically warming up—especially if you're in a cold room—is a great way to make sure you're not stiff and clunky when you hop into Valorant. It's easy to think you might be out of practice or that "something is off," when really, your muscles and joints just need to be loosened up again. When you are physically warmed up, the practice range is where you should be headed next to start working on your movement and aim, before your first match of the day.
Cold hands are a gamer's worst enemy. Warm them up before you play.
7. Make Time for Aim Training
Aim training is another incredible way to get better at Valorant. I mean, if you can click on an enemy's head before they click on yours, you're winning, right? Hop into the practice range for this and try out the different training dummy routines there.
There are 4 main things you should focus on when aim-training:Accuracy: practice getting headshotsTarget switching: flicking between targets rapidlyShooting while strafing Recoil patterns: spray each gun and find out how to control it
» Master your aim: 5 Valorant Pro Player Sensitivity Settings to Tweak Your Aim To
Stick With It, Ranks Come Slowly
While we can't guarantee you'll see results right off the bat, sticking to these tips will, over time, help you climb the Valorant ladder so you can show off your new ranks to your friends—if you don't run into any of the ridiculous queue problems against super-high ranked players. If you're practicing and climbing the ranks in Valorant, you could be getting free goodies from Buff while you're at it!
Tips & tricksValorant’s Breeze: Game-Changing Tips & Tricks to Help You WinValorant is always bringing in new maps and swapping out some old ones. Although Breeze will be rotating out for the 2023 season, it will stay in other non-competitive modes. Plus, it will more likely return, so it's a good idea to get that last bit of practice on the map before that rotation happens. This way, you will be ahead of the curve when Breeze comes back, even if it does with some changes to the layout.
Although there have been complaints about Breeze as a map (which is probably why Riot is rotating it out this coming season), Breeze is still an exciting map to play. With lots of long lines of sight, it is the perfect playground to outclass your enemies with superior aim.
» Learn more about different Valorant maps
Breeze Map Overview
Like in many of the other maps, there are two spike sites. What makes Breeze really stand out, though, is how expansive it is with its emphasis on long-range combat. Mid is also a vastly open area where a lot of action goes down, so it's important to have good communication here if you want to find success on Breeze's beachy shores.
» Need more Valorant rewards? Read our guide on how to earn free Valorant Points
Attacking A Site on Breeze
Your entry points into A Site are through A Main and A Hall, along with Mid Doors if going through Mid. Having a solid Viper wall makes entry a whole lot easier, as it cuts out the strong defender angle from A Switch. Once you gain control over A Site post plant, use the Pyramids to your advantage. You should do so while holding the angles on Mid Door, A Main—and watch out around A Bridge.
Defending A Site on Breeze
You need to have a strong hold on A Main. Having your controller get a smoke on the A Main entrance to A Site is going to make things a lot easier to defend and stall. Try to mix it up and counteract an enemy Viper wall by playing some off-angles. Make sure to keep the comms strong around A Hall, as fighting at A Site often gets heated and extended, and you don't want an enemy flank to wipe out your whole team.
Attacking B Site on Breeze
B Site is a lot more tight-knit than the other areas of the map once you can make space and get onto the site. Be ready for some close-quarters combat and equip yourself accordingly. Entries into B Site are through B Main and B Tunnel. It can be very advantageous to look for an early pick on an enemy in Nest before committing to planting.
If you are a Phantom-over-Vandal player, you may see more success with your B Site pushes, as this is where that controllable spray will really get a chance to shine.
Defending B Site on Breeze
While defending B Site, you are going to want your utility out early. An early smoke on B Main can help stall an enemy push, especially considering just how close the enemy starting point is. It makes a lot of sense to have strong utility agents here, as having mollies or a Sage slow can really make the enemy team think twice about rushing the site.
Tips for High-Ranking Players
If you are playing more challenging games, here are some tips that might come in handy:
If you are playing in the higher ranks, you are going to see way fewer 5 man rushes onto either site, which we see quite often in the lower ranks. Control over Main is going to be paramount. Having a strong OP user on the defender side in Nest is going to make life a whole ton easier to maintain that control. A double controller team can actually be a really strong comp on Breeze. Blocking lines of sight and making entry into sites more difficult by denying vision will be the name of the game on a map with such wide, open areas.
» Struggling with Fracture map instead? Read our tips to boost your Fracture map playstyle
Get Rewards for Playing With Buff
While Breeze will be moving out of rotation, it is definitely a good idea to be comfortable for its eventual return. What will be here to stay, though, is Buff! Even with the map rotations, different agents, and weapons, it won't matter what you decide to play.
With Buff running in the background while playing Valorant, you will always be earning Buff points to later spend on redeeming some awesome rewards!
