On March 2, Riot Games lifted an embargo on the publication of a preview of Valorant, a competitive shooter that took over various elements from CS: GO, Overwatch, and Rainbow Six Siege. According to journalists who tested the game at the Riot Games office, it is filled with unique mechanics and is primarily focused on e-sports. Cybersport.ru studied the preview of journalists and highlighted all the main features of Valorant.
Valorant is called “the killer of CS: GO”
The core of Valorant gameplay is a 5v5 shootout. One of the two teams needs to win 13 rounds of 24 in order to win the match. You cannot be reborn during the round, but at least one character can do this if he accumulates an ultimate. Before the start of the round you can buy weapons and abilities. Heroes move faster if they pick up a knife.
Before the battle begins, players must choose heroes – developers call them agents. Each of them has a background and a unique appearance. The authors argue that players can always recognize the heroes they see in front of them. At the same time, all characters have the same hitboxes and animations.
In total, eight characters were shown to journalists, although at the start of the game there will be ten of them. Media representatives note that Valorant is not Overwatch: shooting comes first in the Riot shooter, and only then come the abilities and skills. In this game, you cannot kill an enemy by dropping a bomb on him or using artillery fire – most of the skills are aimed at tactics and deceit. For example, one of the heroines can call a drone and scout a map. Read more about all the famous characters here.
Developers focus on availability
Valorant will run even on an old office computer, developers say. According to journalists, the authors tried to remove all the bright special effects and scenery from the game so that nothing would interfere with the gameplay and performance. Minimum system requirements: Intel i3 processor and integrated video card. On such a computer, the game can work with at least 30 FPS.
The shooter will have a built-in anti-cheat called Vanguard, which was developed by Riot Games. According to the authors, it monitors the actions of players directly through the server, so inconspicuous interference by dishonest programs is excluded in principle.
Valortant will be free, it can be launched through the Riot Games launcher. The shooter will have cosmetic items and various progression systems, but they were not shown to reporters.
Valorant System Requirements:
- minimum (for 30 FPS): Intel i3-370M and Intel HD 3000;
- Recommended (for 60 FPS): Intel i3-4150 and GeForce GT 730;
- for maximum performance: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2 GHz and GTX 1050 Ti.
release date
Valorant will be released in “most countries of the world” in the summer of 2023, including in Russia. They plan to launch the game in several stages, through beta tests and early accesses, but the authors did not make specific announcements. Initially, the shooter will be released only on a PC – developers do not think about the release on consoles yet.