Valorant is a game that has rocked the world of many gamers. Even before its release, it created a space for itself when Riot Games began a closed beta period with limited access on April 7, 2020. Riot collaborated with Twitch and featured top streamers to play Valorant before its release. Gamers watching the streams got a chance to get early access to the game. It captivated the Esports community for a few weeks and created a lot of hype that eventually helped Valorant become the next big thing. It was finally released on June 2, 2020.
In the past two years, we have seen this game gain immense popularity in the gaming circle. According to the Active Player, approx. 700,000 people play Valorant every day and with almost 300,000 to 500,000 concurrent players.
A peek into the Game
Valorant is a multiplayer first-person shooter (FPS) set on a near-future Earth. The player is an agent in a team of agents. These agents are designed to be characters from different countries and cultures around the globe. The presence of different agents allows players to play different roles. Every agent has a unique set of abilities, making the game highly intriguing.
Valorant currently has 20 agents:
All these agents are categorised into 4 distinct roles: Controller, Duellist, Initiator, and Sentinel. Recently, Riot Games, the publisher and developer of Valorant, revealed through a trailer its first Indian-Origin agent, Harbour. This character is a controller agent with water abilities.
The maps in the game are unique, and each map has its own flair. Bind has portals, Split and others have ropes, and Haven has three sides. Gameplay and agent selection depend on the map a player is playing on.
Players are allocated to either the attacking or defending team in the main game mode, with each team comprising five players. There are overall 25 matches and the first team to win 13 rounds wins the match.
Guide to downloading Valorant
You can easily download Valorant through the official Riot Games website.
- Go to the official Valorant website.
- Click on the red button on the page with the text, “Play Free”.
- After that, log into your Riot account, or make one if you do not have one.
- Once you’re done with your Riot account, sign in, and tap on the “Download” button followed by age verification (the minimum age requirement for downloading Valorant is 16).
- Run the downloaded file and install Valorant.
- Sign in with your Riot ID.
- You will have to restart your computer for Vanguard (the game’s anti-cheat programme) to be properly installed on your system.
Minimum system requirements:
Valorant is a free-to-play game. To get a good Valorant experience, you need to meet certain recommended system requirements.
- OS: Windows 7-10 64-bit
- RAM: 4GB
- Video Memory: 1GB
Minimum system specifications- 30 fps
- CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E8400
- GPU: Intel HD 4000
Recommended system specifications- 60 fps
- CPU: Intel i3-4150
- GPU: GeForce GT 730
High-end system specifications- 144+ fps
- CPU: Intel Core i5-4460
- GPU: GeForce GTX 1050 Ti
This game can only be played on PC currently with its file size being 7.3GB.
It gets its inspiration from games like Overwatch, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, and League of Legends.
Rise of Valorant
Valorant came into the picture at a perfect time, bringing new light to the gaming world. It shook the FPS landscape with its exciting new ideas. When Valorant was to be released, Overwatch was facing a major downfall, and CS:GO fans direly needed a change as Valve wasn’t paying much heed to the game and the wants of the players.
Valorant appeared as a saviour for players of games such as CS:GO, Overwatch, Apex Legends, and Fortnite. Many casual and professional players of CS:GO and Overwatch switched to Valorant, like Spencer “Hiko” Martin, Ankit “V3nom” Panth, Shahzeb “ShahZaM” Khan , Damien “HyP” Souville, and Shane “Rawkus” Flaherty. With these players, their fan base also made a shift to a new arena.
The game is backed by Riot, which gives it an upper-hand. Riot is the name behind the success of League of Legends. It keeps the game fresh and caters to the players by updating and adjusting Valorant as per the needs and wants of the community, making the entire experience even more exciting.
With its popularity surging, there is an increase in Valorant tournaments. In 2021, Valorant’s first global event took place, called the Valorant Champions Tour. The VCT 2021 shook up the Esports circle and came out to become an immense success. Since then, Riot has come up with more Valorant tournaments.
In India, Valorant is one of the most popular Esports titles. The success of tournaments like the Valorant Conqueror Championship, which saw high numbers in terms of viewership and community participation, speaks volumes about the games’ hierarchy in the Esports scene in India.
Valorant is on its way to taking over the Esports circuit. In a short period, it has built a community of casual gamers, pro-gamers, memers, and streamers who are all in awe of this game. There’s no doubt that Valorant’s competitive scene has massive potential, and it will grow even more in the coming years.
With platforms like Fanclash, Valorant enthusiasts can play fantasy on Valorant tournaments and can get a chance to win exciting prizes.
