If you’re new to Valorant, you probably wonder what to master first. While you’ll want to eventually wrap your head around match formats and agent abilities, you’ll first need to focus on aiming. As with any first-person shooter, the aim is everything in Valorant. Even if you’re a dab hand with a virtual rifle and no stranger to FPS games, you’ll still need to brush up on the basics. Below, we’ll explore common aiming techniques and minor setting tweaks that can make a big difference.
Great Aim Starts with Crosshair Placement
You probably won’t have much trouble with crosshair placement if you know your way around a first-person shooter. However, it’s worth taking stock if you dabble with different game engines. For a steady aim in Valorant, ensure that crosshair placement remains at head level, even when navigating the in-game map. You should only consider adjusting to crosshair placement if you need to sneak a glance around a corner.
Draw on Agent Abilities
If you’ve used the same agent more than a few times, you should clearly know which abilities you have at your disposal. Many abilities aren’t particularly useful for aiming, but a few can make your life much easier. Are you finding it tricky to lock down the enemy’s exact position? If one of your go-to agents is Cypher, don’t forget you have his Skycam ability to hand. This nifty ability can be used to provide you with a clearer view of your opponents, as well as outline their movements. Furthermore, Sage is armed with her slow orb ability. You can use this to slow down your opponents considerably, giving you more time to perfect the perfect crosshair placement.
What You Need To Know About Spray Patterns
This might sound like overkill, but it’s worth remembering that Valorant only includes 17 different weapons. This makes it far easier to familiarize yourself with how these guns perform in the field. One of the most important things you’ll want to consider is the spray pattern of your weapon of choice. Each one produces a distinct spray pattern, with each pattern providing you with useful insights about just how much control you have over your artillery.
Does Mouse Sensitivity Make a Difference?
If you’re struggling with landing a perfect shot, you might not look at your mouse sensitivity settings. Simply turning down mouse sensitivity can help land more precise shots for most players. However, low settings might not work for every weapon in your repertoire. As you get to grips with different agents and weapons in Valorant, you’ll want to play around with different sensitivity settings.
What Settings Do The Pros Use?
If you have more experience with first-person shooters, you’re probably ready to lift another player’s settings directly. Thankfully, Valorant tournament pros aren’t shy about sharing their preferred settings. There’s not exactly a shortage of top-tier Valorant players nowadays, but you’re better off copying an uncontested legend like Tyson “TenZ” Ngo.
Regarding FPS games, TenZ knows what’s doing> before becoming a mainstay of the Sentinels roster, TenZ was making a name for himself in CS: GO circles. As with many pros, TenZ keeps mouse sensitivity and video settings low. Moreover, his primary crosshair is as streamlined as possible to minimize on-screen distractions. If you want to see how TenZ puts his pro settings into action, it’s worth checking out his Twitch channel.
