Valorant is not like any other first-person shooter. If you want to be good here, you not only have to train your aim and skills but also know the game’s economy. And that’s exactly what we want to introduce you to today.

An important key to victory in Valorant, as well as in CS:GO, is understanding the economy and knowing what to buy and when. CS:GO pros will probably know most of this, but everyone else can certainly learn something here.

What are Valorant Credits?

Credits are the virtual currency in the game that can be used to purchase weapons and skills. Every player starts a match with 800 credits, but in the following rounds it looks quite different. This is because after round 1 you will no longer get credits for free, but will have to earn them.

How do you earn credits?

There are several ways to earn credits in Valorant. You get them for killing enemies, winning or losing rounds, or by placing or disarming the spike. The principle of earning credits is kept relatively simple and it is always clear how much you get for each action:

• Kill: +200
• Round won: +3,000
• Round lost: +1,900
• Two defeats in a row: +2,400
• Three or more defeats in a row: +2,900
• Spike placed: +300 (for the entire team)
• Spike defused: +300

Valorant is a team game, and if you play only on kills, you won’t get very many credits. In fact, each kill, no matter what weapon you use, will only earn you 200 credits. However, if you win a round, each player in the team will get 3000 credits. So the economy of your team will not be boosted by kills, but by winning rounds.

But don’t worry, if you lose rounds you will still get a consolation prize, which even increases the more rounds you lose in a row. After losing three rounds in a row, you will receive 2900 credits, which is almost as much as for winning a round. This is to make sure that a match stays exciting and that you still have the chance to make a comeback after losing several rounds.

How do I spend credits?

Spending credits is simple. You need them to equip yourself with weapons, shields and abilities. During the purchase period at the beginning of each round, you can already take the position where you want to start the next round. Pressing B will then open the purchase menu.

The menu provides you with all the important information. You can see the prices of all weapons and abilities, so you always know what you can afford and what you want to save on. Depending on the weapon and ability, the prices vary, so think carefully about what you absolutely need.

If you accidentally buy the wrong thing, you can always cancel the purchase as long as the new round hasn’t started yet. However, items from previous rounds cannot be sold. Therefore, at the end of each round, make sure that you pick up either your favorite weapon or another expensive weapon that you can drop to one of your teammates.

On the way to victory, it’s important to always know exactly how much you can invest each round. And that’s not so easy. You must always make sure that you don’t run out of credits in the upcoming rounds. Don’t save too much, though, because the maximum number of credits a person can have at once is limited to 9000. Before you have too much money in the bank and thus lose earned credits from the next round, better buy something for your teammates.

On the other hand, the minimum amount you can have after losing a round is 1900 credits. You can’t buy that much of it, so it’s important to know what to buy and when.

What types of Buy are there?

There are three main types of buys in Valorant: Full Buy, Half-Buy/Force Buy and Eco. Additionally, there is the Pistol Buy in the first round of each half.

In the buy menu you can see at any time how many credits each player has and also the minimum amount you will have in the next round. Use this information to decide what type of buy you will choose.

One of the most important things is to make sure that everyone on the team makes the same buy. In other words: If someone doesn’t have enough credits for a full buy, either a teammate will have to buy/drop for them or the team will collectively forgo a full buy. If you don’t have enough credits, you can ask your teammates to buy it for you by right-clicking on the weapon in the buy menu.

Full Buy

The FullBuy should always be the goal. In the Full Buy you buy everything to maximize your chances of winning, heavy shield the best weapons (Vandal/Phantom, Operator) and all abilities for your hero. As you can easily see, this is the most expensive buy of all and you won’t have the necessary credits every round. So your team’s economy needs to be strong if you’re aiming for a Full Buy.

Half-Buy and Force-Buy

The Half-Buy consists of heavy shield and the cheaper submachine guns. This type of buy is especially useful in the second round (after the pistol round is won) or in anti-eco situations. Against opponents with pistols, MPs are just the right weapon and much cheaper than the more powerful rifles. However, you have to be able to foresee whether the opponent will attack only with pistols or will buy something stronger.

Force buy is used when you have lost the pistol round or when you have a very important round but you don’t have enough credits for a full buy. In this case, you buy everything you can afford, hoping to win the next round. As a rule, you should always try to buy at least a light shield and a rifle, otherwise it’s worth saving up for another round.

Eco

If you’re literally broke, you’ll have to take an Eco round. In the so-called economy round you don’t buy anything and sacrifice a round to boost your economy again. In Eco rounds you should always try to attack a Bomb site together and place the spike for the extra 300 credits. As a defender it makes the most sense to defend a Bomb site with the whole team, it’s risky but your only chance.

Pistol Buy

The fourth type of buy is called a Pistol Buy. It is used exclusively in Pistol rounds, where each player starts with 800 credits. For this we already have some tutorials for the different agents:

• Valorant: The Best Pistol Round Buys for Omen, Viper and Killjoy.
• Valorant: The best Pistol Round Buys for Reyna, Jett and Phoenix
• Valorant: The best Pistol Round Buys for Brimstone, Cypher and Sage

In summary, each team member should always have a similar buy as the rest of the team. If three players make an Eco round, the other two cannot make a full buy. Each player must always keep an eye on the team’s economy so that, if possible, everyone has a similar amount of credits on their account in subsequent rounds.

What does the opponent buy?

The ability to predict the opponents’ buy is another important point that can decide the outcome of a match. Fortunately, in Valorant you can always see the exact number of credits of each player, including your opponents, on the scoreboard that you open with TAB. This way you always know if your opponents have enough credits for a full buy and you should expect an operator in the next round, or if they are forced into a saving round.

The best way to keep the economy of your opponents small is a so-called reset. If your opponents have lost three rounds in a row, they get 2900 credits each round, almost as much as you get for winning the rounds. If they win a round, however, the reward resets and they get only 1900 again the next time they lose. So depending on how the match goes, it may be worth giving your opponent a round here and there to prevent their economy from recovering too much.

Valorant Beginner’s Guide

Overwhelmed with Valorant? No wonder… Without experience in similar games (such as CS:GO or Overwatch) the start in Valorant is difficult. But don’t worry, we are here to help you with our Valorant Beginner Guide.

Valorant is a special game. Many think that getting into the game is easy, but without shooter experience, you’ll quickly be on the ropes. Even CS:GO veterans can get into trouble… In Counter-Strike, there are no flying knife-throwing things-people. But that’s why we are here.

This beginner’s guide is meant to help you get started in Valorant and introduce you to the world of Valorant. After that, the most important features should be clear to you, so that the fun in Valorant is not lost.

Valorant Beginner Guide: Basics

Let’s start with the meaning behind the game. In other words: What is Valorant anyway? Valorant is a first-person shooter in which two teams consisting of five players face off. The first team to win 13 rounds wins. Both teams have a different roles – attacker and defender.

The goal of the attackers is to place a spike and protect it until detonation. This must happen on one of the three spots (A/B/C). In turn, the defenders must prevent the attackers from doing so.

Each match consists of two halves. After the first half (12 rounds), the two teams switch roles. The attackers become defenders, the defenders become attackers. Easy.

Agents

Before the start of a match, each player must choose an agent. Agents have unique skills, which in most cases also require a certain playstyle (offensive, defensive, support, etc.). Currently there are 16 agents in total, but new agents have already been leaked and should be added soon.

As a new player, you can initially choose between 5 free agents: Brimstone, Phoenix, Sova, Jett and Sage. To unlock more agents, you will have to sign contracts, which is mostly done via Daily Quests or earning experience points.

Valorant Beginner Guide: The best agent to start with

Phoenix is by far the easiest agent to start with in Valorant. His skills are not too complicated, can be combined well in any situation. But watch out with the flashbangs (aka your Q skill)! You’ll probably flashbang yourself and your mates quite often in the beginning, but practice makes perfect!

Valorant Beginner Guide: The best mode to start with

Stay away from Unrated mode for the beginning. This may sound strange, but especially the beginning of Valorant might be hard for you. Frustration will lead to quick quits, which in turn will get you involved in penalties and XP loss. That’s why you should start with Spike Rush first. An average game here lasts 8 minutes, while other modes can easily go over 50 minutes. In Spike Rush, you’ll be quickly released from suffering without having to take any penalties.

In addition, you don’t have to do any eco rounds in Spike Rush. This means that you’ll be able to try out your agents’ abilities, as well as the most varied weapons. Spike Rush is a great mode to learn the basics of Valorant. When you feel like you’re firmly in the saddle, you can try your luck in Unrated mode. After 20 matches in Unrated mode, you’ll gain access to Competitive mode, where you can earn ranks.

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