In tactical shooters like Valorant, map knowledge and strategy is everything. To help you develop some strategies, we’ll walk you through each of the Valorant maps. We’ll be using a lot of map callouts, so it’s helpful to look at the graphics for those. It’s going to get pretty detailed, so get your reading glasses ready.

One general piece of advice that applies to all Valorant cards: communication is key. This may be difficult when playing with strangers, but it really makes a big difference. A lack of communication and coordination can often be the difference between fun and a frustrating round.

Ascent is the latest addition to the Valorant map pool. The fourth map released with Patch 1.0 is set in Italy. Noticeably, Ascent has a large open center area that is crucial for controlling the map. Attackers will always try to take control of the middle. That being said, there are a lot of choke points, which makes this map a bit more of a preferred defender map: the center is hard to capture because of its open design, and the key points are also hard to break through. In this respect, Ascent is similar to the Split map, which also has very difficult bottlenecks for attackers to overcome.

Ascent – Center – Guide for Defenders

Let’s start with the middle, which is the cornerstone of a successful defense and/or offense on Ascent. Controlling the middle is very important on this new map.

The standard defensive tactics on Ascent consist of one player on the Catwalk, two players near the Mid Market, and one defender each on the A and B sites. This gives you a total of three defenders for the mid. This may seem like a lot, but A & B are easy to defend thanks to their key points. Also, the middle is so wide, open, and crucial to the flow of the game that you will need the number of players here.

The Catwalk is a quick switch to A, while Mid Market is an even quicker switch to B. This, of course, makes communication – or at least awareness – crucial. If no one is pushing for the middle, be ready to rotate to help on the spots. Very importantly, never leave the center without a defender unless the attackers have managed to plan the spike.

On the catwalk you will be smoked out by the attackers in most cases, be aware of this. Generally, you want your best operator on top of the catwalk to take full advantage of the openness of the middle.

Ascent – Mid – Guide for Attackers

Mid control opens the map, so you should have three people attacking the mid. One each should generally always take the ultimate orbs on the A & B site and put pressure on the sites. Of course, you can cancel out the 3-1-1 formula by attacking A or B by surprise.

When rushing to the center, one thing is important: smock, smock, and smock again. You won’t get anywhere if you don’t smoke out the defenders in the middle. If the defenders have occupied the catwalk, you should smock the enemy there as well. Alternatively, you can flash the area to drive the sniper out of his angle.

You can vary the mid-attack by sending 2 people over mid-link and one over catwalk, or attack three over mid-link… whatever comes to your mind.

The reason mid-link is so important is because it opens both the A and B sites. Which site you choose should depend on how the defense is set up. If the defenders have the Catwalk stacked, you choose the B site. If the Mid Market is stacked, choose the A-Site.

Ascent – B-Site – Guide for Defenders

On the B-Site you should have only one defender. However, this defender should always be supported by one or two mid defenders who stay close to the Mid Market. In general, the goal as a defender on the B-Site is to seal off B-Main, which has a key point that you can use in your favor. That way you can keep the attackers from pushing B-Site over the middle.

So the motto is “keep away”: your job is to stay alive and prevent the attackers from coming through B-Main. This, of course, makes Sage and her wall a very good choice here. However, you should wait until the attackers also show presence – since you want to stop the attackers as much as possible, play rather cautiously. If you still don’t manage to hold B-Main alone, let your teammates from the middle know early to secure the Key-Point before the fight spreads to the B-Site.

When the attackers come to B-Site remember that you can always close the door to Mid-Market in case the attackers try to get from B to Mid: However, only close the door if necessary, otherwise you will cut off the rotation of your own teammates.

If you have been pushed to the B site or want to defend from there with a different formation, note that you can wallbang through the wall of B-Main.

Another viable tactic is to attack just before entering B-Site from the defenders’ spawn: there are two spots with boxes that you can climb as Jett or with the help of Sage, which will give you a good opportunity to reclaim B-Site.

Ascent – B-Site – Guide for Attackers

You will most likely find yourself trying to attack B-Site on your own, and that’s fine – because controlling the middle is more important. When attacking B, it’s important to have an early presence in B-Main, because you want to get the Ultimate Ball. If the defender tries to take the ball, you already have an easy kill. If you can get a kill on B, you should immediately play the B site. It is very likely that there was only one defender on B and you should not give the opponents time to rotate. When you get to the site as a spike carrier, you can close the door to cancel the rotation to buy yourself some time or choose to plant – the choice is yours.

If you decide to attack B in duo, it’s good to have Sage with you: If Sage puts her wall in B-Main, you can look through the small, barred windows at the B-Site. A solo Sage can do this alone, of course. However, one should be careful: One can wallbang through the walls.

When attacking in pairs, the same principle applies: after the kill, you immediately go for the plant. Since there are two of you now, it’s a good strategy if the one who doesn’t have the spike closes the door to the middle and defends it while the other one plans the spike.

Ascent – A-Site – Guide for Defenders

A is a very open bomb site that offers a lot of things to hide behind. The gameplay on A-Site is straightforward: block the key point that leads from A-Main to A-Site. This is because you prefer to defend A-Site from A-Rafters. This is a great place for a player to hold A-Site. Now, not only do you have one player on the catwalk holding the center (he should be able to do that with no problem), but you also have a second player holding the site and the catwalk from behind.

You shouldn’t have to worry much about A-Link, as this should be covered by one of your teammates defending the middle. If the opponent shows a large presence from A-Main towards A, communicate this to your mates early enough to get support from your Catwalk defender or one of the mid defenders.

If an onslaught comes at you from the mid, you will have a hard time, but you can delay that onslaught by closing the doors leading from the mid to the A-Site.

Ascent – A-Site – Guide for Attackers

As a rule, the majority of your mates will try to take the middle. With one person on B, this means that one person is left to attack A. The main goal is to immediately pressure the defender, take the Ultimate Ball, and prevent him from helping out in the middle. When you get the kill on A-site, you should pay attention to the rotation of the catwalk player. If you have the spike, you should plan it immediately and consider closing the doors to the middle. If you don’t have the spike, you can box in the defenders in the middle by moving in via A-Link and Mid Cubby.

An alternative strategy is to push to the A-site with the majority of the team. For this to work, you should have three people coming in via A-Main. Make sure that these three first draw attention to themselves to force the defenders from Catwalk and Mid Market to shift. Then you have two more attackers pushing through Mid via the Catwalk – if the three attackers come in via A-Main, the attackers coming in through Mid should face less resistance.

More Valorant Map Guides

That’s it for our Valorant Map Guide for Ascent. For more map guides, you don’t have to look far:

• Valorant Map Guide Split
• Valorant Map Guide Bind
• Valorant Map Guide Haven

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 role – 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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