If any studio can build a competitive favorite among players of all skill and renown, it's Riot Games. However, the developer does have a... well, Riot Games-sized hole in its public image. Its toxic corporate apparatus has spent the last year openly courting controversy over its alleged mistreatment of employees , which is now the first identifying characteristic that pops into many consumers' heads when the developer's name is mentioned. And, while a recent dispute with Valorant streamers was quickly quashed, Riot has won itself a lot of international ill will among League of Legends streamers and https://Valorantcentralhub.com/ Esports teams thanks to a long list of real and perceived sleights pulled over the past dec

VALORANT is a game with strong intentionality. It doesn't try to be too much, sticking to a classic formula and executing it with style and ease. The 5v5 tactical shooter isn't perfectly original either, but it doesn't need to be. With the recent launch of VALORANT 's beta, it has become increasingly clear that Riot Games has already built a strong contender in the FPS ge

This is the first clip I've seen of a blatant cheater in VALORANT , and someone from Riot responded within an hour. Considering how Twitter isn't the proper medium to report hackers on, that response time is stellar. As a disclaimer, I've yet to run into any suspicious players in the beta. Hopefully that number remains low, but the team at Riot seems determined to do everything in their power to keep their game's integrity uncompromised. If they stick the landing at launch, it would be unsurprising to see VALORANT to blow up into an esp

It's no secret that a game's longevity will often depend on long-term developer support. Right now, Riot is making a strong impression. They talked a big game leading up to VALORANT 's beta, but they seem to be backing it up. Communication has been on-point every step of the way, which, to be frank, has been lacking with other unnamed develop

Viper is an extremely unique hero as her abilities run on fuel and deal a special type of damage called "decay damage." Her fuel is a type of resource that refills over time making some of her abilities have unlimited uses. And decay damage is a special type of damage that eats away at a player's shield and health. The decay damage will not kill a player but will bring them down to 1 health. Once a player leaves the area dealing decay damage they will start to regenerate the health lost from the

As with every _ VALORANT _ agent, Phoenix has two basic abilities that are available for purchase at the start of every round. The agents also have one signature ability that is ready for use every round, and one ultimate ability that must be charged before use. Players can charge their ultimates by getting kills, defusing the spike, or collecting the Ultimate Orbs that are placed around the

This morning, Dot Esports reported on Twitter that Valorant hit a wildly impressive milestone of 1.6 million concurrent viewers on Twitch on the first day its closed beta, a major feat for a property that's only been in the public eye for such a short time. It's still going strong at 1.5 million even at the time of writing, which might be a good sign that the game has attracted a reliably strong following before it's even been released. That sizable viewer base could very well wane by the time Valorant 's projected summer release date finally rolls around, but it's anyone's guess at this po

The running joke is that CS:GO players will have a field day by dominating all who dare oppose them. Yes, there are some brutally skilled players that can make you feel useless, but they will always exist in multiplayer games. I personally hadn't played a single game of CS:GO going into VALORANT 's beta, yet I've had a blast with the game so

Sova has some incredibly unique abilities that are invaluable to any team. He also stands out amongst other agents who have recon abilities as his stand superior to others. What he lacks in mobility and defense, he makes up for in intel and dam

Like Counter-Strike, a game is split into two different phases: attacking and defending. When attacking, players need to pick one of two points to attempt to plant a bomb onto. Defenders try to keep attackers at bay holding them off of the points. If a bomb is planted, the defenders will then have to defuse the bomb. The amount of effort it takes to push on to a point and plant a bomb makes attacking the more difficult task, and that is why picking an agent who specializes in making attacking easier is very import

Hot Hands is Phoenix’s signature ability, giving the player a Molotov Cocktail-like ball of flames to use at their disposal. The fireball will explode and spread either on contact with the ground, or after a certain amount of time in the air, where it will take a nosedive to the floor below. Once detonated, the flames spread, covering the immediate area in a damaging fire. Hot Hands deals damage to both enemies and teammates, but, like Blaze, heals Phoe