Whether we look at new players or experienced players in Valorant, there are some typical mistakes that many seem to make. Whether it is a bad habit or something you aren’t even aware of, these small mistakes can lose rounds and, ultimately, matches.

In this article we’re going to help you identify and fix those mistakes, so you can start picking up more rounds!

Pulling Your Knife Out During Dangerous Situations

Pulling my knife out has killed me more times than I’d like to admit. It is a bad habit that I’m still trying to kick, because I would be mad at myself for not trying to take a stab at it. Sometimes, you have a cool (and expensive) knife that you just bought or unlocked that you want to show off. Knives also help you move faster! But that doesn’t mean you have to take it out every time you rotate or every time you need to duck for cover. It takes 1 entire second to pull out a rifle. Factor in your time to aim and your opponents have more than enough time to kill you while you are defenseless.

The easiest way to fix this mistake is by just doing a mental check. Ask yourself, “How fast do I really need to be there?” If you’re up against the clock whether you need to plant the spike or defuse the spike, unsheathing your knife and rushing to a site might be your best option. If you are rotating mid-round, however, keep your gun out. You don’t need to be there that quickly and you need to worry about mid-map lurks. Inspect your cool and expensive knife pre- and post-round. Keep it on your waist mid-round.

Taking the Same Duels as You Would on a Full Buy in a Save Round

Choosing when and where to fight is monumental in your chances of winning a round. Do you take a fight long? Do you take it short? How long do you wait until you swing? Do you even swing at all? These are all questions clouding your mind every round. Some duels are more advantageous than others during different points in the match, where you cannot take the same fight each round. During Save Rounds, your team must alter their gameplay to tailor the abilities and guns at your disposal, whereas during Full Buy Rounds, players have much more liberty in choosing their duels due to the weapons they are using.

In short, during a Full Buy Round, it would be smart to buy a Vandal and take a duel through Long. During a Save Round, it would not be smart to take that same duel with a Spectre. Since Valorant is inherently repetitive, playing the same site round after round, it is easy to position yourself the same way and make the same mistakes round after round from forming bad habits. A lot of the time, players can find themselves taking bad fights because they decided to peek long with a Spectre. Instead, during a Save Round, wait for enemies to approach you. Take duels that would be advantageous to your weapon, not theirs.

Reloading Too Often

Also known as the “Call of Duty (COD) Reload”, reloading when you are at 25/30 bullets in your Phantom’s magazine should not happen no matter what. There have been times where players reload after shooting a recon dart. This happens when you focus too much on the “what if” rather than the dangers present. “What if I need those extra bullets?” The answer to that question is key-bound to the 2 key on your keyboard. A lot of new players forget that the Classic is actually a pretty good gun. With an equip speed of .75 seconds, it is easy to switch to it in a pinch to finish off a kill. 1 bullet to the head with a Vandal, 1-2 bullets with a Phantom is enough to kill an enemy. You can technically get an Ace with 5 bullets. The risk in reloading when in a bad position to get those few bullets back is greater than the safety of having those back in your magazine.

This is a mistake fixed over time and fixed when it is obvious that it gets you killed. Just remember, you don’t always have to reload. You’ll get those kills even if it takes your secondary or abilities to finish those enemies off.

Spraying vs. Tapping

A lot of new players default to spraying every gun. Knowing when to spray and when to tap fire will result in more efficient frags. Players must factor in the distance of an enemy when knowing which gun to spray with and which to tap with as guns have bullet damage drop-off at longer ranges. Guns like the Spectre and Stinger are great for spraying, but what if the enemy is further away? That’s when players should tap fire for a tighter bullet spread. Guns like the Vandal and Phantom are great for tap firing, but what if the enemy is very close? That’s when players should spray and transfer that spray to other enemies.

There are drawbacks, like the Phantom having a more forgiving recoil with the caveat of bullet damage dropping below 150 at 15+ meters. Tap firing both Vandal and Phantom will help reduce the chances of multiple bullets missing your target. Spraying is good when there are multiple enemies in front of you in which you need to quickly kill as many as you can. Try tapping more often than spraying for more efficient kills going forward.

Aggressive Plays When Not Needed (Hunting/Unnecessary Peeks)

The balance of passive and aggressive play separates the good players from the bad. Two notorious aggressive plays that will lose rounds and ultimately games are hunting during post-plant and unnecessary peeks when holding angles.

Hunting the opposition while on Attack during post-plants is what happens when you mix wanting to see yourself on top of the leaderboard and not knowing what to do after the spike is planted. Players turn into a bull seeing red, moving recklessly trying to get an extra kill to put them closer to the top of the leaderboard. One of the best ways to prevent this is to run a mental checklist after the spike goes down. Your mental checklist should look a little something like this:

1. How many players do they have? How many do we have?
   
2. What angles are my teammates covering?
   
3. Where are the points of entry?
   
4. How can I delay them?

4 questions may seem a lot, but they can be answered very quickly. If you have a numbers advantage going into the post-plant (1) the best thing to do is to hold an angle. See what is already being covered (2) and cover somewhere nobody is watching or put yourself in a tradeable position (3). Doing so covers the first 3 questions. The last question can be answered by looking at your available abilities. Do you have a smoke or molly that can stop them from pushing immediately? If not, stay hidden in that corner! The enemies need to push you; if they don’t then they lose.

Unnecessary peeks can happen during these situations; however, they also occur outside of post-plant situations on both Attack and Defense. Sometimes it is hard to tell when to peek and when to hold. On Defense, peek for information on the enemy’s positioning rather than peeking to frag. On offense, peek to take advantage of utility (i.e.: flash, smoke, dog) when entering site. When defending post-plant, if you have the numbers advantage, it is always best to just hold until you hear the spike being tapped. Peeking before that can get you killed and lose your team’s numbers advantage. When in doubt, just hold a corner.

Conclusion

Mistakes will always happen but fixing preventable mistakes will help you play better and ward off bad habits from forming. Knowing when to have your primary weapon out, sit, and do “nothing” is important. It will save your life and your teammate’s lives. And remember, no matter how cool your new knife is, it is not worth dying over. Have fun and keep learning!