The tactical nature of VALORANT often allows players to tackle the game with a cunning and masterful approach. Every second counts and just one step in the wrong direction could make or break a round in its entirety. In VALORANT, patience is key, and one of the most imperative factors when playing in a patient fashion is going to be your ability to hold down corners and angles. Additionally, the timing and manner in which you peek your opponents is going to be a crucial foundation of your gameplay.

In this guide, we’re going to break down exactly how to get the upper hand on your opponents through creative tactics surrounding angles, corners, gunplay, and other various elements of the game that will ultimately propel you to new heights in VALORANT.

First and foremost, let’s talk about holding down angles. There’s only three maps in the VALORANT closed beta - Bind, Haven, and Split - so getting a feel for the layouts of each one of them should only take you a few games. Learning the callouts is a different story, but as far as the overall structure of each map goes, you should be able to get the hang of the field of play with a handful of contests on each map.

Additionally, every map plays by the same rules. When it comes to holding angles, the player that's further away from any angle in question will always have the upper hand in terms of sight over the player that's closer to the angle. Regardless of it you're holding an angle dozens of yards away from your opponent, or if you're simply hiding in a corner waiting for some unlucky enemy to peek at the wrong time, the same principles will always apply.

Still, while each map has plenty of angles and areas you can get to know in full, there’s a few spots that you should prioritize getting familiar with as soon as possible. We’ll go over one angle per map, just so you can get the hang of the most popular hotspots that each game will have to offer. These corners, corridors, frequent push routes are going to pop up all over the place. Here’s how to play them to the best of your ability.

Bind - The Teleporter A-Site Choke

Perhaps the most popular push in the game, you can almost always expect players to be sent to A-Site through this angle if you’re on defense. Even if you’re the pushing team, you’ll probably be headed to A-Site by way of this route a couple of times per half. What makes this choke stand out is its open design compiled with tight sightlines. If you’re out in the open, chances are you’re going to be engaged in a wild gunfight, but if you utilize the angles of this choke correctly, you’ll be able to grab an early advantage.

On Defense, players with long range weapons, namely the Operator, Marshall, or Guardian, will have the upper hand on the pushing team as they are further away from the angles in question. Once the attacking team peeks around the corner, fast fingers will allow the defending team to get the jump and secure a kill. Regardless of if your enemies peek from the left or right, you'll have a more advantageous sight line. However, it's also recommendable to move up past the teleporter and wait in the alcove on the side of the choke. Here, you'll have a direct look at the attackers' spawn and a clear shot if they start to push towards you.

On offense, your best way to get some kind of advantage in this choke would be to throw in some type of projectile (Think Sova’s Recon Bolt or Raze’s Paint Shells) to either reveal your adversary’s location, or force them out of hiding with a potential burst of damage from behind cover. Since you’re going to be closer to the angle here, your opponent will have the jump on you regardless of how quick you are to shoot. You’ll need some sort of boost from either your kit or one of your teammates in order to get to a better position.

Split - The Garage B-Site Corridor

The Split Garage is arguably the most straightforward push in the game for both the attacking and defending teams. The playing field is incredibly level and quite frankly, the deciding factor in many B-Site pushes on Split is going to be aiming skills and overall gunplay. However, there are certain ways that you can manipulate sight lines on this push in order to give your team the advantage, regardless of whether you’re attacking or defending.

On Defense, the biggest determining factors when it comes to your team’s ability to hold down this site - aside from gunplay and overall mechanical ability - will be character and weapon selection. The relationship between which character is holding the site and where the site is being held from are directly related. Defense-oriented characters like Cypher or Sage will be best on defense for this site. If you have one of those characters on your team, try sending them here. They can outright deny vision, enhance scouting, and gain the upper hand on the attacking team before the push even begins.

With a recon-focused character on defense, you’ll want to use your tools from just outside the door. Sending an Owl Drone or a Spycam into the garage will allow you to get a quick look at the enemy before they engage, allowing you to set up your crosshair as well as the remainder of your defenses before they push onto site. With this in mind, you’ll have an idea of your enemies’ push before they even peek around a corner.

If you’re using a more stagger-oriented character like Sage or Viper to hold down B-Site, you’ll want to be positioned in the back corner of the site, just behind the wooden structure pictured below, with a long range weapon. This will give you the defensive advantage in terms of sight lines, as well as a wider view of the site at large. Although you won’t see your enemies until they peek around the corner, you’ll see them a split second before they see you.

On Offense, however, the strategy is a little different. In a similar vein to many disadvantageous offensive pushes, you’ll want to deploy some sort of recon or damage via a projectile just to get a handle on the area. Bouncing something like either of Sova’s arrows, or perhaps Raze’s Paint Shells or Boom Bot off of a wall might give you a quick look at your enemies’ positioning without even laying eyes on them. Once you know the coast is partially clear, you can use walls and smokes from characters like Brimstone, Viper, Phoenix, and Omen to set up an extended corridor.

As you push forward, you’ll have an advantage on any defending players coming from Mid into Heaven as you make your way to site. If you position yourself near the entrance from Garage, you’ll have a straight shot at Heaven the second an opposing player peeks from mid. If you position near the towards the back corner of the site, you’ll have a good shot at anyone dropping down and making their way around the left side of the pillar. Regardless, you’ll be in a good position to get the jump on defenders who are rotating from A-Site.

Haven - The Mid Doors B/C-Site Choke

As one of the game’s other most popular pushes, Haven’s Mid Doors are a hotspot for early-round gunfights with a ton of angles, routes, and options. The differences between offense and defense are stark, and you’ll need to be incredibly quick on the draw in order to win a gunfight here.

On offense, looking out of this window is practically a death sentence. The defending team holds down the angle much more efficiently not only due to their ability to practically wait for you to show your face, but as well as their ability to crossfire from multiple angles. If you’re going to be pursuing a mid push, your best offensive bet is to head towards Doors and get on top of the hay bales and crate. From here, your push is going to have to be a bit slower than normal, but you’ll have the jump on any antsy defender who moves out past the staircase sightline or through the doors themselves.

Additionally, depending on if your opponents give away their position with loud footsteps, you’ll have the options of heading either straight through the doors and pushing onto C-Site or going right up the staircase to your right and making your way towards B-Site. Regardless of which you choose, it’s nice to have multiple potentially advantageous options.

On defense, holding Mid on Haven is much more straightforward, but the varying options on the board are still most definitely present. You’ll want to get a good look at the window directly across from B-Site, as your tactical position in relation to the corridor gives the defending team a massive advantage. When it comes to holding Mid Doors, you’ll either want to do so from the back window which connects B-Site and C-Site, or you can fall back slightly and get a good look at anyone coming to C-Site from the nearby corridor. Either position will give you a slight advantage in terms of sightlines and positioning.

Closing Thoughts

VALORANT is a game that relies heavily on sight lines. While you can certainly utilize abilities and the game’s natural mechanics to manipulate what your opponents see, there are always going to be organic options at your disposal. Ten times out of ten, the player further away from any given angle in the game is going to have the upper hand in a straight up gunfight. If anything, this is the guiding principle that you should keep with you at all times throughout your VALORANT career.

Keep in mind that while the game gives many more tools to its players than other tactical shooters - such as a plethora of abilities and a forgiving economy system - the players with stronger gamesense and more finely-tuned mechanics are going to succeed each and every time. Your ability to position, aim, and outplay your opponent is going to be imperative in your quest to improve at VALORANT and more times than not, pure ability is going to be the strongest determining factor in any gameplay scenario. But, that’s not to say that a little bit of background knowledge won’t go an incredibly long way.