One of the most important aspects of Valorant is their economy also called “eco” feature which allows you to buy guns and abilities for your hero. It is important to know when you should save your credits and when you should send it. I will get some of the basic information out of the way. The max credit you can get is 9000, after that you will stop receiving credits until you spend so you are under 9000. On the top left of the buy screen, you will see minimum credits you will get for the next round. Minimum credit assumes you lose the round and don’t get any kills, a plant, or a defuse.

In overtime, everyone gets 5000 credits which is be enough for you to buy all your abilities with gun and shield. It’s always good to have around 2000 credits on you, so in case you die and don’t get any kills you will still be able to do a full buy. it is also important to know if you 2 in a row you get an extra 500 credits and if you lose round 3 too you get another 500 credits then it stops, so the max you can get from losing is 2900 credits. Always keep in mind if you are attacker, you can still plant the spike after the round has ended if you do it quickly enough, giving your entire team more cash for their next round.

Saving for Two

One of the things that is done in higher Elo is one of the players (usually support or a member who stays back) saving for two people. This usually is done if you are playing with a full team and someone on your team is the hard carry or someone who has solid performance. What you do is you try to survive and win every round so you don’t need to buy guns every round. If you do die, you only buy armour and some abilities and stay back and try picking up a gun from a dead body. The goal is to save up to 9000, so you can buy an Operator for your carry and the carry does not need to spend his credits. This allows it so if they die, they can still buy an Operator the next round since the carry did not spend anything. If you are playing Sage, you can certainly save for two! Since Sage's playstyle is more centered around her staying alive to heal people and provide cover and slows, it makes sense that she saves for the carry since she should be the one who is always alive and taking the least risk. Also, she has a heal so she can always heal herself up if she is very low on hp.

Pick it Up!

This should be straightforward but, in earlier rounds, it's always important to pick up guns from dead bodies especially after the round has ended. Even if you don’t use the gun. If it is a more expensive gun, pick it up and drop it for one of your teammates who then can buy you your gun. This works the best if you see an Odin or an Operator, since they are the most expensive guns. Picking up guns allows for you to save and catch up on your eco. It’s important to do the same late game if you are behind on eco.

Should We Eco?

Many times, players are not sure when to eco or how far behind they need to be to need to eco. The first thing you can do before you eco is light buy which means getting heavy armour and maybe a Bulldog, an Ares, or a Spectre. The point of a light buy is to hopefully win the round so you can full buy next round or save the next round and just use the guns you bought last round to get a very good eco. It’s better to do a light buy instead of a full eco buy, so always aim for that before your economy gets very bad. However, if you need to do a full eco buy, you can buy light armour and some abilities or get a ghost and some abilities. The point is to spend as little as possible. The reason why you still should buy some abilities, or a gun is because you still want to be able to kill someone and try to win the round. Also, if you can kill someone and pick up their guns and win then you can save the next round too and just buy armour and abilities.

Rush Operator

The Operator (Op) is seen as one of the best guns since it is a one-shot kill, and many people seek it. If you save 200 on the Pistol round you will be able to buy the Operator by round 3. This is assuming you lose every round and get no kills or plants off. You will have 4500 credits by round 3, which is just enough to buy an Operator. However, it is very risky spending all your money on an Operator with no shield or abilities. This means you are vulnerable to die faster, and if you do die your economy will be shattered. So, it is a huge risk, but most people don’t expect an Operator in round 3 so it can catch people off-guard. However, hopefully you got a few kills or a plant/defuse within the first rounds so you have more than 4500 in your pocket.

I would suggest buying an Operator if you can buy a heavy armour and some abilities, which would make it a safer option. Also it would be good if someone else on your team has a strong bank, so that they can buy you a gun next round in case you die the round you buy the Op. You can also always ask your teammates to pick up your Op back up before the round ends. You get around 5 seconds after the round is ended, so it may be enough time for someone from your team to pick up your Op, as long as you're sure to tell them where it is. If you think the enemy team has picked up your Op, tell your team so they are aware when they are peeking. This is particularly important when the enemy's economy is poor and your team might assume they cannot afford the Op.

When to Save?

Saving is when you try to stay alive at the end of a round so you can keep your guns and shields. This is good to do when the round is lost and your economy is poor (meaning that if you die, you won't be able to full buy the next round). In these cases, it is best to hide somewhere far away from the spike and lose the round so that you can keep your guns and abilities. However, if your economy is strong and you can full buy the next round, it's potentially a good idea to engage the enemy team even if it's a 1v5. The reason why I say this is that by getting one or two exit frags, you will harm the enemy economy and force them to buy the next round. Of course, most people with an Operator save if it's a 1v5/1v4 because buying an Operator is such an investment. Looking for end-of-round picks with an Op is very risky.

Mo Money Mo Problems

You should never be holding 9000 credits and not buying for your team. Even if your whole team's economy is very strong, you should still buy for another teammate so they can get closer to 9000 credits. You can buy one of your teammates a Vandal or Phantom and someone else a cheaper gun like an Ares, Bulldog, or Spectre. Make sure that your abilities are maxed out when you are at 9000 credits. You can even buy a pistol! It is never good to sit on 9000 credits and not do anything with it. You should always be aware of your teammates eco so you can remind them when they should light buy, save, or go eco. Beware of the enemy team's economy too. By following their eco you will know when they can full buy. You can also know when they can get Operators which would help your teammates also so they know not to peek if enemy has Op.