You probably know that 5-man pushing a site isn’t an effective tactic when attacking. But did you know that sometimes it could actually be a decent strategy? Let’s find out if 5-man pushing is a strategy that you could vouch for in your next match.
You see a lot of 5-Man Pushes in lower elo gameplay in Valorant. It is all they know how to do. Players that are still learning the game think that 5 > 2 on a site is a no-brainer. And who could blame them? It seems like a pretty good idea since you’d have strength in numbers.
However, the lack of information that the Attackers possess, the lack of control over the rest of the map, in combination with the utility dumped to take control on site, can lead to a disastrous site hold for the attacking team. This is why 5-Man Pushes are not in the meta and never have been. But even if they aren’t the most effective tactics available, they still can be effective in the right scenarios. So, which scenarios cancall for a low elo strategy like a 5-man push?
A 5-Man Push can be effective in Valorant once you have conditioned the enemy in the rounds prior. Teams can condition defenders in various ways and multiple options are effective when deciding to full rush a site.
Attackers can condition Defenders by going to a single site round after round. Whether intentional or not, pay attention to how often your team hits a site and if the defending team alters their defense to adapt to your team’s attacking strategy. This allows for a more effective 5-Man Push onto the other site. Conditioning your opponents to expect your team to be pushing one site, while your entire team is on the other site allows for an easier round win.
Attackers can also condition Defenders by defaulting every round prior to your full rush push onto site. Defaulting (splitting your team 2 on A Site, 1 in Mid, and 2 on B Site) hides information on where your team is going to plant the spike. This refusal to give up information on your attack keeps the Defenders on their toes and constantly guessing. By surprising them with a 5-Man Push onto site, instead of the usual 2 players in the area, it would increase the effectiveness of the strategy.
During Economy Rounds, or Ecos, is another scenario in which 5-Man Pushes can be beneficial. When you’re forced to manage your economy and buy pistols, it can be beneficial to overwhelm Defenders with numbers instead of firepower. Pushing a site with all 5 attackers carrying pistols creates havoc for Defenders. If the Attackers manage to secure kills, it can even put rifles in the hands of players who were previously wielding pistols.
During eco rounds, it is smart to stay together, trade each other, and try to pick up rifles from your enemy’s lifeless corpses. The objective during these rounds is not necessarily to win the round, but to do as much damage as possible to the other team’s economy by getting frags and saving money by picking up their guns. So using a lesser strategy during these rounds like a 5-Man Push is a pretty good idea for securing frags and rifles.
Based on information gathered in previous rounds, think about if full pushing a site is right for your team. If enemies don’t instantly rotate, maybe it is not a great idea to commit all players to one spike site. If you notice that they stack on one site very heavily, maybe it would be ideal to split up and default to see which site is stacked against you. If you have not conditioned them in prior rounds, do not push with all 5 agents!
Your team’s composition should also dictate whether a 5-Man Push would even be effective. If your opponents get overwhelmed and leave the site to retake with the rest of their teammates, you need to make sure your team’s agents are good at stopping pushes. You need to slow down the retake with Sentinels and Controllers to be able to play post-plant effectively.
The order and manner in which you full push a site matters. When pushing with a full team, it could feel like there are too many cooks in the kitchen, but if everybody understands their role, it could actually be pulled off pretty seamlessly.
The first thing the attacking team should do is some reconnaissance. Using an information gathering Initiator will allow the team to best decide whether to dedicate to a full push or not. If the conditions are right, this will allow for the rest of the team to execute.
The second action would be for your Controller agents to lay smokes down to help the 1st and 2nd entry take site more easily. With smokes down, the 1st Entry (Duelist) should lead the way for the rest of the team and create as much space as possible. The 2nd Entry (Duelist or Initiator) should flash and trade for the 1st Entry if need be. The 3rd in line should be the Sentinel who could play anti-flash and secure the Spike.There should be two players behind the Sentinel trading for others at a longer distance and watching for flank attacks from the Defense. The Spike should never be in the hands of the 1st or 2nd Entry because if they die, the Spike would be in a perilous position.
When Attacking in this fashion, make sure you overwhelm anyone defending the site. Make sure to dump utility and commit to the blitzkrieg attack. When using utility make sure to save important abilities to be used in the post-plant situation. More than likely, it will be a heavy retake executed by the defense.
5-Man Pushing a site in Valorant is not the best way to attack a site and should be used as both gimmick plays and surprises for the defending team. The best situation to use this strategy would be in Ecco rounds so that you can secure rifles in a round where you started with pistols. Full rushing a site is a low elo strategy because of its ineffectiveness to be repeated round after round. Remember to only do this in ecco round situations and when you have already conditioned the enemy team into thinking that they are prepared for what you’re about to throw at them.
