Are you tired of getting killed before you even see the enemies? There could be a number of reasons why that happened. Maybe you were looking at the mini-map. Maybe you were texting somebody. Or maybe you were holding the wrong angle and you didn’t even realize it. Let’s fix that so you could kill them before they see you.
I am not going to hide the secret somewhere deep inside this article. The key to holding angles in Valorant is this:
“When positioned in a common angle, you must be strafing back and forth peeking in and out. You should not hold it. Peeker’s Advantage will give the aggressor an upper hand because they will see you before you see them if you stay put and hold. Since the angle you are holding is common, they will also have their crosshair pre-placed on where your head is. Mix those two factors together and it’s a recipe for death. Off-Angles should be the angles that you hold because it will negate the Peeker’s Advantage and their crosshair placement, due to the number of positions you could be in. Using a mixture of common and off angles will keep your opponent guessing.”
If you understood that, great. Go out in Competitive and use this newfound knowledge to your advantage. If you did not fully understand that, don’t worry, there is a lot of jargon in that explanation that will be expanded upon. So, let’s dive in and see what all that really means.
A common angle is an angle that is most commonly used by everybody. It is one that makes sense and is supposed to give you an advantage while holding. An example of this would be the doorway in B Main on Ascent when playing the Defenders Side. It is an angle everyone plays, and everyone expects to play against.
An off-angle is an angle that is unexpectedly held. These positions tend to be perilous for the players playing in them. Being in a “bad” position makes it good because it is unexpected and not typically held by default. Enemies will not automatically look to clear these angles because they will be busy placing their crosshairs on a commonly held angle. An off-angle in B Main on Ascent can look like this:
Peeker’s Advantage is the advantage a player gets when peeking over a player that is holding. This advantage is caused by server latency, ping, and movement input. By the time the server interprets a peeker’s movement, the peeker would have already seen the holder. The player holding gets delayed information due to the lag caused by the server having to interpret the enemy’s movement.
Without knowing this information, getting killed without seeing the opposition can be frustrating and demoralizing. Just know you never had a chance! It’s not that you have bad reactions; you just have bad positioning, which is way easier to fix.
To negate the Peeker’s Advantage, instead of holding, peek too! The server would have to interpret both your peeking and their peeking, giving delayed information to both players. Being in a common angle and peeking could get you information, it’ll also make you harder to hit. Strafing a few feet from a wall is better than holding since you can get information. If you possess the ability to counter-strafe, you can even get a shot in.
Being in a common angle also allows you to bait for a teammate! Being bait isn’t the most fun thing in the world, but if you are baiting a common angle, that would make it a lot easier for your teammate in an off-angle to get kills since you will be the ultimate distraction. To make yourself feel better, tell yourself that their Ace was all you (but make sure to type “Nice Ace!” in chat).
Off-angles should be held rather than peeked from. In an off-angle position, you are using the element of surprise. It would be a shame if your movement tips off the opposition to where you are located. This is an unexpected position to be in since more often than not, it is a perilous one. Hold the angle, line your crosshair at head level, and play it as dictated by the situation. Hold your fire if the enemies don’t see you; spray them down if they are distracted by your bait.
The off-angle negates peeker’s advantage since the opposition won’t be looking at your angle when peeking. Since they are peeking the common angle, their crosshair won’t be on automatically on you before you get the chance to see them.
When using a sniper such as a Marshall or an Operator, you will be ADSing (Aiming Down Sight). When ADSing your character model’s elbows stick out. This is apparent when ADSing on rifles as well. If you hold a common angle, while ADSing, you will be giving your opposition even a bigger chance to kill you before you even see them since your character model will be sticking out more than usual. You should definitely be utilizing an off-angle when sniping.
The enemies will be on to your positioning patterns if they become easy to follow. It is smart to mix up which off-angles you will be in. Throw in a few common angles and you will give your opponents a headache without having to fire a single bullet.
Now you know when to hold and when to fold peek. Off-angles should be utilized more often than common angles because of the advantage you can gain over the aggressor. Unfortunately, the game will always give an advantage to the peeker, so use that knowledge to negate the upper hand given to aggressors. Be confident in your aim even when it seems like you’re in a “bad” position like an off-angle. Switch up your positioning, learn your enemies’ patterns and give yourself easier gunfights. Your aim isn’t that bad, your positioning is.
