Riot’s tactical shooter entered closed beta in April 2020, and over the course of the last year there has been a lot of new content. A new map, new agents, and lots of new skins. But what about new weapons? Does Valorant need more of them?
The gameplay, or more specifically the gunplay, hasn’t really changed in the last year. Valorant went into closed beta with a total of 18 weapons (17 weapons plus a knife) and the official release in June didn’t bring any new additions. A year later, Valorant still only has 18 weapons. Will we get some new ones in the near future?
Does Valorant need more weapons?
This is the big question, which is also quite subjective. In total, Valorant has 6 types of weapons (7 if you count the knife, which is always the same):
- SMGs
- Rifles
- Shotguns
- Machine Guns
- Sniper Rifles
- Sidearms (Pistols)
In most categories, there is one expensive weapon that is better than the others. In fact, the Rifles and Sidearms are the only two categories with more than two weapons. The Rifles are an exception, as here the Vandal, Phantom, and Guardian are all significantly better than the Bulldog. Simple principle, right? Cheap weapon = bad, expensive weapon = better. For some players, this selection is enough, but many would like more options.
The most direct comparison to Valorant is CS:GO, which offers many more weapons – 34 divided into 6 categories. The only category with only two weapons in it are the machine guns with the Negev and M249. So in terms of weapon selection, Valve’s title is clearly ahead. But is that a fair comparison? Probably not. CS:GO has been on the market for almost a decade, and the Counter-Strike series for over 20 years.
Besides, there’s another important difference: Valorant has agent abilities and many of them can be used as weapons – Raze’s rocket launcher, Sova’s bow, etc. On the other hand, these abilities are character-specific and only one player on the team has access to them, and not consistently. Currently, you could say that the arsenal in Valorant is actually well set up, with a weapon for every situation.
Are we getting more weapons in Valorant?
In a Q&A stream, Valorant Game Designer Nicholas Wu Smith shared some information about the future of weapons in Valorant.
Smith mentioned that there will be new weapons in Valorant, however we shouldn’t expect them too soon:
Are we getting new weapons this year? Probably not.
Another interesting note was that “every weapon in Valorant will be hitscan, unless we do something really special.” What is “hitscan?” Hitscan means that bullets hit exactly where you aim – there is no bullet drop. That’s good for consistency, but it also means that a bow, for example, is unthinkable as a weapon (not an ability). Smith also revealed that some weapon ideas like an auto-sniper were scrapped before the game was even released, as other weapons like the Guardian filled that role well.
What do you think about the number of weapons in Valorant? Are you happy with the selection or would you like more? Tell us on Twitter or Facebook!
What are Patchnotes?
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What is Valorant?
Valorant initially appears to be a cross between CS:Go and Overwatch . A competitive shooter where two small teams compete against each other.
Your team is either ready to attack or defend, with the attackers placing a “stinger” (essentially a bomb) that the other team must then defuse or preferably prevent you from placing at all.
The attacking team can win by either eliminating the defenders or placing the stinger and then protecting it from defusing until the timer runs out. The defenders can similarly win by destroying the attackers before they have a chance to plant their stinger, or disarming the stinger after it has been planted.
Each team of five can play as both attackers and defenders during a game. Each game has a total of 25 rounds, with the first team to win 13 rounds declared the winner
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