Why game awareness is more important than aim in Valorant?

Having crisp aim is necessary to be good at shooter games, but there’s always more than meets the eye. “I get top frag every game, why can’t I rank up?” type of players — this one is for you.

Valorant is one of the newest and fastest-growing FPS (first-person shooter) games on the market. Since it was created by Riot Games, the creator of League of Legends, it was only natural that a good amount of the player base carried over. On top of that, players from FPS titles like CS:GO, Overwatch, Apex Legends, and Fortnite all gave the game a shot.

This mix of backgrounds in the community gave some players instant advantages that others misunderstood. Sure, aim and shooting are crucial for shooter games, but it’s not the end all be all. In the video below, you can see NRG s0m, a professional Valorant player, getting four kills with pure aim skill and the last one with game awareness.

Aim trainers don’t teach the game

One trend newer Valorant players have noticed is that despite their constant improvement in the aim department, they can’t climb the ranks. Aim trainers like Aimlabs and Kovaks have been force-fed to the community through advertisements and streams, and while it’s true that they improve your shooting mechanics, players often undermine a more impactful factor.

Game awareness is something that separates the ranked demons from the exceptional players. And one unwritten rule for every game is — If you can’t carry in that elo, you don’t deserve to climb out of that elo. The same rings true for Valorant. There are way too many players stuck in the ranks between Silver and Diamond that think they deserve a higher rank. And they might not be wrong, Their aim is probably better than the average player in their elo. It’s fundamentals that are holding them back. Taking every duel with confidence is a good thing until you go overboard with it. These are some examples of how game knowledge can help you win rounds and climb the ranks.

Don’t trust anyone

Over the course of a round, there are way too many variables that can happen. But always remember that your teammates will probably make as many mistakes as your opponents. There is a reason why all of you are in the same game, even if your aim is better than theirs. Instead of focusing on mistakes your teammates make, focus on your mistakes and why you are spectating the round. You can get three kills and your team will still lose the round, but instead of getting tilted, think of the key to winning. Don’t look for excuses and don’t blame your teammates. Play smarter and make sure to survive as long as possible. Even on 1 HP, you can still be a threat, using utility and movement to help secure the round.

Economy

Being confident in your aim doesn’t mean you have to buy every round. Play the economy game properly and you will win more duels that you barely lost because they had a stronger weapon. And those are the most tilting ones.

High impact kills

It’s hard to quantify what a high-impact kill is, because it depends on the situation. First bloods are an important statistic, but not if your life means more than the kill. Players in the Controller and Initiator roles are way too important to their team to be taking first contact. They are crucial for entering and defending sites, but especially for post-plant situations. On the contrary, low-impact kills are the ones you get after your entire team dies. Padding your stats to be at the top of the leaderboard and being toxic towards your teammates will not win you rounds or games.

Movement and positioning

These two are probably the most important aspects of FPS games outside of aim. Knowing where to be at the right time and how to get there is a skill you can only teach through coaching. This builds on all of the previous points that we mentioned. Your economy might be bad, but a shotgun with good positioning can easily win rounds. If you hear them rotating and you kill their Controller, that is a high-impact kill based on your movement around the map. Positioning in post-plant situations to make the most of the timer and your life is crucial for securing clutch rounds. Learn some lineups for your main agent and figure out the best time to use them. These things win games, not the 30 kills.

Header: Riot Games