Weapon Basics Guide

Valorant's arsenal is divided into six weapon categories, each serving a distinct role and purchase round:

• Sidearms — Classic, Shorty, Frenzy, Ghost, Sheriff. Your default round 1 buy. The Ghost and Sheriff can one-tap headshot on pistol rounds. Carry these as backup when you can't afford a full rifle.
• SMGs — Stinger, Spectre. Run-and-gun monsters. The Spectre is the king of half-buy rounds — accurate enough to challenge rifles at close-mid range with the mobility of a knife.
• Shotguns — Bucky, Judge. One-shot potential at close range. The Judge is the ultimate split-pusher's nightmare — spam it through smokes and hold tight corners.
• Rifles — Bulldog, Guardian, Vandal, Phantom. The backbone of Valorant gunplay. Vandal and Phantom account for over 80% of rifle kills in professional play.
• Snipers — Marshal, Operator. Long-range dominance. One body shot from the OP kills; one headshot from the Marshal kills at any range for only 950 credits.
• Machine Guns — Ares, Odin. Wall-bang specialists. The Odin can suppress entire sightlines through penetrable walls. Best paired with Sova recon for wall-bang multi-kills.

Every weapon in Valorant has a damage falloff curve defined by three ranges:

• 0-15m (Full Damage) — Point-blank to close range. The Vandal deals 160 headshot damage at any range, but the Phantom drops from 156 to 140 after 15m.
• 15-30m (Reduction) — Mid-range engages. The Phantom loses its one-tap headshot potential after 15m. The Vandal remains a one-tap forever.
• 30-50m (Minimum) — Long-range duels. Body shots tickle, headshots become critical. The Marshal still one-taps heads at 50m. The Sheriff still one-taps heads at 50m+.

Understand falloff to pick the right engagement distance. Phantom users must close distance to 15m for one-taps. Vandal users want to hold long sightlines where their no-falloff headshot dominates.

Your accuracy in Valorant depends entirely on your movement state. There are four states, from most to least accurate:

• Standing Still — Perfect accuracy. The only state where your bullets go exactly where your crosshair points. Always stop before shooting.
• Walking — Slight spread increase. Usable at close-mid range but unreliable at distance. The Spectre and Stinger are less punished for walking.
• Running — Significant spread. Bullets land in a wide cone. Only viable with SMGs at point-blank range.
• Jumping — Maximum spread. Bullets go everywhere except where you aim. Never jump-shoot with a rifle.

Counter-Strafing

Counter-strafing is the technique of tapping the opposite movement key to instantly stop your momentum. When you press A to move left, releasing A and pressing D cancels your leftward velocity faster than just releasing A. The moment you tap D, your character is stationary for a split frame — that's when your shot is perfectly accurate.

The rhythm: A → release A → tap D → shoot → D → release D → tap A → shoot. Practice this in the range until it becomes muscle memory.

Every automatic weapon in Valorant has a unique spray pattern. Unlike CS:GO, Valorant's recoil pattern is consistent within each weapon class but differs between guns.

• Vandal — Vertical climb for the first 5 bullets, then horizontal zigzag right. Pull down sharply and counter-steer left after bullet 6. The crosshair doesn't represent recoil past the first 3 bullets.
• Phantom — Softer vertical climb, tighter spread. First 4 bullets are nearly vertical. After bullet 8, the pattern wobbles left-right. Easier to control than Vandal but still requires practice.
• Spectre — Random spray after the first 6 bullets. Don't try to control more than 6 bullets — tap or burst instead. The Spectre's run-and-gun nature means you'll often be moving while spraying.
• Odin/Ares — Steady upward climb that becomes predictable after 10 bullets. These excel at wall-banging known positions. Hold left-click and learn to pull down in a consistent arc.

Pro tip: Spend 10 minutes daily in the range spraying at a wall from 20m. Learn the first 8 bullets of Vandal and Phantom by heart. In a real game, if you haven't killed by bullet 8, reset your aim and burst again.