---
title: "VALORANT: Complete Guide"
game: "VALORANT"
game_url: "https://qna.gg/games/valorant"
author: "Qloud"
author_url: "https://qna.gg/players/Qloud"
topics: ["Beginners", "Maps", "Settings"]
summary: "Agents and roles, the credit economy, the new Warden rifle, the current map pool, settings, aim and positioning fundamentals, and ranked habits — updated for the big Patch 13.06. Researched September 2026 — current as…"
url: "https://qna.gg/g/valorant-complete-guide-a79513d0"
published: "2026-09-27T16:15:57.170Z"
updated: "2026-09-27T16:15:57.170Z"
source: "QnA.GG"
---

# VALORANT: Complete Guide

Agents and roles, the credit economy, the new Warden rifle, the current map pool, settings, aim and positioning fundamentals, and ranked habits — updated for the big Patch 13.06.

*Researched September 2026 — current as of Patch 13.06 (September 22, 2026), Season 2026 Act 5. Live games change; check the linked sources if something differs.*

## Quick Start

1. **Headshots decide everything.** Keep your crosshair at head height at all times, even while walking.
2. **Stop before you shoot.** Moving while firing wrecks accuracy. Tap A/D, stop, shoot (counter-strafing).
3. **Learn the economy.** Buying every round loses games. Save together, buy together.
4. **Pick a role, then 1–2 agents in it.** Controllers and Sentinels are the easiest to learn and always needed.
5. **Communicate info, not feelings.** "Two B main, one low" wins rounds; complaining doesn't.
6. **Don't peek the same angle twice** after getting a kill — they know where you are.
7. **Use Deathmatch and the Range before ranked.** In 13.06 you can now access the Range while queuing.
8. **Ranked unlocks at account level 20.**
9. **Performance Score replaced ACS in 13.06** — utility and team play count now, not just damage.

## What's New in Patch 13.06

The biggest update of 2026:

- **Warden** — a new automatic rifle in the Vandal/Phantom tier (details below).
- **Performance Score** replaces ACS: a 0–500 number that counts a wider range of contributions and decides MVP and scoreboard order in Competitive, Unrated, Swiftplay, and Premier.
- **Agent Mastery** replaces the old Agent Gear progression. Each agent has **Act Levels** (reset at the start of each new Act; Portrait Accents unlock at levels 4, 7, and 10) and **Lifetime Levels** (permanent rewards). Everyone started from zero.
- **Gauntlet: Glitched** — 16 players in eight duos face off in 2v2 rounds with randomized ability drafting and "Robo Agents" on four new arenas. Team health drops as you lose; eliminated teams watch from a winner's circle or can requeue. It replaced the Retake mode.
- **Rank Legacy** in the Competitive Hub shows how many times you've reached each rank.
- Home and Lobby merged into a single hub, a new Career page, and a revamped end-of-game screen.
- **VALORANT Console** launched in Australia and New Zealand.
- No direct agent buffs or nerfs in this patch.

## Agents and Roles

29 agents across four roles as of September 2026:

| Role | Job | Agents |
|---|---|---|
| Duelist | Entry, take space, get first kills | Phoenix, Jett, Reyna, Raze, Yoru, Neon, Iso, Waylay |
| Initiator | Gather info, flash, set up entries | Sova, Breach, Skye, KAY/O, Fade, Gekko, Tejo |
| Controller | Smokes to cut sightlines | Brimstone, Viper, Omen, Astra, Harbor, Clove, **Miks** |
| Sentinel | Hold sites, watch flanks, slow pushes | Killjoy, Cypher, Sage, Chamber, Deadlock, Vyse, Veto |

**Newest agents:** Miks (Controller, Patch 12.05), Veto (Sentinel, 11.07b), Waylay (Duelist, 10.04), Tejo (Initiator, 10.00). No new agent arrived with Act 5.

### Beginner Picks
| Role | Easy starts | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Duelist | Phoenix, Reyna | Self-sufficient; Phoenix heals and flashes, Reyna snowballs off kills |
| Initiator | Gekko, Skye | Gekko's utility can be picked back up after use; Skye can heal |
| Controller | Brimstone, Omen, Clove | Simple smokes; Clove can smoke after death |
| Sentinel | Killjoy, Sage | Killjoy's turret and alarmbot give info; Sage heals and walls |

### Standard Team Composition
One of each role plus one flex (often a second Initiator or Controller). **Always have at least one Controller** — no smokes means no safe site takes.

## Economy

### How Credits Work
| Event | Credits |
|---|---|
| Round win | 3,000 |
| Round loss | 1,900, then 2,400, then 2,900 for consecutive losses |
| Kill | 200 |
| Spike plant | 300 to each attacker |
| Max credits | 9,000 |
| Starting credits (pistol round) | 800 |

If attackers survive without planting, or defenders survive after the spike detonates, they get a flat 1,000 instead of loss credits — so saving costs you. Values have been stable for a long time, but check the buy menu if something feels off.

### Key Purchases
| Item | Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Sheriff | 800 | High-risk pistol; one-taps heads |
| Spectre | 1,600 | Best eco/half-buy SMG |
| Vandal | 2,900 | One-tap head at any range |
| Phantom | 2,900 | Faster fire, silenced, no tracers; falls off at range |
| **Warden** (new) | 2,900 | See below |
| Operator | 4,700 | One-shot body sniper |
| Light Armor | 400 | 25 armor (absorbs 66% of damage) |
| Regen Shield | 650 | 25 shield that absorbs 100% and regenerates from a 50-point pool (added in 9.10) |
| Heavy Armor | 1,000 | 50 armor (absorbs 66% of damage) |

### Buy Rules of Thumb
- **Pistol round:** Light Armor plus utility, or a Ghost/Sheriff.
- **Won pistol:** buy SMGs (Stinger/Spectre) with armor on round 2 and keep the snowball.
- **Lost pistol:** full save (eco) on round 2 so you can full-buy round 3.
- **Full buy threshold:** about 3,900 for rifle plus Heavy Armor; more with utility.
- **Match the team.** If three players can't buy, everyone saves. Five half-buys lose to five rifles.
- **Drop weapons** for teammates when you're rich (request with the buy menu).

## The Warden (New in 13.06)

| Stat | Value |
|---|---|
| Cost | 2,900 |
| Scope | 2x |
| Magazine | 18 |
| Damage (all ranges) | 200 head / 50 body / 42 legs |
| Fire rate | 6.5 shots per second |
| Reload | 2.5 seconds |
| Wall penetration | Medium |

**How to use it:** no damage falloff and a 200 headshot make it a strong angle-holding rifle at long range, but the small 18-round magazine and slower fire rate punish spraying. Tap and burst; hold long angles on defense; don't use it for close-range entry where Phantom and Vandal are better. As a brand-new weapon, expect balance tuning in upcoming patches.

## Maps

**Competitive pool (as of Season 2026 Act 5):** Abyss, Ascent, Haven, Lotus, Split, Sunset, Summit.

Out of rotation: Bind, Breeze, Corrode, Fracture, Icebox, Pearl. (Abyss returned in Act 5; there have been reports of Icebox returning later, so check the patch notes.)

| Map | Key feature | Tip |
|---|---|---|
| Abyss | No outer walls; you can fall off the map | Watch your footing when jumping or dashing |
| Ascent | Mid control, closable site doors | Win mid to split sites |
| Haven | Three sites (A, B, C) | Defenders are stretched; rotate on info, not guesses |
| Lotus | Three sites, rotating doors, destructible wall | Listen for doors to read rotations |
| Split | Vertical ropes, tight mid | Mid control is key; watch high ground |
| Sunset | Strong mid presence | Control mid to pressure both sites |
| Summit | Newest map (Patch 13.00), set in Zhangjiajie, China | Newest map means most players are still learning it; learn default setups early |

## Settings

- **Sensitivity:** most players use 200–400 eDPI (mouse DPI times in-game sens). Lower sens is easier for precise head-level aim.
- **Crosshair:** small, static, high-contrast color (cyan or green). Turn off firing error and movement error.
- **Graphics:** lowest settings for highest FPS, except keep **Material/Texture** as you like. Turn off Vignette, Bloom, and Distortion.
- **Enemy Highlight Color:** yellow (deuteranopia) or red variants; pick what pops most.
- **Minimap:** set to rotate off, zoom to fit, and "Keep Player Centered" off for clearer rotations.
- **Audio:** use headphones, turn on HRTF if you find it helps with sound direction.

## Aim and Positioning

### Aim
- **Crosshair placement:** pre-aim where heads will appear. Most kills come from not moving the crosshair at all.
- **Counter-strafe:** tap the opposite movement key to stop instantly, then shoot.
- **Tap and burst at range.** Spray only up close; the Vandal/Phantom spray pulls up and sideways.
- **Warm up 10–15 minutes** in the Range (bots, strafing mode) or Deathmatch before ranked.

### Positioning
- **Off-angles:** don't stand where everyone pre-aims. But change spots each round.
- **Jiggle and wide swings:** jiggle peek for info, wide swing with a teammate for trades.
- **Trade your teammate.** Stay close enough that if they die, you can kill the shooter immediately.
- **Play for time on defense.** Utility plus retreat beats a hero fight when you're outnumbered.
- **Post-plant:** play off the spike. Don't hold in site; hold angles on the defuser.

## Ranked

**Ranks:** Iron, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Diamond, Ascendant, Immortal, Radiant. Iron to Immortal have three divisions.

- **Requirements:** account level 20.
- **Winning is what moves RR.** Round differential and match wins matter far more than padding your stats.
- **Performance Score** now reflects utility and support contributions, so good Controller and Sentinel play shows up on the scoreboard.
- **Duo with someone consistent** — comms improve drastically.
- **Dodge less, play more.** Consistency beats trying to cherry-pick lobbies.

## Common Mistakes to Avoid

- **Running and gunning.** You won't hit anything while moving.
- **Buying on a bad round** when the team is saving.
- **Five-stack lurking.** Somebody has to go in with the Duelist.
- **Wasting utility early.** Save smokes and flashes for executes and retakes.
- **Peeking the same angle after a kill.**
- **Not playing the spike.** On attack, getting the plant is often more important than one more kill.
- **Spraying with the Warden.** Its magazine is small; burst it.

## Advanced Tips

- **Default, then execute.** Spread out early to gather info, then collapse on the weak site with full utility.
- **Fake with utility.** Throw a few smokes and a flash on one site, then rotate — defenders often overcommit.
- **Save ultimates for key rounds** (e.g. bonus rounds, map point).
- **Use sound deliberately.** Walk (Shift) near sites; run where you want them to hear you.
- **Play the Range while queuing** (new in 13.06) to keep your aim warm between matches.
- **Learn 2–3 lineups per map** for your agent (Sova arrows, Viper molly, Brimstone molly); they win post-plants.

## FAQ

**What's the current patch?**
Patch 13.06, released September 22, 2026, in Season 2026 Act 5.

**What is the Warden?**
A new 2,900-credit automatic rifle with a 2x scope, 18-round magazine, and 200/50/42 head/body/leg damage at all ranges.

**What replaced ACS?**
Performance Score, a 0–500 metric that accounts for more than combat and decides MVP.

**What's the current map pool?**
Abyss, Ascent, Haven, Lotus, Split, Sunset, and Summit.

**Who is the newest agent?**
Miks, a Controller released in Patch 12.05. No new agent came with Act 5.

**What happened to Retake mode?**
It was replaced by Gauntlet: Glitched in Patch 13.06.

**What level do I need for ranked?**
Account level 20.

## Sources

- [VALORANT Wiki: Patch Notes 13.06](https://wiki.playvalorant.com/en-us/Patch_Notes/13.06)
- [VALORANT Wiki: Agents](https://wiki.playvalorant.com/en-us/Agents)
- [VALORANT Wiki: Maps](https://wiki.playvalorant.com/en-us/Maps)
- [VALORANT Wiki: Credits](https://wiki.playvalorant.com/en-us/Credits)
- [VALORANT Wiki: Shields](https://wiki.playvalorant.com/en-us/Shields)
- [VALORANT Wiki: Warden](https://wiki.playvalorant.com/en-us/Warden)
- [Official Patch Notes 13.06](https://playvalorant.com/en-us/news/game-updates/valorant-patch-notes-13-06)
- [GameRiv: VALORANT 13.06 Patch Notes](https://gameriv.com/valorant-13-06-patch-notes/)
- [esportnow: Abyss returns in Season 2026 Act 5](https://esportnow.gg/valorant/news/abyss-is-coming-back-to-the-valorant-map-pool-in-season-2026-act-5)
- [Official VALORANT Patch Notes](https://playvalorant.com/en-us/news/tags/patch-notes/)