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

• Headshots decide everything. Keep your crosshair at head height at all times, even while walking.
• Stop before you shoot. Moving while firing wrecks accuracy. Tap A/D, stop, shoot (counter-strafing).
• Learn the economy. Buying every round loses games. Save together, buy together.
• Pick a role, then 1–2 agents in it. Controllers and Sentinels are the easiest to learn and always needed.
• Communicate info, not feelings. "Two B main, one low" wins rounds; complaining doesn't.
• Don't peek the same angle twice after getting a kill — they know where you are.
• Use Deathmatch and the Range before ranked. In 13.06 you can now access the Range while queuing.
• Ranked unlocks at account level 20.
• 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
• VALORANT Wiki: Agents
• VALORANT Wiki: Maps
• VALORANT Wiki: Credits
• VALORANT Wiki: Shields
• VALORANT Wiki: Warden
• Official Patch Notes 13.06
• GameRiv: VALORANT 13.06 Patch Notes
• esportnow: Abyss returns in Season 2026 Act 5
• Official VALORANT Patch Notes