Valorant, Riot Games' new tactical hero shooter, is finally available for limited public testing - but due to the fact that the game is in closed beta, not everyone can get access to it. Currently, the Valorant Download is only available as a drop for watching related streams on Twitch. There are 2 steps that you need to complete to be able to play Valorant closed beta in India.
1 - Valorant Download: Create a Riot Account on an eligible region
Over the last few weeks, Riot has been adapting all their League of Legends account into "Riot account" in order to accommodate all the new titles that are under development like Legends of Runeterra or Valorant. Because of that, your accounts will be region locked - you won't be able to change your region on the login screen. With Valorant Closed Beta currently region-locked for North America and Europe, you would have to use a VPN to play it in India.
Any VPN would do - even the free trial ones. Firstly, you would need to download your VPN and load it up - then pick a country in either North America or Europe. Afterward, go to Riot's home page and create a new account. The newly created account would be locked to the same location as your VPN - you would be able to play Valorant immediately.
2 - Valorant Download: Get a Closed beta key
To be eligible for Valorant key drops, you would need to get a Twitch account and a Riot Games account. Afterward, you would need to link the 2 accounts together on Twitch's website. The last step is to tune in for a Twitch stream.
Only a few streamers are able to give out keys - you have to look for the "drop-enabled" tag under the stream. All key drops are random, and watching multiple streams at the same time does not make any differences. If you are lucky and get the key drop, the thing would appear in your Twitch Notification and you would get access automatically. The notification on Twitch would provide you with the download link for the game client afterward.
Riot is temporarily pausing drops to reduce the load on the servers - they are expected to continue it very soon. Currently, the game is still in the "stress test" period, and that is why they can't just let everybody in.
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3 - Valorant Game: First Impressions
It is a shooter with actual depth
Valorant actually nailed the fundamentals of Counter-Strike style of shooters - CS players would feel right at home. You can perform all the familiar techniques like flicking, boosting, pop-flashing... and more. Peaking while crouch is viable but slower than CS, and the movement penalty while getting shot is actually pretty severe - you would not be able to just walk yourself out of a bad situation very easily.
Too many abilities to make smoke-like walls
The game pretty much removes the smoke grenade and place the role into characters' ability - 5 out of the 9 current characters can create some type of area-denial effect that can damage or block choke points. Viper's Toxic Screen is pretty overpowered, as it lasts super long and can be reactivated at any time. Brimstone's Sky Smoke can be targeted to different areas on the map and launch instantly at the start of a match. This is actually a pretty boring game design, as a meta with a focus on delaying the other team is not fun for both parties involved.
Fragging feels good but the guns themselves lack identity
Every time you score a headshot, a fountain of blood erupts - this is one of the most satisfying effects in CS. Even PUBG does no have something as satisfying as this.
The gun themselves are rather hard to understand, however - this is the disadvantage of having a shooter with made-up weapon sets. You would figure out which guns are which after a while, however. The Vandal's the AK, the Phantom's the M4, the Operator is the AWP...etc. All guns in Valorant have a CS counterpart - while CS fans might enjoy this, completely new people would be pretty confused.
The roster is rather unremarkable
Due to Riot's attempts to make sure that everyone could play Valorant, even on Potato-made rigs, the graphics of the game are pretty meh comparing to its competitors like Apex Legends or Overwatch. The characters are forgettable, the models' details are generic, the texture is plain - it would take a lot more polish for Riot to reach a level big blockbuster like Overwatch.
The amount of data provided at the end game screen is great
Valorant provides a lot of stats comparing to the usual multiplayer shooters. Some of the more remarkable scores are "Econ Rating" for measuring how much you spent for the damage you inflict and "Average Combat Rating" for your damage output, plus points for early frags.
Ultimate abilities are nice, but not as important as that of Overwatch
Valorant's character ultimate ability is some kind of "ace card" that separates the game from its counter strike roots. You would be able to collect points for your ultimate by killing other players, picking boosts up on the map or dying. Therefore, all ultimates have a long cooldown and their usage would be vital in winning a match. However, you have to get to 13 rounds first in Valorant - and because of that, a win doesn't matter as much.
Overall, Valorant has the potentials to become the next big Esports title - and with Riot's professional backing, nothing is impossible. Interested in more of our posts related to Valorant? Please check out this article for an overview of the base gameplay.