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Valorant has completely taken over my life and I'm not complaining

53K View2022-11-24

I’ve always loved playing first-person shooters. I remember spending hours and hours playing Counter-Strike: Source and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. Sometimes I’d play way too long and get scolded for staying up late on school nights. But in the end, it was always worth it. I’ve probably spent the last decade playing FPS games, and I’m always trying to find something refreshing, engaging, and fun to play with friends. That said, earlier this month, I started playing Valorant, and I’ve been having the time of my life.

Valorant is a 5v5 free-to-play first-person tactical hero shooter developed and published by Riot Games. It’s available on PC and features tons of modes to play. The game functions similarly to Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, wherein gameplay features two teams, one trying to plant a bomb and another attempting to defuse it.

One of the interesting aspects of Valorant is that it also features playable characters with abilities that can turn the tide of battles. With twenty playable characters that vary uniquely and are acquirable through earnable in-game currency or purchasing them outright, Valorant makes for a pretty enjoyable game.

Playing Valorant alone is one thing, but relishing it with friends is another. I’ve always enjoyed playing FPS titles alone and routinely climbing ranked matches. That said, nothing really compares to enjoying a game with my friends. Every little aspect of Valorant, whether it’s hitting sick shots, performing massive comebacks, or even bantering with teammates and enemies, gets even better when playing with the right people.

For the past month, I’ve been playing every so often with my friends, and it’s been one hell of a time. I usually enjoy playing Sage or Fade, but I occasionally do pretty well with Reyna, and I prefer supporting my teammates to actually entry-fragging or dueling. I’m currently trying to climb out of Bronze 2 (don’t flame me), but I don’t really mind having a pretty low rank. For the most part, I just enjoy playing the game for what it is and having fun along the way.

Whether I’m playing alone or laughing and losing with friends, Valorant’s surprisingly taught me a lot about myself and how I currently view games. I’ve realized I’m not as competitive as I once was, and I definitely don’t value winning much anymore. I’ve learned that having fun while playing a game is much more important to me than anything else. Although that’s sort of difficult, especially when I’m bot-fragging and getting chewed out by my teammates in a losing match, there’s always room to make things positive and enjoyable.

For now, I’m trying to reach a higher rank in Valorant, basically anything above Bronze 2, but I’ve really been having so much fun playing the game. It’s immersive, refreshing, and entertaining enough to play for hours on end without getting tired of the game, especially when enjoying it with friends.

💬 Have you ever played Valorant, or at least heard of it? What’s your opinion about the game and do you generally enjoy playing FPS titles?

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