Valorant is an FPS (First Person Shooter) tactical game that combines the concepts of high-energy gunplay and strategic thinking. The game provides…
Valorant Weapons Guide: Damage, Spray Recoil and Usage Tips
Butcher79
Learn how Valorant weapons differ from CS:GO weapons and explore the arsenal to know exactly how to deal lethal damage.
Like CS:GO, Valorant is about much more than shooting, and in addition to mind games, it adds special abilities and ultimates. Regardless, the team that wins is often the team that landed the final headshot.
If you're new to the Counter-Strike FPS style, the first thing you need to know is that unless you're a great sniper, you should usually use an assault rifle. Other weapons are the options you have when you can't afford a rifle.
In this guide, I have extracted all the important data for each weapon from the Valorant closed beta: magazine capacity, rate of fire, damage values, and so on. Testing has been done to make sure the values are accurate and we have made some suggestions based on the scenarios you are likely to encounter.
HEALTH AND ARMOR
Each character has 100 health and players can buy up to 50 armor. Effectively, this means that you need to deal 150 damage to kill an untouched enemy.
It's all you really you need to know about health and armor to get started, though there's a slight complication that armor doesn't just act as extra hit points. Instead, some damage goes through the armor with each shot.
Here's what happened when we tested armor penetration using heavy armor (50 points) and Classic (Glock-18 in CS:GO), which does 26 body damage when fired at close range.
Shot one: 8 damage to health; 17 armor damage
Shot two: 9 damage to health; 17 armor damage
Shot three: 11 damage to health; 16 armor damage
Total damage dealt: 78 (3x26)
Remaining armor: 0
Remaining Health: 72
As you can see, heavy armor absorbs just over half of the first 50 damage taken. The current wording in Valorant's buy menu is misleading and I'm not sure why each shot dealt a different amount of damage (adding the correct number eventually), but in the end, buying 50 armor still means you can deal 150 damage full damage before killing.
MODULATED DAMAGE
Some guns have two sets of damage values based on range, some have three, and a couple of weapon variants have only one. The situation becomes more complicated, the close range of one weapon can be 30 meters or less, and the other - 20 meters or less. For example, Frenzy (analogous to CZ75 from CS:GO) deals 78 headshot damage at close range (within 20m), and Classic deals 78 headshot damage at close range (within 30m). In the tables, I will always indicate the number of meters I am talking about.
For reference, here's what 10m and 30m look like in game:
FEATURES OF WEAPON USE
Damage Knife Attack: Left-click knife attack deals 50 damage. A right click attack deals 75 damage to an enemy in front of you and kills enemies in the back, just like in Counter-Strike.
Wall shot: if you see a bullet hole in the wall, your bullet went through it. If all you see is a chip, your bullet didn't penetrate the wall. If you're as accustomed to siege as I am, understanding that it's possible to break through the corners of hard walls takes some getting used to. Some doors, such as the Haven "Garage" section, even have armor that can be destroyed, making the surface permeable.
Silencers: Ghost (similar to USP-S from CS:GO), has gray tracers on your screen, but enemies don't see the tracer at all.
PISTOLS
Classic - standard pistol. At a distance of up to 30 meters, Classic deals 26 damage. damage on hit in the body, 22 pts. damage when shooting in the legs and 78 pts. headshot damage. At a longer distance, its lethal force drops slightly - to 22, 18 and 66 units. damage, respectively. The pistol has an alternate mode in which the weapon fires three bullets at once with a single pull of the trigger. There are 12 rounds in the magazine. It fires semi-automatically at 6,75 rpm. Penetration of walls low.
shorty- standard cut. Its cost is 200 credits. With each shot, Shorty releases 12 pellets, which individually deal low damage, but together they can kill the opponent - however, only at close range. At a distance of up to nine meters, each projectile fired will deal 12 damage. damage on hit in the body, 10 pts. - in the leg and 36 units. - to the head. The weapon is Semi-automatic, with a rate of fire 3,3 rpm. Penetration ability of walls - low.
Frenzy - automatic pistol with a rate of fire of 10 rpm. At long range, the weapon is almost useless, but Frenzy remains fairly accurate with single shots. The magazine includes 13 rounds. Its cost is 400 credits, and the penetration of walls is low.
ghost- semi-automatic pistol with silencer and rate of fire 6,75 rpm, which makes almost no sound when fired and remains effective even at a long distance. When firing at a distance of up to 30 meters, the pistol will deal 30 damage. damage to the hull, 105 pts. headshot damage and 26 pts. - in the legs. Further damage will decrease, but remain high - 25, 88 and 21 units. respectively. Even at a high rate of fire, it maintains high accuracy. The cost of the pistol is 500 credits. Its wall penetration is average.
sheriff- semi-automatic classic revolver. Its functionality in the game is the same as the Desert Eagle in CS:GO. The weapon deals massive damage at any range, but remains effective only in the hands of well-aimed shooters. It is also possible to “press point-blank” from it, but, as in the case of Deagle, success is not guaranteed. Sheriff also breaks through walls perfectly and allows you to finish off the enemy, even if he disappeared around the corner.
The Classic, Ghost, and Sheriff are your main pistols, and the most used is the Classic because it's free by default. Frenzy and Shorty are the weirdest of the bunch: Frenzy is fully automatic, and Shorty is a mini shotgun. I'll put them aside for now to focus on regular pistols.
Comparison of Classic, Ghost and Sheriff
Both the Ghost and the Sheriff inflict instant headshot kills on unarmed enemies at less than 30 meters, although the Sheriff is the only weapon that can also kill armored enemies with a single headshot at the same range.
Moving below the neck, the Classic takes six close range shots to deal over 150 damage, while the Wraith takes five, and the Sheriff only three. When you factor in the number of shots in each cannon, the Wraith is the fastest body-shooting killer:
| Classic | 901ms (6 shots at 6,65 rpm) |
| Ghost | 741ms (5 frames at 6,75 rpm) |
| Sheriff | 750ms (3 frames @ 4 rpm) |
The Ghost seems to be becoming the eco-round choice for many players, at least for those of us who struggle with the heavy revolver. It has the largest magazine of the three (15 compared to nine for the Classic and six for the Sheriff) and the highest rate of fire, making it more effective at taking out enemies that have already taken damage - at least assuming you miss sometimes , and that being able to fire more shots means a better chance of hitting at least once. And unlike the Classic, it delivers one-hit headshot kills against unarmored enemies at 30 meters or less.
If you're shooting recklessly, showing off with the sheriff is obviously an option, but the ghost costs 300 credits less.
Accuracy (spray) and recoil of the Classic (including alt fire)
Accuracy (spray) and recoil of the Ghost
Shooting from the Sheriff
shorty and frenzy
Frenzy fires 10 shots per second and can kill with 4 body shots at close range, although the damage drop occurs at 20 meters instead of 30. Above 20 meters it takes 5 shots or half a second to do more than 100 damage, and that's if all your shots to lay down on the target, despite the spray. Shorty (Shorty) requires very close ranges before it is useful.
Shooting from Shorty
Shooting from the Frenzy
SMG
There are two SMGs in Valorant. First - Stinger, which can be compared with MP9 from CS:GO. This weapon costs three times less than the most popular assault rifles (1000 credits), and therefore, in theory, it can be bought in every round. Stinger deals 27 damage at close range. damage when hit in the body and 67 pts. - when shooting in the head, but even at a higher distance, the destructive power of the SMG practically does not decrease - only accuracy drops. The SMG fires four bullets per second, and when using the scope, it switches to burst mode, which allows for more accurate fire.
Specter- semi-automatic SMG with a rate of fire of 13,33 rpm. Its cost is 1600 credits, which is significantly more expensive than the Stinger, but this weapon has a silencer. Both weapons deal similar damage at long range, but at point-blank range, the Specter outperforms the competitor in terms of lethal power: 26 HP. damage to the body and 78 pts. - to the head. He can also break through walls, although he loses half the damage in doing so.
Spectre has the best headshot damage: two headshots to kill an armored enemy at 20 meters, and three shots at a distance of more than 20 meters. The Stinger requires three headshots at both ranges.
Stinger compensates somewhat for less headshot damage by doing slightly more body damage and shooting faster when you're not aiming down your scope. However, once you're in ADS, things get weird. The Stinger fires very accurate 4-round shots at a target, but can only fire one burst per second. Ghost, on the other hand, doesn't change much, getting a little slower and a little more precise.
What I really don't like about the Stinger is that at over 20 meters, two headshots and one bodyshot deal a total of 149 damage, leaving armored enemies with 1 HP. On the other hand, a cunning Specter will record a kill in the same situation, dealing 154 damage.
Spray (scatter) at Stinger
Spray (scatter) at Specter
ASSAULT RIFLES
Bulldog — analogue of FAMAS from CS:GO. It's a well-balanced weapon, but for some reason it didn't catch on with the closed beta audience. The rifle retains lethal force at any distance: 35 pts. damage to the body and 116 pts. - in the head, with a rate of fire of 9,15 rpm. When using the scope, the Bulldog enters four-shot burst mode. The normal rate of fire is nine bullets per second, which allows you to instantly destroy opponents. It has an average ability to break through (shoot through) walls.
Guardian is a semi-automatic rifle, which has no analogues in CS:GO. This weapon does not have a burst mode, it fires a bullet each time the mouse button is pressed. The Guardian deals massive damage and can kill an unarmored enemy in two shots to the body, but it is impossible to fire at a fast pace due to its very high dispersion. Of all the rifles, this one was the least used in closed beta. The cost of this weapon is 2700 credits. Magazine capacity 12 rounds. At 1,5x zoom observed "small drop in spray". Rate of fire 6,5 rpm, and wall penetration - average!
Phantom — local analogue of M4A1-S from CS:GO. Among the advantages - a silencer and a high rate of fire (9,9 rounds per second). It is most effective at close range - 39 units. damage to the body and 156 pts. damage to the head at a distance of 0-15 meters. After 30 meters, the firepower of the rifle drops dramatically: even an opponent without armor can survive three hits to the body from it. The Phantom costs 2900 credits and the weapon carries 30 charges in its magazine. It has medium penetration.
Vandal - The most popular weapon in Valorant, which is very similar to the classic AK-47. The rifle deals 39 damage. damage to the body at any distance, and if it hits the head, it is guaranteed to kill the enemy. The weapon loses only when firing at a distance of up to 15 meters - in this case, the Phantom will have time to make the decisive shot a fraction of a second earlier. The cost of the rifle is 2900 credits. Rate of fire 9,25 fps, with a magazine size of 25 rounds.
The sleeker Phantom does less damage than the Vandal and is the only Valorant rifle that has damage reduction, but its recoil is easier to control. Here are their scatter patterns for comparison:
Spray (scatter) at Vandal
Spray (scatter) at Phantom
An important difference is that the Phantom only deals lethal headshot damage against fully armored enemies at 15m or below, while the Vandal will always deal lethal headshots, even across the map.
In addition to the lower recoil, the Wraith also compensates for less damage with invisible bullet markers (they appear gray on your screen). This is a small advantage.
Bulldog and Guardian
A fatal headshot to the head of a Semi-Auto Guardian can be fun in the right hands - just don't forget you're not holding a full auto - while a Bulldog, in my experience, is best left on the shelf.
Spray (scatter) at the Bulldog
Spray (scatter) at the Guardian
SNIPER RIFLES
Marshal - in fact, an analogue of SSG-08 from CS: GO. It can be bought in almost any round due to its low price (1100 credits), and at the same time it can become a formidable weapon in the hands of a skilled sniper. When shooting at players without armor, the rifle guarantees a frag at any distance - both with a headshot and with a body shot. It practically does not reduce the player's movement speed even when using the scope, and also has good accuracy when firing from the hip. Magazine size 5 rounds at a rate of fire of 1,5 fps. The sniper has medium penetration (walls).
Operator is the AWP in the world of Valorant. It costs 4,5 credits, which is one and a half times more expensive than basic assault rifles. The weapon guarantees a frag when it hits the enemy's head or body at any distance - and regardless of whether he bought armor or not. The damage scheme looks like this: head - 225, body - 150, legs - 127 XP. The magazine size is also 5 rounds and the rifle has High penetrating ability of walls.
Sniper rifles do what they're supposed to do: kill, but only if you're a great shot. Operator - Kills fully armored enemies at any range with a head or body shot, but not a leg shot.
The Marshal kills with a headshot at any distance, but it takes two body shots or three clumsy leg shots to kill armored enemies. In return, you get a much more accurate shot from the hip.
Marshal - Hip Shot and Aimed Fire
Operator - Hip Shot and Aimed Fire
SHOTGUN
Bucky - semi-automatic shotgun with a rate of fire of 1,1 v / s, with a magazine size of 15 rounds. Each shot at close range deals 22 damage. damage to the body and 44 pts. - to the head. The shotgun's alternate mode allows you to use it while jumping - the accuracy of hits with this method of firing will correspond to the usual firing mode on the ground. The shotgun costs 900 credits and has low penetration.
Judge - a more expensive (1500 credits) version of the Bucky, which features a high rate of fire (3,5 fps) but reduced stopping power. When firing at a distance of up to nine meters, Judge deals 17 damage. damage to the body and 34 pts. damage to the head of each of the 12 pellets fired. But from it you can shoot three times per second. Magazine size 7 rounds and medium penetration.
There isn't much to say about shotguns right now because, just like in CS:GO, they aren't used much. That's not to say they're completely useless and we may find abilities in Valorant that make them more viable, but for now we'll just stick to the data and update our thoughts if we find any exciting reasons.
Spray at Bucky's
Spray at Judge
MACHINE GUNS
Machine guns weren't popular during the closed beta, although I heard concerns before launch that this type of weapon would be too powerful.
The first weapon in the category - Ares - costs 1 credits, almost like an SMG. At a distance of up to 700 meters, it deals 30 damage. damage to the body and 30 pts. damage to the head, at a higher distance - 72 and 28 pts. respectively. However, controlling the dispersion of machine gun bullets is not an easy task.
odin- costs a little more than Vandal and Phantom - 3 credits. At short range, Odin deals 200 damage. damage when hit in the body and 38 pts. when shooting in the head. At a long distance, damage drops significantly - 95 and 31 pts. respectively. The machine gun magazine contains 77 rounds of ammunition.
Both machine guns have high penetrating power!
This is all we know about weapons in Valorant for now. As soon as we get more information, or there are any changes in the pool, we will definitely reflect this in our guide.
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