Well once again, "a safeway to plant" is just another way to say the opponents can't see me. There are plenty of abilities that block vision. Phx Wall, Sage Wall, Viper Wall, Harbor Wall/Orb.

I truly think this article would be worth your time: https://thedecisionlab.com/biases/functional-fixedness

You truly need to do everything you can to escape what you've been told about Valorant and how you perceive it through other people's eyes. Just from a competitive viewpoint, you will always be behind the people who are viewing it for you. Try to push the boundaries of what you understand and see if they break.

You have to empathize with him. Completely new environment with no real allies. It's very hard to be the new guy. You just want to be super helpful and go along with the flow. Be seen as the guy who creates no problems and just wants to help.

Well what happens when that comes against something you want or do well? You're likely folding your hand because you know the environment you're in.

They'll figure it out though. They picked him up for a reason. Look at Pancada... they were super rocky for a long time. And then it just starts to work out.

I would deconstruct why you need smokes. What does a smoke provide you? You might say, a smoke can stop a rush. Why?

Well a smoke provides you two things. Vision denial and "what's in the smoke." I think a lot of people think that smokes provide a layer of security. A smoke is easily defeated in so many fashions. Flash, another smoke, time, being in the smoke... It's not always your friend. I'm sure you've experienced a misplaced smoke or one that ended up getting you eliminated.

I guess what I'm trying to say is there is a heavy hand of influence from the past. That heavy hand has been mystified and codified by the passing of the torch to the next generation. We are more or less trapped in a bubble of the past with only the ability to see things through their lenses.

At some point a team is going to crush these common beliefs and the community is going to be puzzled. There's so much left to be discovered in this game that I predict at some point , a team will fully understand this and weaponize it.

I think your composition is good for general play. But I think what I'm trying to get at is that a valorant map is an informational puzzle. To pick a comp that doesn't address specifics in the map is crazy. That's why I think the general idea about comp is misplaced and the execution is wrong. I think it's extremely difficult to argue with the premise that there is no point to have a meta comp if your talent consistently dies and leaves it unused.

But at the same time, you need to understand the agents you are asking your talent to play. I think because the current coaching system is gatekept by cronyism we actually don't get to see talent used in a way that optimizes efficiency because the knowledge level isn't there. And like I originally said, there's no textbook to go back to or back of the book to check your answers. So we're sort of at a stand still.

I'm just hoping at some point we get to see more coaches who have grown out of Valorant and maybe somewhere around year 7 or 8 we get a true coach without the influence of CS or other games. Valorant is so different and we see the failings in VCT because of it.

I think the silliest thing in Valorant is the idea that we must always use certain agents on specific maps. Also, the belief that if someone is a duelist, they're responsible for playing all duelist agents is just crazy.

The idea that "we must play these agents on this map" is totally misunderstood. It's so frustrating that it makes me want to pull my hair out. Before we go further, you should know that I'm old. I've seen and been part of the entire evolution of organized esports. We act like we've built esports on solid ground, but really, there are no textbooks or experiments to guide us. We're the test subjects, and no one's writing this stuff down.

The logic behind "we must play these agents" is that their abilities solve the problems the map presents. This assumes a few things that seem to be wrong. First, that we've identified and completely understood the problems on the map. For example, Viper has a long wall and Breeze is a big map. The wall is reusable, applies a debuff, and denies vision. But this is useless if our Viper dies in the first 30 seconds of the round. The lack of discipline around this is crazy.

How often do pros die in situations where their utility would have been useful? This is my first "I'm going to die on this hill" moment: you can't convince me that making pros play agents they don't enjoy is the best decision. This decision assumes perfection in utility usage, positioning, and timing, which isn't realistic. You're expecting perfection from agents they don't like, which require a specific style and gameplay adjustment. All for what? So they don't use the utility and don't have fun?

In competitive ranked play, gunplay comes first. I get that. But the teams that understand and creatively use utility will be the ultimate winners. Utility gives an advantage, and at the top 0.01% skill level, that advantage is huge.

What we see evolving is coaches with minimal game understanding forcing teams to use the same comps as everyone else, expecting to dominate based on their players' skills. This is why we see players like Demon1 and Aspas underperforming.

Why do Aspas and Demon1 seem shaky on Raze compared to other agents? Raze is unique because she disrupts movement before shooting. When Raze lands, there's a sudden slowdown in acceleration, disrupting movement. This is fine with a Phantom due to its low recoil reset and movement penalties. But if we look at their stats:

Aspas: https://tracker.gg/valorant/profile/riot/aspas%23na%D1%85y/weapons?season=all
Demon1: https://tracker.gg/valorant/profile/riot/NRG%20Demon1%23kata/weapons?playlist=competitive&season=all

Both players have significantly less experience with Phantoms than Vandals. We often say these guns are the same, but they’re not. At a basic level, yes, but beyond that, movement is the key difference. The Phantom's low reset time suits the new wave of gunplay, while the Vandal's one-tap potential struggles on Raze.

Pairing Raze with a Phantom optimizes her efficiency. If a player isn't using the Phantom, it's not because their aim is bad; their style is different. For Aspas and Demon1, their aim is more mechanical and deliberate. Disrupting that with Raze introduces extra steps they haven't practiced at a top level.

So, back to the issue of "agents must be played on this map." We've all heard the saying, "there's more than one way to skin a cat." We need to embrace this proverb. Let's try different strategies that match our players' skills instead of forcing them into roles they don't fit or enjoy.

pre-gpt: https://pastebin.com/Zyfx9D16

This person went 3/18 in my game. I was like... damn... that's pretty bad. How did they get here... they must have been boosted... looks at profile ... ::shock_face:: https://tracker.gg/valorant/profile/riot/Ara%C3%B1%23NA1/matches?playlist=competitive or for those who don't want to click on the profile : https://imgur.com/a/I7sOtOy

SoloQ'd 10 victories literally bottom fragging. Can we please give this the attention it deserves? How? Someone has to have a serious answer.

I'm really sick of all these people complaining on forums. They just sit there and talk about how others are doing badly but never ever look at themselves. Do you really think Riot, a billion dollar company, would have an unfair matchmaking? Come on... These devs are millionaires. You're just some loser. This picture just sums up everything that is wrong with people like that: https://imgur.com/a/Y3bJqG5

From Tiktok,

Walk up to a girl and tell her that you can't find your girlfriend. Ask her if she can call her and give her your number. When your phone rings ask her told hold on and tell her your gf is calling.

I feel bad that I contribute to ranking up people who go 6/16. Sorry community needed to confess.

One of the most common issues on a team is role issues. With Demon1 coming into the team late, he is likely running into role issues with Victor and what is basically the old Optic lineup plus Ethan. My assessment of Ethan through the videos he did with ddk, he's very much a whatever it takes to win type person, so he is likely just going along with the flow.

Now if I were to speculate, Marved's connection is stronger to Victor due to their time together on Optic. Given that Marved played under FNS, he's probably trying to emulate a similar playstyle that FNS did.

This probably creates a role crisis for Demon1 where they tried initially putting him on the duelist role. We then found out that he had a gap in his Raze that wasn't on par with his other agents. Victor was a Raze main throughout his career so that was a simple swap.

But it leaves a very straightforward question, what do we do with Demon1 when a Raze is meta? Well if Jett is there, easy, Demon1 plays Jett. But outside of that, where its a single duelist, they are struggling to find the answer for what to do with him and send him in last in retakes.

And as far as the lurking goes, if he's not the one diving as duelist, what role is he facilitating by being with the team? I think normally that would be Marved (known for his lurking sentinel role), but asking Demon1 to play Viper may yield similar results to Raze.

So yeah... I think it's a messy situation because they got the world's best Jett player and overall aimer but he can't play Raze.

And if you want to ask "why can Victor play Raze well and Demon1 cannot"... I suggest taking a look at this page: https://tracker.gg/valorant/profile/riot/NRG%20Victor%23777/weapons?season=all

Victor has literally a 50/50 split between eliminations with the Phantom and Vandal. I have yet to see another player with that sort of distribution between guns. People either pick one or the other. Victor is absolutely special for this rare quality. And the Phantom, due to the spread and recoil reset, is by far a better gun to pick on Raze when coming off movement abilities.

Anyways... Demon1 should just be treated as a VIP and ensured safe passage to the site. He should not push. He should do everything in his power to float between teammates who are holding angles.

I wouldn't think of it like that. The issue is a bit more complicated than "what agent could help me climb."

First, you have mechanics and theory. There is a base level game that is being played here where it's about angles, positioning, timing and just infinite complexity depending on your appetite. Most people are deficient in both, especially in the ascendant range. For mechanics, focus less on gridshot type scenarios and more horizontal targets. A big mechanical thing people tend to forget is that no one in Valorant stays still. Your practice needs to mimic the actual game you're playing, which is head level moving targets.

Theory is another hard one. This in itself has endless complexity. I think people tend to forget that the people you gave you the terminology we have today were not scholars. At best they were burnouts and some even methed up cokeheads. There's a lot of information out there that is not correct or has been washed over so many times the meaning is lost. That leaves everyone in a very perplexing problem. There's no textbook here. No one is doing experiments and reporting back to us. For me, this has meant throwing out the rules from previous games (CSGO) and painstakingly trying stuff that goes against the current tradition/meta. For you, it could be completely different. Just go forward unsure and make sure anything you "know" is something you have personal experienced/tested and it's not just cuz some drug addict from the 2000s thought it was important.

The second thing working against you is matchmaking. Unless you are already a top 10 player or have special advantages that other people don't... wink wink... the path through ranked is not linear. You are fighting a bell curve that is trying to stay in place. You are fighting a mmr range that is expanding because it is taking too long for Riot to find similar skilled players. You are fighting the players who consistently end games with 5 or less kills in games that go to overtime. And you do all of this while your teammates act against their own interests constantly.

So all that considered, this notion that, "oh it's just the agent I play" ... it's like that meme where if you know you know. It's way deeper than it seems...