This year I’ve started hearing analysts and casters start to use the word ‘timings’ extremely frequently to describe the game. Reminded me of an old fencing thing I learned years ago in hs, so whatever I’ll ramble abt it.
In sport fencing the most important things you need to control to win a bout with a near equal opponent are (in this exact order):
Distance
Timing
Technique
Tactics
Training
I believe this ranking also holds somewhat true for valorant and I’ll explain why.
Distance is self explanatory: to score points you have to hit your opponent. Controlling distance in fencing comes down to your footwork, your ability to determine the spacing between you and your opponent as they constantly try to impose their own favorable distance on you.
The valorant equivalent here is line of sight and peaking. Unlike fencing however, it’s not just your character’s movement that controls distance as there are abilities (primarily smokes but also recon darts, boombots, anything that messes up crosshair placement) that can artificially change your ‘distance’. This is obviously the most important thing in the game: aim doesn’t matter if you literally cannot see your opponent on your screen (we’re ignoring spams which make up a minority of kills in a match).
Timing is also pretty obvious. In fencing, timing comes down to doing the right action at the right time. In foil fencing (which used the tip of the blade), this can mean parrying an attack, counterattacking, hiding your blade, and more depending on what you see your opponent doing.
In valorant, timing applies to utility usage, taking fights, lurking and more. A good ‘timing’ gives you a ridiculous advantage over an opponent by being able to get the first shot off. Assuming you’re not bronze, most of the time, you will win that fight and help win the round.
Another tangent of timing is ‘tempo’, by which both fencers and teams can control matches. Imposing a fast or slow tempo on your opponent makes them uncomfortable and gives you a definitive advantage. Think how Kwanghyun Lee or Yuki Ota compensate for their small size by having ridiculously fast footwork and bladework, or how paper rex forces teams to adapt to their fast pace ‘w gaming’.
Technique in fencing is analogous to ‘mechanics’ in valorant. Where technique in fencing means the way you parry, move, and lunge; mechanics in valorant refer to your aim, movement, and crosshair placement. If you’re an Olympian fencing a novice or a radiant vs a silver player, your technique will be so far superior that nothing else will matter. But for a C rating vs a B rating (using the US standards), or a plat vs gold, technique matters far less than distance and timing as defined before. That is how a ‘worse’ competitor can win against better opponents: by taking favorable engagements on their own terms.
Next up is tactics where this analogy starts to break down. In fencing, tactics refer to preplanning actions and reactions based on what you’ve gauged from your opponent, whether earlier in the bout or beforehand. If I know my opponent likes to make aggressive direct attacks in the middle, I will preplan a fake attack, then parry repost in the box.
For valorant, tactics are so much deeper and matter far more. On an individual level, this means possessing an understanding of the game and how to use your positioning and util to your advantage to win rounds. Game IQ minus the timing and distance knowledge essentially. The reason they matter so much more in valorant is because of the lack of knowledge of your opponents and because it’s a team game as opposed to an individual sport like fencing. There’s just so many more possibilities with what people could do during a round. On the other hand, in fencing, the tactics are all similar, so the execution becomes so much more vital. Little differences in preplanned movement result in completely different outcomes.
Finally comes training, which refers to your physical conditioning in fencing. Fencing is an inherently physical sport. If you’re not fit enough, you cannot win against a near equal opponent in a full 15 touch bout, much less fence the 4-5 15 touch bouts in a row to get to tournament finals. However, fitness doesn’t mean as much as some people think in fencing, and that’s why it’s at the bottom. I remember when I was like 14, I fenced against some 60 year old, who was a former Olympian in the 70s, and he absolutely whooped my ass. Didn’t matter I was much faster than him moving up and down the strip, when it mattered most, he was deadly quick at the right distance and timing.
What’s the valorant equivalent of training? This one I couldn’t say. Perhaps how comfortable you are with your mouse, perhaps how strong your mental resilience is, so you’re not giving up after a string of lost rounds. Who knows and tbh who cares.
And that’s all. If any of you read all of this, I’d be shocked, but it was enjoyable to write, and hopefully someone got some fun tidbits out of it.
P.S. “allat”
Discord