Val-Talk

I know Valorant vs Counter-Strike has been such a recurring topic on here, but never the less I wanted to have some more thoughts, opinions, and experiences.

I've played CS for well over 5000 hours across 6 years and enjoyed my time on it, to say the least. It's been the safe haven for needing a video game, day in and day out - and I wouldn't want it any other way.

Though I've recently wanted to try Valorant again, I tried it a while ago (Probably half a year). I peaked at Plat 1, but never committed to anything beyond that.

I've reached Global in Standard MM, and got around Lvl 7-8 on FaceIT, but nothing else. I've always focused on improving and competitiveness when playing FPS games. My goal in mind for Valorant is to reach Diamond 3 - Immortal 1.

So my question to you guys is how has your experience been on Valorant "switching" from Counter-Strike? And your peak in Valorant compared to CS, which was harder, and why?

i saw this thread got 404'd on HLTV lol

cs harder need more skill at shooting valo is so easy

TetsutetsuTetsutetsu [#2]

i saw this thread got 404'd on HLTV lol

vlr dont do that gigachad

TetsutetsuTetsutetsu [#2]

i saw this thread got 404'd on HLTV lol

Yeah, figured I'd go here and ask instead. Still can't tell why it got 404'd I didn't break any rules, and it was even off-topic. Wish they gave a reason when 404'ing posts.

I had a different experience. I started on Valorant before trying CSGO, CSGO is harder than Valorant. That's just my opinion since I'm not that great at FPS games.

Sirius_10 [#6]

I had a different experience. I started on Valorant before trying CSGO, CSGO is harder than Valorant. That's just my opinion since I'm not that great at FPS games.

That's valid.

0d1nxD [#3]

cs harder need more skill at shooting valo is so easy

down voted for telling the simple truth

Played CSGO for not more than 300 hrs ( my 2nd FPS game), peaked Gold Nova 3, playing valo since beta.. came imm2 last month :D

0d1nxD [#3]

cs harder need more skill at shooting valo is so easy

I've heard a lot of people say this, is it simply just cause of the ability usage in Valorant is prioritized way harder than aim, contrary to how it is in CS?

Desperado_o [#9]

Played CSGO for not more than 300 hrs ( my 2nd FPS game), peaked Gold Nova 3, playing valo since beta.. came imm2 last month :D

I'd imagine the utility usage in Valorant is what makes the difference beyond plat 1, right?

Was global, faceit lvl 9. I reached diamond 3 in the first act. If you played a lot of faceit reaching immortal shouldn't be a massive issue. You dont have to worry much about mechanics if you start, you just need to rewire your brain a little sometimes around decision making keeping into account valorant abilities

CSGO definitely is less forgiving for climbing, though in valorant if you're not playing a duelist it can feel worse cause you may feel you have less impact than youd like in a game, especially on a sentinel or controller

kapteN [#12]

Was global, faceit lvl 9. I reached diamond 3 in the first act. If you played a lot of faceit reaching immortal shouldn't be a massive issue. You dont have to worry much about mechanics if you start, you just need to rewire your brain a little sometimes around decision making keeping into account valorant abilities

CSGO definitely is less forgiving for climbing, though in valorant if you're not playing a duelist it can feel worse cause you may feel you have less impact than youd like in a game, especially on a sentinel or controller

For the most part, back when I played I was playing Sage. I didn't have the most impact, but inevitably, my healing could be used to support the people that were fragging. I found myself using little to utility, maybe resting 2-3 times during a full game which obviously is barely a difference in the grand scheme of things.

Which characters do you recommend if you're trying to make a genuine impact with kills? Or just in general, cause as of right now I've only ever played Sage and Phoenix, and I heard phoenix wasn't viable at all.

adjust to tap shooting and rely less on spraying. Using abilities is more reactionary rather than lineups in ranked(Not the case in pro play)

Martinee [#11]

I'd imagine the utility usage in Valorant is what makes the difference beyond plat 1, right?

yup mainly gamesense, positioning and the ability to not get tilted matters a lot.. imo escaping from silver-gold-plat is the most difficult part and it is smooth sailing onwards

JokesOver [#14]

adjust to tap shooting and rely less on spraying. Using abilities is more reactionary rather than lineups in ranked(Not the case in pro play)

Yeah, I found myself spraying more often than not, and with the random bullet spread it's really hard on long distances at least.

Desperado_o [#15]

yup mainly gamesense, positioning and the ability to not get tilted matters a lot.. imo escaping from silver-gold-plat is the most difficult part and it is smooth sailing onwards

I think I did my placement last act which put me back into Plat 1, not entirely sure. But I've had the mentality of not tiling from CS, always trying to do my best regardless of the imbalance of team morality or chemistry. Thanks for the insight none the less :)

Martinee [#16]

Yeah, I found myself spraying more often than not, and with the random bullet spread it's really hard on long distances at least.

phantom or vandal?

Martinee [#17]

I think I did my placement last act which put me back into Plat 1, not entirely sure. But I've had the mentality of not tiling from CS, always trying to do my best regardless of the imbalance of team morality or chemistry. Thanks for the insight none the less :)

happy to help :D

JokesOver [#18]

phantom or vandal?

It really depends on what I'm planning on doing in that specific round. If I wanna take control over something quickly, which forces me to do close-up shooting I'll go with the Phantom, but if I play long distances, or just anchoring I'll usually use a Vandal. Very situational for me, but I happen to buy Vandal more often than not.

Martinee [#20]

It really depends on what I'm planning on doing in that specific round. If I wanna take control over something quickly, which forces me to do close-up shooting I'll go with the Phantom, but if I play long distances, or just anchoring I'll usually use a Vandal. Very situational for me, but I happen to buy Vandal more often than not.

yes, you have to play situationally. When using vandal just tap or do bursts of 3-4 bullets

JokesOver [#21]

yes, you have to play situationally. When using vandal just tap or do bursts of 3-4 bullets

Okay, thanks! I'll try my luck in one of the upcoming days to see if I can get into high Diamond/Immortal1 <3

So basically CSGO is like perfecting a craft

Valo is more lets say strategic the sheer number of possibilities with abilities

Martinee [#10]

I've heard a lot of people say this, is it simply just cause of the ability usage in Valorant is prioritized way harder than aim, contrary to how it is in CS?

it bc the skill gap in the guns like vandal or phamton are so easy to control than ak,is not bc utility,thats the reason bc diamond or inmo 1 are ``easy´´ ranks to get if u grind

Martinee [#13]

For the most part, back when I played I was playing Sage. I didn't have the most impact, but inevitably, my healing could be used to support the people that were fragging. I found myself using little to utility, maybe resting 2-3 times during a full game which obviously is barely a difference in the grand scheme of things.

Which characters do you recommend if you're trying to make a genuine impact with kills? Or just in general, cause as of right now I've only ever played Sage and Phoenix, and I heard phoenix wasn't viable at all.

If you like the heal-aspect of Sage, then skye is a really good agent to learn. Her heals are better than sage, and you get self-guided flashes and a wolf for info.

Also if you are used to CS, then kay/o would be a great pick. His flashes are basically CS flashes, you have a nade/molly and get info with the knife (which surpressed the abilities of other agents, so they have to take more straight up gunfights).

If you were more of a lurker in CS, Chamber is a good pick or someone like Omen is also nice to pick up, cause you can smoke for your team and flash as well.

In essence, if you come straight from CS, kay/o is probs a great agent for you. Can play with team, can play for yourself, good soloqueue agent, abilities you're familiar with and you can force people not to use their abilities to get rid of the "randomness" (at least that's what it feels like for a CS player) in valorant

csgo is easier in terms of getting kills, your bullets connect properly and it feels much much much smoother and just better compared to valorant, with val you need better comms, good ability usage more map awareness and have to be more coordinated. So I'd say Valorant is harder to be good at but CSGO is harder to be GREAT at bc you need mechanical skill all the way through but some valorant immortals and radiants can have average aim but good knowledge and reads that allows them to compete in that rank if that makes sense

Martinee [#5]

Yeah, figured I'd go here and ask instead. Still can't tell why it got 404'd I didn't break any rules, and it was even off-topic. Wish they gave a reason when 404'ing posts.

Jon e is a dictator

Martinee [#11]

I'd imagine the utility usage in Valorant is what makes the difference beyond plat 1, right?

yup, of course aim still improves the higher you go, but the most important thing is utility and gamesense.

i was like DMG/LE in CS but not in a good region like EU/NA lol, I just played with Russians/SEAsians because KR didn't have dedicated servers. I was also like 6 wins off Radiant at my peak in Val.

When I switched to Valorant it felt easier for sure, but the whole abilities thing added a level of complexity I didn't really experience while playing CS. I think in terms of mechanics you won't necessarily find any difficulty adjusting, aim is aim and that kinda translates well between shooters.
Arguably Valorant requires a wider variety of aim as it has easier dynamic movement (raze satchel, jett dash/updraft, neon slide) so you'll be using some vertical aim as well, whereas the closest things you'll get in CS are bunnyhopping/runboosting+airstrafing. And that stuff is rare unless you're in a high elo.

Personally speaking though I did not feel a major difference in terms of difficulty. Both games didn't feel hard, but that could just be because, once again, I played CS in a weak region.

As for your journey to high elo, it all depends on how you use your util on the fly. I know in CS there's less flexibility on midround util usage because of lineups, setups, and limits on equipment, but in Valorant it's a lot easier to change the map in your favour (utility is easier to use, and having dedicated agents for eedicated roles means there's a wider variety of tools to use), which leads to more flexible and adaptive plays. That's the difference between the two games. Valorant is all about adaptability and being able to dynamically change the map to take fights. CSGO is about precision and perfection.

Sirius_10 [#6]

I had a different experience. I started on Valorant before trying CSGO, CSGO is harder than Valorant. That's just my opinion since I'm not that great at FPS games.

thats what i found aswell. overall the flashes, nades seem to be harder to use. recoil also flys way higher way faster in csgo which is hard for casual players like me

0d1nxD [#3]

cs harder need more skill at shooting valo is so easy

if valo had harder recoil patterns, less precise it would take away from what it's supposed to be....