VALORANT Developers Reveal what to Expect from the Game During and After the Closed Beta

Cover And Thumbnail Image Courtesy: Riot Games

There is an overload of information when it comes to VALORANT since the embargo was lifted yesterday, with multiple Twitch streamers broadcasting the game on their channels. While everyone is busy discussing the game and the characters, two senior members from VALORANT’s development team, executive producer Anna Donlan and game director Joe Ziegler provided insights and post-release expectations in an hour-long interview with Benjamin “DrLupo” Lupo. The game is set to go into closed beta on April 7th.

Here's what VALORANT developers say you should expect from the game once it releases.

GAMEPLAY

• A total of four maps will be available at the time of launch. These maps will be modified after launch only if there are balancing issues.
  
  
• Ten agents are confirmed for the closed beta, but there is no confirmation on the number of agents that will be there at the time of official release to the wider public.
  
  
• There will be no ‘aim assist’ despite some limited controller support.
  
  
• Developers are committed to providing 128-tick servers.
  
  
• Players with access to the closed beta are likely to receive in-game items.
  
  
• There will not be any server list and community created maps at the moment.
  
  
• Riot is planning on having a spectator system at launch, but there will not be a replay mode.
  
  
• Developers are in support of a streaming mode which will be implemented before launch.
  
  

In-Game Footage of VALORANT

• There are systems to report players available in-game.
  
  
• If a cheater is detected in a game, the game will end immediately but none of the other players will be punished.
  
  
• Players caught cheating might be handed a hardware ban.

GENERAL

• There might not be an open beta. The closed beta will continue to run until an undisclosed date until summer.
  
  
• There is no confirmed date yet, but Riot is planning to launch the game somewhere during Summer 2020, despite the coronavirus situation.
  
  
• Double the number of closed beta keys that were dropped yesterday will be released on 7^th April.
  
  

More Closed Beta Key Drops On 7th April
 

• Riot is willing to change their plans based on the feedback they receive during the closed beta. Feedback will be given the utmost importance and will decide everything going ahead when it comes to development.
  
  
• VALORANT will primarily be focussed at PC with limited controller support and will not be launching for macOS at the moment.
  
  
• Monetization will be cosmetic-based and there will be no RNG lootboxes.
  
  
• A battlepass has been confirmed for the game.
  
  
• There will be season events, maybe not right off the bat but eventually.
  
  
• Riot is willing to open additional servers if required.
  
  
• Developers stated that they are prepared for massive attacks on the server during this period of closed beta.
  
  
• Eventually, detailed lore will also be released.
  
  
• API will not be available during closed beta but hopefully after launch.

COMPETITIVE

• VALORANT’s rated mode will be available a few weeks after the launch of the game.
  
  
• Players can solo queue against a team of five players for both rated and unrated matchmaking.
  
  
• Community tournament guidelines will be announced after launch.
  
  
• There will be no LAN support at launch.
  
  
• The unrated matches will have skill-based matchmaking.
  
  
• A ‘Fog of War’ system will be used as a type of anti-cheat to protect players from hackers across the map.
  
  
• There will be systems in place to deal with boosters/smurfs.
  
  
• There will be no Map voting at launch but will be implemented once more maps are added.
  
  

Players can Solo Queue for Both Rated & Unrated Matches

GAME SETTINGS

• The Field of View (FOV) cannot be adjusted and will be fixed at 103.
  
  
• Custom resolutions like 4:3, 16:9, and 16:10 will be supported, even Ultrawide is supported but will be accompanied by black borders. 4:3 will not be supported.
  
  
• There will only be one mouse sensitivity setting.
  
  
• There will be no setting for mouse acceleration.
  
  
• Left-handed support is being looked into but might not be available at launch.
  
  
• Three different types of colourblind mode will be available.
  
  
• Developers will be rolling out some sort of ‘Sound Visualization’ as well, to help hearing-impaired players but not to give anyone an advantage.
  
  

[Alsp Read: Valorant Anti-Cheat Lead Talks About Hardware Bans, Detection and AI Approach]