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Riot Games' very first tactical shooter, Valorant, has attracted a lot of players from a variety of other titles, including games such as PUBG, Apex Legends, Overwatch, and so on. It has taken away a massive number of professional Counter Strike players from the esports scene as well.
Similar to Counter Strike: Global Offensive, managing the economy is a major component to winning rounds in a competitive game of Valorant. While getting frags is important, they aren't worth much if the team keeps on losing rounds. Learning how the economy works is a fundamental step towards understanding Valorant.
Managing the economy in Valorant involves multiple factors
Balancing the Creds
Creds are Valorant's in-game currency and completing the in-game objectives goes towards earning creds. All players start off with 800 Creds at the start of each half of the match. Players get 1900 Creds upon losing a round and 3000 Creds if they win the round.
If a team is on a losing streak of two rounds, 500 Creds will be added to the total compensation, and 1000 Creds will be added if it is a losing streak of three or more rounds. Players earn 200 Creds for every kill and 300 Creds if their team plants the spike. Creds reset after 12 rounds when the sides are switched, and players start off with 5000 Creds every round if the match goes to overtime.
Players can buy weapons, armor, and abilities using Creds. Full armor costs 1000 Creds while half armor costs 400 Creds. Secondary weapons or pistols can cost anywhere from 150 Creds for the Shorty to 800 for the Sheriff. The primary weapons cost anywhere between 950 and 4700 Creds.
Abilities are best buys
Every Agent in Valorant's roster has unique abilities that need to be purchased in order to be used. The Ultimate ability, however, can only be recharged by killing enemies, dying, capturing ultimate orbs, and completing a spike plant or defuse. Additionally, the Signature ability is given free to the player every round.
Players do not lose the abilities if they haven't used them in that round, even if they die. Abilities can cost anywhere from 100 to 400 Creds. Abilities are the best thing to buy as they are relatively cheap and can even get players easy frags when they are used properly and in sync with the abilities of teammates.
When to buy, force buy, and save
Knowing when to buy which weapons as a team is the most important aspect of the game, and for this to be done effectively, there has to be good communication between teammates. Knowing what the rest of the team is buying and listening to save or buy calls is crucial.
There are five different types of buys in Valorant, which are Force buy, Full Buy, Eco or Save round, Full Eco, and Quasi buy.
- Full buy: Primary weapons, full armor, and abilities
- Force buy: SMGs, pistols, some armor, and some abilities
- Eco or Save round: Few abilities and pistols
- Full Eco: no weapons or abilities
- Quasi buy: some rifles, some SMGs, some pistols, some armor, and some abilities
Ideally, players must aim to full buy every round if all goes well but that seldom happens. When a team loses a round or two, Creds are quickly depleted, and players must resort to either saving or force buying, depending on the situation.
A force buy round is the hardest call for an IGL as the team may not have enough Creds for a full buy, yet they choose to spend all their creds anyway. This can be tricky, and players would want to catch their opponents off-guard when they are expecting a save round. There must be consensus in the team when there is a call to force buy or eco the round, otherwise the economy may soon start dwindling, inevitably leading to a loss.
