Valorant ranked guide: 5 tips for anti-eco rounds

Valorant is an FPS (First Person Shooter) title that rewards players not only for their aim but also for how they approach a round during a match. There are many strategies that can be used to get the best outcome in a round.

In the pro scene, analysts, coaches, and players put a lot of time and effort into studying their opponents and coming up with counter-strategies. Unlike professionals, though, casual players only need to keep a few things in mind to achieve the best result in a match. One of them is how their team handles an anti-eco round.

An anti-eco round refers to when the team that wins the pistol round buys better guns, equipment, or abilities. This is in contrast to the other team, which resorts to saving, making it their eco round. An anti-eco round may look easy on paper, but it can lead to terrible outcomes if not handled properly.

This article lists five tips that players can use for anti-eco rounds in Valorant.

Note: This article is subjective and solely reflects the writer's opinions.

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Being wary of corners and 4 other tips that can be used for anti-eco rounds in Valorant

1) Make sure everyone on the team buys up

After a first pistol-round victory, it is not uncommon for players on a team to decide to save up and continue on to the anti-eco round with the same pistol. This may be because they want to save enough money to potentially buy an operator or are feeling too confident with the pistol. This should be strictly avoided.

Since the opposing team is in an eco-round, they will likely stick together to take fights and eliminate as many enemies as possible. A player with weaker weaponry might end up getting overwhelmed and could, in turn, lose map control, which can lead to a potential round loss.

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2) Be confident while taking on duels

Every player has good and bad days when it comes to aim in Valorant. It's easy to lose confidence when one is having a bad day. However, this should not be the case in anti-eco rounds.

Regardless of their previous performance, a player must be confident while engaging in duels in an anti-eco round. Confidently taking on duels and winning them is a great way to scare the opposing team and play mind games. These mind games can seemingly help in the long run.

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3) Be wary of corners

Gathering information about enemies' whereabouts is one of the most important aspects of Valorant. It can help a team develop strategies and tactics to outplay their opponents.

Clearing corners is also a way of gathering information. In an anti-eco round, there is a chance that a player or multiple players from the enemy team will buy a shotgun. The three shotguns in Valorant are the Shorty, Bucky, and Judge. All of them can be bought in an eco round.

Most of the time, a player with a shotgun ends up hiding in corners. They can change the tide of a round by getting away with multiple kills, putting the team with the stronger weaponry at a disadvantage.

An example is when Version1 lost an anti-eco round against Crazy Raccoon's Judge and Shorty plays at the Valorant Champions Tour Stage 2: Masters Reykjavik in 2021.

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4) Do not overpeek

At the beginning of an anti-eco round, the leading team might feel confident due to the comfort of having stronger weaponry. This could lead to them making some unusual plays, including overpeeking.

By overpeeking, a player gives the enemy team a chance to win a duel. Once they lose the duel, the enemy team can recover powerful weapons and win more engagements, leading to a colossal failure in the anti-eco round.

Players must be extremely disciplined in these scenarios. They should even be willing to give parts of the map to the enemy team if they feel overwhelmed.

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5) Group up

Grouping up is an obvious but effective tactic that teams can follow during an anti-eco round. Doing so increases not only the chances of winning the round but also doing it flawlessly.

Grouping up is effective during a retake and while executing on a site. Many pro teams follow this simple tactic as it also allows them to carry on the same weaponry without buying anything new in the next round.