Valorant
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Communication is an important part of online gaming and in this first part of Entry Frag, you’ll learn just how vital it is in VALORANT.
Welcome to Entry Frag, your beginner’s guide to VALORANT. In this series, you’ll learn all of the basics to help you enter the competitive queue of Riot Games' first-person shooter. First up is the important role of communication in VALORANT. Without comms, teams will almost always fail.
Good communication can trump the most mechanically skilled players in the world if they aren’t a cohesive unit. You’ll know when to execute a plan, where the opposition may be positioned, and just how much damage you need to dish out to pull off a clutch.
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Terms and phrases you need to know
If you’re new to VALORANT, trying out competitive, and find yourself on a team with plenty of communication, it can be a bit overwhelming. You could be coming from a different game or brand new to FPS overall. This makes it vital to learn the VALORANT way of communication.
Here is a list of terms and phrases to know. By understanding these, you won’t be confused by what your teammates are saying or what pops up on screen:
These are the most common terms and phrases you’ll hear based on team communication in VALORANT. And don’t worry, throughout the Entry Frag series, we’ll focus specifically on the economy, maps, and Agents.
Universal callouts
If you were wondering about some missing terms above, that is due to them being universal. There are certain callouts on each map that carry over. Of course, they are different locations, but they generally have the same purpose.
Learn these universal callouts in VALORANT and you’ll know the location your teammate is referring to on the game’s various maps.
CT
CT is short for Counter Terrorist. This is one side you’ll play on in CS:GO. The term carried over into VALORANT and simply means the defending team’s spawn. If a teammate calls out CT, just know they mean the side in which the defending team starts the round.
Spawn
While the attacking side is called the T side, or Terrorist side, in CS:GO, VALORANT players have taken to calling it Spawn. You’ll hear phrases like, “I’m rotating through Spawn,” or “One’s flanked through Spawn.”
Heaven
Heaven is a universal callout in VALORANT for an elevated position that overlooks a site. Your teammate may say that they spotted a player in Heaven. This means to keep your eyes upward towards whatever high ground is near the site.
Hell
Hell is naturally the opposite of Heaven. There are a few VALORANT maps where the Heaven callout has a small area for player’s to hide underneath it. This will often be referred to as Hell, because it is below Heaven. Easy enough.
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Cubby
You can check each VALORANT map for the in-game names for its locations. The community sometimes comes up with their own simpler terms. If you hear the term “Cubby” from a teammate, this means a nook in a wall where an enemy can camp and wait for your team to pass for easy kills.
Long
The different sites in VALORANT tend to have multiple approaches to them. One may be labeled as Long on the map or referred to as such by the player base. This basically means it is the longer pathway onto the site from the attacking side.
Short
The same goes for the Short callout. This will tell you if an enemy is approaching from the shortest pathway to the site. Again, it may or may not be actually marked as Short on the in-game map.
Mid
Even on maps with three sites, players will frequently label anywhere in the middle of the map as Mid. If it is a lane towards a site or in the center of the map with a way through it, Mid is what you will hear.
How and when to communicate in VALORANT
Now that you know what callouts to use, you can begin learning how to use them. Communication can be a jumbled mess in VALORANT, so you’ll want to get on the same page as your teammates as soon as possible.
Here are some tips on how and when to communicate to your team, along with basic team etiquette:
What to do if comms are lacking
Unfortunately, VALORANT does find itself with communication problems like many online games. There will always be trolls, players who are easily tilted, or those that don’t have a mic or simply don’t speak for one reason or another.
You can still make the most out of a game, however, if comms have broken down or are nonexistent. Even if they aren’t communicating, they can more than likely still hear you. Do your best to keep giving callouts. Who knows? You might be the spark that ignites their voice.
If comms just aren’t happening regardless of what you do, ask your team in the chat to type out location callouts or the number of damage dealt to an Agent. These can make a huge difference. Any info is better than no info at all.
The last thing you may do if your team has no communication whatsoever in VALORANT is to play with them. Watch your minimap closely to see where they are going. attempt to anticipate their rotations or pushes. Stay by them as often as you can to trade, execute, or set up together.
Entry Frag Part Two: Understanding the weapons and economy of VALORANT
Learn all about the various weapons and how the economy of VALORANT works in the second part of the Entry Frag series.
