How VALORANT’s FFA Deathmatch Mode Can Help You Improve

VALORANT is a competitive game by nature, and the primary focus of most players is to reach the highest ranks achievable in competitive play. However, Riot Games have understood the need for fostering a casual community to help complement its esports roots. This is where VALORANT’s new game mode ‘Deathmatch’ comes into play. 

Today we are going to be telling you what the game mode is, why you should play it, and how it may improve your VALORANT skills.

What is VALORANT FFA Deathmatch?

Deathmatch is a ten-player free for all where you fight to be the first to 30 kills. There are no abilities to be used in this game mode, meaning gun skill is how you’re going to rise to the top. Enemies are located on the minimap through heat indicators (a red spot will pulsate every second or two), and once you’ve defeated your combatant, a small green cross will drop on the ground and walking onto this will provide you with a full heal, shields, and a reloaded gun - instantly.

You also can purchase any gun you want, as credits (the in-game currency) are not a thing. Plus, you can change the gun you use each time you spawn throughout the game. 

Why should you play VALORANT FFA Deathmatch?

Deathmatch serves as a tool to help you further understand the recoil patterns each popular gun has to offer, and use it in a situation versus an actual player, rather than the bots on firing range (although the firing range is fantastic).

One vs one gunfights in VALORANT are the key to success, and providing value to your team during competitive, and Deathmatch is the perfect place to practice. Mastering movement, controlling recoil, and positioning are the most important aspects of games like VALORANT. During the deathmatch game mode, you’ll be forced into 1vX (yourself versus one or more opponents) and will, therefore, get used to unfair engagements and how to position yourself during a gunfight.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, it is an incredibly fun game mode, and will be hilarious to play with your entire group of friends. You can either queue into the game as a five, or if you have more friends, boot up a custom match and go wild. 

How can you use VALORANT FFA Deathmatch to help you improve?

As Deathmatch allows you to purchase any gun you wish for each life, you can use popular weapons to practice. These popular weapons being the Vandal, Phantom, and Operator. You’ll often find that most players in the lobby will use any of these three weapons. Therefore if you have a particular crutch (something you struggle with), you can perhaps use a pistol for example if you struggle during the pistol round, or when you’re participating in an ‘eco’ round (an eco round being a round where you avoid buying to build up your economy for the following rounds).

If aim isn’t a particularly big problem for you, you can also use the game mode to work on your positioning and movement during a fight. This can be something as simple as strafing correctly, peeking a corner, or choosing when to not crouch during a fight. These all seem like simple things, but movement in VALORANT is a lot more free-flowing than Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO), and therefore there is the capability of being more adventurous to get a kill. VALORANT is far less punishing than a game such as CS:GO, so using your game sense and intuition will be far more influential in how you perform during a game - rather than just relying on aim as your only source of success.

• Read More - The Best VALORANT 5v5 Team Loadout

Is it the best way to practice?

The game mode is not the best way to practice, and there are far better tools available for you to practice aim and movement. These would be the firing range within the game, and the number of tools it has available to help you improve. Plus there are third party programs outside of VALORANT, such as Aim Labs, that are specifically designed to help you improve your skill through multiple different modes, and can transfer your sensitivity from the vast majority of the worlds most popular first-person shooter titles.

Deathmatch, however, is a great way to warm up before a game, or after using one of the methods mentioned above. The reason for this is because you are in a lobby with nine other players of albeit varying skill, but will most likely provide you with a reasonable challenge. The added difficulty of player decision making means that you can learn to adapt to any situation.

So if you want to achieve some Liquid ScreaM level gameplay, you should diversify your practice routine, and consider adding Deathmatch to the mix to constantly improve. 

Image via Riot Games