LIKE any other FPS game, Valorant needs a cool eye and steady hand at the mouse, ready to click heads and rack up those kills.
Easier said than done, of course.
But during a bootcamp starring the streamers and content creators of the Lenovo Legion Alliance, Michael Joseph “Supermj” Malonzo dropped by to give some tips for the participants to survive their Valorant deathmatch challenge.
Hose Allyza Taylor jokingly introduced him as the “Top one kuno na Raze sa Valorant Quezon City. Pero feeling ko, ako yung top one sa QC.”
Aside from regularly streaming Valorant, Supermj has also dipped his toes in the shooter’s pro scene. As one of the Alliance's coaches, he gave a leg up to the four content creators of the Alliance, who took on the Valorant challenge equipped with the Ideapad Gaming 3.
The tips he shared with them will surely help out all the aspiring agents out there.
Watch your crosshair
In Valorant, reaction speed reigns supreme. “Many FPS engagements are won by a player with the faster reaction,” explained Supermj. “If you and your opponent see each other at the same time, whoever is able to shoot first will likely win the fight.”
However, you can give yourself a leg up by always placing your crosshair dead center on the screen.
A bad habit he often spots in beginners is that their crosshairs are all over the place.
Tipped Supermj: “Mahirap kapag ang crosshair mo ay nakatutok sa baba. What if yung crosshair placement mo is medyo mataas, sa average height ng agent sa Valorant? Mas madali.”
This also applies whenever you move around the map. Proper crosshair placement will save you precious microseconds if an opposing agent suddenly pops up. Like he told one of the Alliance members: “Sabi ko, itutok mo sa taas, para madali mong ma-adjust pag may lumabas na kalaban.”
Supermj added: “One tip to keep your aiming consistent is to always place your crosshair on the chest of your opponent.
Train your aim and your reactions
Reaction time, said Supermj, slows down with age and a lot of other factors. “But fortunately, you can train your reactions just like any other skill,” he explained.
Pros even have training bootcamps with very strict regimens, spending hundreds of hours practicing their aim.
“May mga training pools na yung kalaban mo, maglalaho, tapos lalabas sa kanin, kaliwa biglaan. So ma-i-improve doon. Makikita mo yung reaction mo,” said Supermj.
But even if you’re not pro level, one way to help train your aim is to use training apps.
“Advisable na gumamit ng mga apps na ganun, like Aim Labs,” he said. “Kasi mag-i-improve talaga yung reflex, yung reaction time.”
Know if you’re a hand or wrist player
One key trick that Supermj explained to the Alliance was to know their playing style, especially when it comes to moving the mouse.
“Kapag wrist ka, ang paggalaw mo sa mousepad, hindi sya ganun kalawak,” the coach said. “Pagdating naman sa hand, yung pag-flick, sobrang lawak." He added jokingly: “Yung tumatama sa monitor.”
For hand players, Supermj advises tuning the game to low sensitivity, or “low sens”, as it’s more popularly known. Wrist players should go for high sens settings.
As for Supermj, he’s a wrist player himself. So he only warms up for important matches using The Range practice map .
“Pag before tournament, di ako nagde-Deathmatch. Wrister ako e. So napapagod. During the game, di [na] ako effective,” he said.
Know when to crouch, and when not to crouch
For Supermj, crouching could certainly be considered a bad habit picked up from other FPS shooters. But in the right situations, it can be useful.
"Pag nagka-crouch ka, nako-control doon yung recoil mo," explained the coach. "For example, sa Vandal. Mas magiging accurate."
He also gives this example. “Sometimes, sa sobrang close ng kalaban mo, common reaction ng mga players, nagka-crouch, para tumama,” he said. In point-blank engagements like these, crouching could actually be beneficial. “Nakakatulong siya.”
But in medium and long-range engagements, resist the urge to hit the crouch key.
“Pag malayo, di ka dapat nagka-crouch,” he advised. "Pag nagka-crouch ka, hindi ka gumagalaw. So madali kang tamaan."
Have the right mindset
One of the key pieces of advice Supermj gave to one of the streamers was to keep calm, even if the game is going your way. Panicking or getting emotional only makes your game worse.
“Kailangan maging kalmado,” said Supermj.
Above all, he went on, FPS players should always have that mindset of constant improvement.
“Hindi sapat kapag yung mindset mo is, ‘Uy, okay na ‘to. Enough na ‘to, yung ganitong skill, like, natalo namin yung ganitong team, malakas na kami.’ Di dapat ganun. Dapat may room ka for improvement,” he said.
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