The Pulse of Valorant: Inside Scoop on Team Communication and Coordination

If you want a stand chance at succeeding at Valorant, you and your teammates need to practice excellent communication. It’s not the same deal as with any team-based game, but even more crucial when you’re dealing with a fast-paced first-person shooter. Valorant is still a fairly new game, so there’s a steady influx of new players. In 2023, there will be more than 1.5 million active daily players. If you haven’t found your team yet, you could end up playing with or against just about anyone. Still finding your feet with Valorant? Does the concept of playing as part of a team still feel alien to you? Read on for everything you need to be an effective communicator when playing Valorant. 

Text Chat Modes 

In Valorant, there are four text-based chat options available. Knowing your way around each of these is a must if you want to maintain clear lines of communication with your teammates. More importantly, it ensures you’re not going to be broadcasting a secret strategy to your opponents. All Chat mode is exactly what it says. Whenever you type a message, every other player will be able to see what you’ve written. With Party Chat, you’ll only be able to talk with people who are queued alongside you. With Team Chat, you’ll communicate only with other players on your team, while Whisper Chat serves as a private messaging tool. 

What About Voice Chat? 

Sometimes, it can be tricky to find the type to type a message into a chat window, even if it’s only a brief callout. Even the pros tend to find text chat too time-consuming. If you’re new to Valorant, think about investing in a gaming headset and using voice chat instead. 

It’s without doubt the quickest and most effective way to keep your finger on the pulse. When you use voice chat, you can instantly alert teammates to the location of opponents, discuss last-minute changes to game strategy, and more generally build rapport with the people you’re playing with. 

Unlike text chat, you only have a couple of voice chat modes. Party Voice Chat lets you communicate with other party members before and after a match, as well as during it. With Team Voice Chat, you’ll only be able to talk during a match when you activate the push-to-talk key. 

Know When To Mute

Sadly, even the world of online gaming isn’t untouched by hate and harassment. If you play Valorant and other multiplayer games online enough, you’re probably going to encounter a toxic personality or two. Sometimes, you’ll be pitched against these people. Other times, you might find yourself having to work alongside them. If a fellow player is spamming or generally being a nuisance in chat, you can mute them and block their messages. You can use the mute option to disable both text and voice chats. What’s more, you can opt to mute an entire team if you’re dealing with an entire roster of toxic personalities. 

Get Familiar with Callouts 

If you’ve played games like Counter-Strike: Global Offensive before, you should already be aware of callouts. These handy terms are essential for letting teammates know what’s going on around the map. If you’re a new player, stick to universal callouts before attempting to learn the entire glossary. Use callouts if you spot an opponent or discover where the enemy has planted the bomb. If you’re hotfooting it to the other side of the map and need backup, you can also use callouts to ensure you have the support you need when you get there. 

Are There Any Alternatives to Voice Chat? 

Don’t have access to a decent headset? Not confident enough to speak up on voice chat? You can use Valorant’s ping system instead. Because Valorant isn’t as input-intensive as other first-person shooters, the ping system here isn’t all that complex, making it fairly accessible for the beginner. You use pings to alert your teammates to enemy positions, mark items to return to later, or suggest the perfect spot for staging an offensive. 

Finally, remember that good communication is a two-way street. There’s no point pinging like a pro or using callouts if you’re not actively listening to your teammates. Want to see how the pros handle in-game communications? Find the latest Valorant tournament schedule at 1337PRO and set aside some viewing time.