Act 2 of Valorant is upon us, and there are already details about the new mode that fans of the game have wanted for a long time: Free-for-All Deathmatch. This mode discards the tactical team play that defines Valorant and promises fast-paced rounds with plenty of kills.
What is Deathmatch? Free-for-All Deathmatch is a popular mode that has been embedded in the shooter genre for decades. Instead of pursuing specific objectives, everyone plays against each other and it gets wildly chaotic.
The goal is to score the most points by the end. Players have been wishing for this mode in Valorant for quite some time. Now it arrives, after Spike Rush was already introduced in Act 1.
Shortly after the start of Act 2 on August 4, the Deathmatch mode will enter beta on Wednesday, August 5. There you can participate and see the new rules.
New mode rewards aim, ignores skills
How does the mode work? Deathmatch is a solo mode. You compete not with a team, but alone against 9 other players in a round. The rules are otherwise quite simple:
- you have unlimited money
- there is no Spike and no objectives except kills
- Abilities are disabled
- a round lasts 6 minutes
- if you die, you have a respawn timer of 3 seconds and then reappear
- after respawning, you are invulnerable for 8 seconds until you move or fire a weapon
- upon each death, a health pack is dropped that restores your health points to 150 and remains for 10 seconds
While you play, a drone flies over the map, revealing the minimap every 5 seconds. So you can’t hide or camp, as you will be shown every 5 seconds. Pay attention to the minimap.
The rules promote an action-packed playstyle, keeping you constantly on your toes as you try to kill opponents before you yourself perish. The first player to reach 30 kills wins – or the highest score after 6 minutes.
Skipping the Spike and the skills removes a significant part of the tactical element from the mode. Riot has previously clarified that abilities in Valorant are not as important as players think. Deathmatch emphasizes this statement.
How do I win? In Deathmatch, it solely depends on your aiming, as only kills count. If you shoot the opponent before you die, you get a point and a health pack.
It’s helpful if you’re already familiar with all weapons in Valorant. Automatic rifles and especially assault rifles are traditionally popular and strong in Deathmatches. You can find tips for better aim here:
If you want to get the most out of your performance, then your settings need to be right as well. Particularly important here is the right crosshair setting, which helps you hit opponents more reliably.
What’s in Act 2
Together with Act 2 and the Deathmatch mode, the ranked system will be revamped and a new Battle Pass will also be released. This contains new cosmetics and you can get it for 1000 VP. If the duration is similar to the first Battle Pass, you will need about 100 hours to unlock everything.
If you don’t like the cosmetics from the Battle Pass or are willing to spend a lot of money on skins, there will also be a new batch of skins for the shop: The Glitchpop skins. These are colorful skins priced between 2,175 and 4,350 VP, which Riot introduced with a rather wild trailer:
Additionally, together with Act 2, the new agent Killjoy will be released. She is a German engineer who works with various gadgets, such as exploding alarm bots and automatic turrets. There were already concerns from players about whether this might be too strong. You can see her skills for yourself starting tomorrow, August 4.
