A major part of winning Valorant matches comes down to managing your credits every round. Sure, your aim and your game sense are very important, but it won’t get you far against opponents who are equally skilled.

That’s where your economy comes in. Better guns cost more money, and considering Agents also have abilities to buy, there’s a lot to think about while you’re staring at the Buy screen. There are no hard-set rules for every single round, and sometimes it can be beneficial to be unpredictable and try to outflank your enemies with surprise purchases.

That said, these are generally the things you want to think about when it comes to Valorant’s economy.
 

Round One

At the beginning of every Valorant match, each player starts out with the same number of credits. Everyone’s on an equal playing field when it comes to how they spend their credits, and it’s generally a good idea to spend as much as you can.

This looks different for every Agent. Generally, Agents that have high utility usage (like Sage or Killjoy) will focus on buying their abilities and sticking with the default Classic sidearm. On the other hand, Duelists like Raze or Reyna may choose to buy the best weapon they can while spending the leftover credits on abilities (if there are any leftovers).

Ultimately, you should buy what you’re comfortable with. For example, if you’re not the greatest with Sage’s Slow Orbs, then don’t purchase them—you can buy her Barrier ability and the Ghost pistol instead. If you’re playing Raze and you just can’t aim with the Sheriff to save your life, then that’s fine—buy a Frenzy and the Boom Bot ability.

Just make sure that you’re communicating with your teammates and that you’re spending most (if not all) of your credits.

 

Round Two

By the second round, you’ve either lost or won. This outcome makes a huge difference on what you’ll buy. At most levels of Valorant play, you can assume that the winners are going to “buy up,” or spend as many credits as possible on guns, shields, and abilities.

Because they won, it’s pretty much impossible for the losing team to match what the winning team buys. While one player may be able to go on a spending spree if they got several kills, it’s rarely beneficial for that player to buy full shields and a Vandal when the rest of the team can’t buy more than a Stinger.

In this case, the losing team should save their money. It makes more sense to be able to buy full utility, guns, and shields next round than to waste the credits on a round you’re more than likely going to lose anyway.

By that same logic, the winners of the first round should be spending all of their credits. If you know that you’ll have better guns and better shields than your enemy, then it makes sense to take advantage of that. If you happen to carry over a gun that you’re great with, like a Sheriff, then don’t feel pressured to spend your credits here (especially if you’re playing an Agent with expensive utility). Just know that you’re at an advantage if you do get spendy.

 

Round Three

If you’ve followed this guide so far, then there’s a natural pattern that happens here, and it’s crucial for the team that lost round one: They end up with an advantage in round three. Let’s look at an example.

Imagine Team A won the first round, so Team B saves its money in round two and loses. Team A may have two winning rounds, but spent all its credits on round two. Even if the players on Team A save the guns they had, they’re more than likely going to have moderately priced Bulldogs or Spectres. Since Team B saved its money, those players should have enough credits for expensive Vandals and Phantoms and full shields in round three. If the two teams are pretty equally matched, then Team B is more than likely going to win that round.

So in almost every situation, the team that saved during round two is going to be at an advantage in round three.

This kind of buying/saving practice is beneficial for both teams. If you’re Team A, then you want to get as many wins as possible, and buying up in round two is the way to do that. For Team B, saving and attempting to win round three at an advantage is the best way to try and secure a win.

Like any other Valorant strategy, this really only works if the entire team is on board.

 

The importance of buying as a team

After round three (or the third round after switching sides), what you buy depends on how the other rounds went. It’s a bit hard to predict, so this is where it’s most important to be on the same page as the rest of your team.

Valorant buying strategies work best when everyone is equally involved. You’ll rarely gain an advantage by having just one person on the team buy better equipment. In games where everyone is roughly the same skill level, the best results come from everyone playing together.

You’ll need to communicate with your teammates—and luckily, Valorant makes it easy to do so whether you have a microphone or not. Even if your text-based communications are disabled, there are buttons on the left side of the Buy screen under your Agent that will let you tell everyone whether you’re saving or buying.

In fact, it’s so important to buy as a team that you should give up on your planned strategy and follow the team if no one listens to you. Valorant makes this easy, too. You can see what your teammates have bought, with the exception of their abilities. If no one is willing to communicate, or you’re uncomfortable speaking up and outlining your own strategy, then buy alongside your teammates.

Generally, that looks like having the same leftover credits as the rest of the team. You’ll see everyone’s credits on the Buy page as well, and can make sure that you’re in roughly the same spot as they are after making your purchases.

 

Full Buy versus Light Buy versus Save

When Valorant players communicate about how to buy, there are several common terms that get thrown around. Knowing them makes playing together just a bit easier.

If someone says that they’re going to full buy, then they mean that they’re buying everything—full shields, whatever weapon they want, and all of their abilities. If a teammate is full buying, then you generally want to as well. Most of the time, if anyone is going to full buy, everyone should be able to (or close to it, like buying half shields).

In contrast to this, some people will say that they’re going to light buy (or half buy). This means that they’re only going to be buying half shields and a cheaper weapon like a Spectre or Ares. Oftentimes, if players are going to light buy, then they’re making sure they have enough credits to full buy in the next round. On the Buy screen underneath your Agent, you can see how many credits you’ll have at minimum next round.

Players will also use terms like saving or full save. Generally, these terms mean the same as light buy, and some may even call it playing for next. However, this specific term means that you buy whatever you can as long as you have enough credits to full buy the next round.

In general, if you’re confused about a term, you can also ask your teammates to explain.

If you’re ready to put your economy skills to the test, you can pick up Valorant for free on the Epic Games Store.