VALORANT Community Calls for More Recognition of Utility Assists
A Reddit post in the VALORANT community has gained significant attention, garnering over 2,000 upvotes and two awards. The post highlights the need for greater credit to be given to utility assists in the game.
Unlike its competitor, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, VALORANT features unique utility specific to each character. This includes abilities such as slows, healing, flashes, and stuns, which play a critical role in determining the outcome of gunfights. However, despite their impact, utility assists rarely contribute positively to a player’s overall score at the end of a match.
For players who rely heavily on utility-centric Agents like Breach, Cypher, or Fade, these assists can often make up the majority of their KD. This is especially true for those who have to hold down sites or use their utility to facilitate their teammates’ entry into a site.
In VALORANT, performance during a match, particularly in Ranked mode, directly impacts a player’s Rank Rating. This rating determines how much they will gain or lose, and leaderboard placement plays a crucial role in this regard. However, utility assists are given little weight in the ACS (Average Combat Score) calculation, as highlighted by Redditors. Although ACS does not directly affect a player’s RR or MMR, it still affects their overall performance.
To address this issue, it would be beneficial for Riot Games to reward players consistently using utility, as it is paramount in securing victories. Such a move would also differentiate VALORANT from other first-person shooter games that primarily focus on gunplay.
Riot Games may not make immediate changes, but fans will undoubtedly continue to advocate for this important adjustment.
VALORANT, utility assists, community, recognition, gameplay, Reddit, ACS, Riot Games