Valorant being a tactical shooter means there are a lot more elements to the game than just raw mechanical skill (even though it can carry you a long way!) that you need to learn if you want to become a better player. Understanding how the economy (of weapons and ultimate) is a great way to very quickly increase your odds of winning without practice.

Why Is Valorant Economy Management Important?

If you have already played games like CS:GO you might already know that the most reliable way to win a round is by coordinating weapon buys with your team. The worst mistake you can make in this game is to spend all your credits every round as that not only hinders you but also your team. This leads us to the first important point in this article. Your credits are not your credits, they are the team’s credits. Good players are not greedy – remember to drop your teammates if possible.

Pistol Rounds

The first round of each half, also known as a pistol round, everyone starts with 800 credits. Pistol rounds don’t have a defined meta yet, but there are a few “default” choices depending on your playstyle.

• Light Armor & Frenzy – Great if you want to be the entry fragger or play close range angles.
• Light Armor & Abilities – Great if you plan on providing utility to the team (and pick up someone else’s gun).
• Ghost & Abilities – If you plan on playing a long-range angle. Most CS:GO players prefer this way.

Full Buy Rounds

The magic number in Valorant is 3900. That is the number of credits that you should try to have on as many rounds as possible because it allows you to do a “full buy”. A full buy consists of:

• Rifle (Phantom/Vandal or Operator) = 2900 credits (4500 credits if Operator).
• Heavy Armor = 1000 credits.
• Abilities = 0 – 500 credits. You should always try to have above 3900 credits so you can buy abilities (if you have not already). You should full buy after your team wins a round (if you are able to). If a teammate is unable, then you should try to help by buying weapons for the teammate. If you love the round and you all average over 3900+ credits, then you should commit to a full buy together. If less than 3 players average 3900 credits do not full buy as a lost round will result in your team’s economy being broken while at the same time making is easy for the opponents to win the round which results in them building up their economy.

Eco/Save Rounds

Eco Rounds refer to a round where you try to save as much money as in the current round, as it allows you to have a full buy in the next round. Remember to check how much money you will have next round if you decide to buy a pistol, so you can full buy after the round. The primary goal of economy rounds is to disrupt the opponent’s economy as much as possible without spending any credits.

Force Buy

A force buy is a buy where you spend as much money as possible, even if you do not have enough for a Vandal/Phantom and heavy armor. A common force buy setup is:

• SMG/Budget rifle = 1000 – 2100 credits.
• Heavy Armor = 1000 credits.
• Abilities = 0 – 500 credits.

It might be beneficial to sacrifice the heavy armor for light armor so you can buy a vandal/phantom. Either way, you will be at a disadvantage.

Ultimate Economy

Ultimates’ can have a very big impact on rounds. They can easily win you an otherwise lost round. There are a few ways to gain ultimate charges, killing opponents, spike defuse/plants, and picking up orbs. Once your ultimate is ready you cannot gain any more ultimate charge, so try to think of a way to use it rather than waiting for “that perfect moment” as it most likely will never come. The more you use your ultimate the better you will become at utilizing it in future games. Do not wait for the perfect opportunity – create them!

Conclusion

I hope this short guide helped you understand how to manage your economy in Valorant. By learning to manage your economy you will win more games in Valorant. Remember you can see the opponent’s economy on the scoreboard if you are unsure about how much money they have.