Valorant Early Rounds Economy Guide

by bruX

Hi everyone.

I decided to piece together a little economy guide for the Early Game based off my knowledge from playing CSGO (another economy driven game). This guide is in no way at all the exact way you should do things as of course, it is always completely situational, but to those who are new to economy styled games, hopefully this will be a good foundation for you to start with and which you can build on.

DISCLAIMER: This guide is accurate to the current economy style of the game correct at 01:20 BST 11th April. As the game is in beta, this CAN change at ANY POINT!

Other than that, lets get started with some numbers to memorise.

Win = $3000

Loss = $1900 on First Loss, $2400 on Second Loss, $2900 on Third Loss and remains at $2900 until a round win, in which a subsequent loss is reset back to the $1900.

Plant Spike = $300 and is given to the whole team, not just the spike planter.

Kill = $200. Contrary to CSGO, a kill with any weapon (knife included) will only warrant a $200 reward.

$3900 is the magic number for Rifle + Heavy Shields.

$1500 is the lowest money you will want in your bank if you have eco’d/half-bought in a round. (More on this later in the guide!)

Early Game

In the pistol round, it is strongly advised to win this round. Doing so will net $3000 into the bank + any value of kills you’ve completed in that round. If you also plant the spike (as the attackers) you will also add $300 of value to everyone’s economy on your team, taking a win to $3300 + Kills. On the contrary, if you lose this round you will receive $1900 + the value of any kills completed, but if you plant the spike and still lose you will receive $2200 + Kills.

So in Round 1 what do you buy?

Well this is subjective. Ideally though you want to leave at least $100 in your bank for round two, and of course, try to win this round. It may also be wise to leave $400 in the bank as the attackers in the pistol round, but you’ll see why later in the guide!

So what do we purchase in Round 2?

Based off the value of your first round, this question has multiple answers which we will explore now. The following answers are based off $100 sat in the bank post-round 1.

1. If we win this round, but make 0 – 3 kills and no spike plant, we will have $3000 base (up to +$600 for any kill completions at $200 each) to spend for round two + $100 saved from previous round. In the best case of this scenario the most we will have is $100 + $3000 + $600 = $3700, and in the worst case $3100. As we know that either isn’t enough for Rifle + Heavy Shields (magic number being $3900) we can opt for the $1600 SMG + $1000 Heavy Shields = $500+ (base) left over. With this $500+ replace any abilities you used in the first round.
2. If we win this round and make 4 or more kill completions with no spike plant, then we could opt for a purchase of Rifle + Heavy Shields as the formula works as follows. Win $3000 + 4 x Kills (4 x $200) + $100 = $3900. This will leave us with $0 base for purchase of replacing any used abilities, however if you Ace the first round, then you will have $200 remaining.
3. If we win this round, but make 0 – 2 kills and do plant the spike, we will have $3000 base + any kill completions from $0 – $400 + spike plant of $300 + $100 carried forward from round one. In the best case scenario we will have $3800 and in the worst case scenario we will have $3400. Again, this is not enough for Rifle + Heavy Shields so we can opt for $1600 SMG + Heavy Shields leaving us with $800 to replace any abilities we used in the first round. However, notice how this is only for 0-2 kills.
4. If we win this round but make 3+ kills and do plant the spike, we will have $3000 base + minimum $600 (increasing to $1000) + spike plant $300 and money saved of $100 from round one. In the worst case scenario here, we will have $4000, and in the best case scenario $4400. In this situation we could then opt for Rifle + Heavy Shields.

Okay got it, win round one. EZ. But… what if we didn’t win round one?

Unfortunately you aren’t going to win every pistol round in Valorant. So this is where understanding economy in Valorant becomes VITAL. It will separate the players from those who just get frags and have alright aim, to those who understand the core principles of the game. So like above let’s go through some examples.

1. Lost round with 0-2 kills and no spike plant. This will net you $1900 + $0 (increasing up to $400) + $100 carried forward from round one. In the best case scenario we have $2300 which is definitely not enough for Rifle + Heavy Shields but also isn’t enough for the $1600 SMG + Heavy Shields either… ah. Checkmate. Of course in the worst case scenario we only have $2000. We could opt to buy a pistol and heavy shields, but don’t be too hasty just yet.
2. Lost round with 3+ kills and no spike plant. This will net you $1900 + $600 (increasing up to $1000) + $100 carried forward from round one. In the best case scenario we have $3000 and in the worst case scenario we have $2600. Again this is definitely not enough for Rifle + Heavy Shields but is enough for the $1600 SMG + Heavy Shields… however, again like above, don’t be so hasty to whip the chequebook out just yet.
3. Lost round with 0-1 kills and spike planted. This will net you $1900 + $0 (increasing up to $200) + $300 spike plant + $100 carried forward. Best Case Scenario is $2500 and worst case is $2300. Neither is enough for Rifle + Heavy Shields or the $1600 SMG + Heavy Shields. Hold on, not just yet you eager devil!
4. Lost round with 2+ kills and spike planted. This will net $1900 + $400 (increasing to $1000) + $300 spike plant + $100 carried from round one. Best case scenario will net you $3300 and worst case will provide with $2700. Neither is enough for Rifle + Heavy Shields but is enough for the $1600 SMG + Heavy Shields. I know you’re desperate to buy now, but please I beg you just hang on!

OMG!!111!! WHY are you not letting me buy??

In any of these losing situations, it is not justifiable enough to purchase anything. You are much better saving your money or buying down to a maximum $1500 left in the bank. In essence we do something called an “eco”, or an “Economical Save”. It makes MORE SENSE to leave $1500 in the bank this round because if we lose round two and make 0 kills, we will receive $2400 (as per the loss streak seen above) adding to your $1500 saved and ta-da! We have the magic number of $3900. That means that in round 3 we will have Rifle + Heavy Shields, which if the opposing team has not yet invested into rifles at this point and is still holding onto their $1600 SMGs, this puts us at a strong advantage at clinching the round, base purely off the raw firepower we have of Rifles v SMGs. However there is one exception to all of this.

THE EXCEPTION

The only EXCEPTION would be if EVERYONE on your team carried forward $400 from round one (maybe everyone bought light shields and nothing else?) and you lost the round but managed to plant the spike. Only in this situation would a purchase of SMGs and Heavy Shields be viable as EVERYONE would have a base platform of $2600. Round Loss $1900 + Spike Plant $300 + $400 carried froward from round one = $2600. At this point, it would be wise to “force” or “Force a Purchase” as TECHNICALLY (based off firepower alone) it is an even playing field for both teams, but don’t forget, the opposing team will also have abilities, but if you lose this round, then follow the “eco” route advice found in the paragraph above to return back on track for the game.

I hope you found this guide helpful, and glhf out there!