Academy

The A-Z glossary

The words used in VALORANT, explained once and linked everywhere.

A

Ace: One player kills all five enemies in the same round.
Aim punch: When you get hit, your crosshair jolts and your next shots miss.
Anchor: The defender who stays on a site and holds it until help arrives.
Anti-eco: The round played against a team that did not buy: you have the better guns, they do not.

B

Bait: Sending a teammate (or yourself) in first to draw enemy fire and punish whoever shoots.
Bind (key): Which key triggers which action in the game: movement, abilities, weapons, commands.
Bonus round: The round after a win where the team keeps the previous round's guns and buys only what is missing.
Boost: Standing on a teammate's head to reach a high spot or see over cover.
Burst: Firing a few bullets at a time (two, three, four) instead of holding the trigger.

C

Callout: The shared name of a spot on the map, or a piece of information you give your team out loud.
Choke: A narrow passage players are forced through, one or two at a time.
Clear: Checking an angle or area to make sure nobody is there.
Clutch: Winning a round as your team's last player alive against more than one enemy.
Contest: On defense, going out to fight the attackers for an area instead of waiting on site.
Counter-strafe: Stopping instantly by tapping the key opposite to your movement, so your shot is accurate.
Crossfire: Two players watching the same spot from different angles: whoever walks in cannot face both.
Crosshair placement: Always keeping your crosshair where an enemy's head will appear, before you see them.

D

Default: On attack, spreading across the map to gather information and space before choosing a site.
Defuse: Defusing the spike: 7 seconds in total, with a checkpoint halfway.
Denial: Using utility to stop the enemy from doing one specific thing: crossing, defusing, planting.
Double peek: Two players swinging the same angle together, so the enemy cannot kill both.
Dry peek: Peeking with no utility behind it: no flash, no smoke, no information.

E

Eco: Spending little or nothing in a round so you can buy properly in the next one.
Eco round: The round your team saves in: you play with pistols and little else, while still trying to gain something.
Enemy spotted: The red marker on the minimap: an enemy a teammate (or an ability) can see right now.
Entry: The player who goes into a site first, opening space for the team.
Execute: The whole team entering a site together, with utility thrown at the same time.

F

Fake: Making the defense believe you are hitting one site, then going to the other.
Fast hit: A quick attack on a site at the start of the round, before the defense settles.
First blood: The first kill of the round, which creates the first numbers advantage.
Flank: Reaching an enemy from behind or the side, through a route they are not watching.
Flash: An ability that briefly blinds whoever looks at it, used to enter or win a duel.
Force buy: Buying the best you can with the money you have, even if it is not enough for a full buy.
Full buy: A round where the whole team buys main weapons, heavy armor and abilities.

H

Half buy: A partial buy: cheaper guns and light armor, keeping part of your money.
Heaven and hell: Two common area names: heaven is a high spot overlooking a site, hell is the spot underneath.
Hold: Waiting still with your crosshair on a passage, ready to shoot whoever appears.

I

IGL: The in-game leader: the player who makes the plans and guides the team during the round.
Info (information): Everything you know about the enemy: where they are, how many, with what guns, what they used.
Isolate: Setting things up so you fight one enemy at a time, taking the other angles out of play.

J

Jiggle peek: Stepping out of cover and back in quickly to see who is there, without giving them time to shoot.

L

Lineup: An ability throw prepared in advance, from an exact spot, so it lands in an exact place.
Lurk: An attacker playing alone, away from the team, to catch defenders from behind or cut off rotations.

M

Map control: The areas of the map where your team can move without being seen or shot.
Mid: The middle of the map, linking the sites and letting you move between them faster.
Molly: An ability that leaves a damaging area on the ground for a limited time.

O

Off-angle: An unusual position where the enemy does not expect you, so they are not aiming there.
One-way smoke: A smoke placed so you can see the enemy's feet or body while they cannot see you.
Operator (playing with): The game's heavy sniper: one body or head shot almost always kills, but it is expensive and unforgiving.
Overtime: Extra rounds when a match reaches 12-12: play continues until one team is two rounds ahead.

P

Peek: Stepping out of cover to look at (and shoot) an angle or area.
Pinch: Attacking a site from two directions at once, so the defenders cannot watch both.
Pistol round: The first round of each half: everyone starts with 800 credits, so only pistols, light armor and a few abilities.
Plant: Planting the spike on a site: 4 seconds, then a 45 second timer starts.
Post-plant: The part of the round after the spike is planted: the attackers must stop the defuse.
Pre-aim: Placing your crosshair where an enemy probably is before you see them, as you come out of cover.
Pre-fire: Shooting at a spot before you see the enemy, because you are almost certain they are there.
Probe: A light attacking move on a site to see how the defense reacts, without committing.

R

Re-peek: Peeking the same angle again right after the first time.
Retake: On defense, going back into a site the attackers took, together, to defuse the spike.
Rotate: Moving from one area of the map to another to help where it is needed.

S

Save: Stopping play in a lost round to keep your gun and armor for the next one.
Setup: How a player or team is arranged on a site, with positions and utility ready.
Shoulder peek: Showing just a sliver of your body (the shoulder) to make the enemy react, without really exposing yourself.
Site: One of the map areas where the attackers can plant the spike: A, B and sometimes C.
Smoke: An ability that creates a cloud blocking vision, to cover a passage or an angle.
Space: Gaining ground on the map by pushing forward, so the team has more room and more options.
Spacing: The right distance between teammates: close enough to trade, far enough not to die together.
Split: An attack on one site by two groups coming from different entrances.
Spray: Holding down the fire button and shooting many bullets in a row while controlling recoil.
Stack: Putting more players than usual on one site, leaving the others thinner.
Stall: Wasting the enemy's time with utility or positioning, without necessarily fighting.
Swing: A decisive, fast peek towards an enemy who is probably waiting, to take the fight right away.

T

Tap: Firing one shot at a time, calmly, for maximum accuracy.
Tempo: The pace of a round: how quickly a team moves, decides and executes.
Thrifty: Winning a round in which your team spent far less than the enemy.
Timeout: A break in the match to talk and change the plan: in organized matches it is a real pause, in normal games it is a quick talk during the buy phase.
Trade: Killing the enemy who just killed your teammate, right away, so the round stays even.

U

Ult economy: Keeping track of your ultimates and the enemy's, and deciding when to use them, the way you manage money.
Utility: All agent abilities: smokes, flashes, mollies, traps, recon, walls, heals.

W

Wallbang: Hitting an enemy by shooting through cover that bullets can go through.
Wide swing: Coming out of cover with a wide, fast step, so you appear where the enemy's crosshair is not.
Win condition: The thing that wins you the round if you achieve it: the minimum plan you need to pull off.