Ultimate abilities, often just called ultimates, are frequently found in FPS games and are strong abilities that are often game-changing. Valorant ultimates can help players take a point, hold off enemy forces, or even turn the tides of a nearly lost game. Building up to an ultimate varies by game, from charging over time, use of other abilities, player kills, or other factors.
How do ultimates charge in Valorant?
Valorant uses a combination of factors to charge the ultimate for each agent. The ultimates range from 6 ult points to 8 ult points to charge up, with the majority of the Valorant agents having a 7-point ult cost. Ults charge in a variety of ways:
- Ult orbs – Found around the map, usually near attacker side spawn and at key points, each orb adds one ult point to the agent’s ultimate charge. If a team is down one or more players, their spawn will get one or two ult orbs added at the beginning of a round. These orbs disappear once the spike has been planted.
- Spike plant or diffuse – The agent that plants or diffuses the spike will earn an ult point. Often, teams will let the agent that is closest to their ult being fully charged diffuse the spike if time allows.
- Getting kills – Each kill by an agent grants one ult point towards ult charge.
- Death – Dying during a round grants one ult point at the beginning of the next round.
Ult cost is typically part of balancing an agent’s strength in-game. Sage has one of the strongest ults in the game, a resurrection, which can change the tide of a round, and therefore has the most expensive ultimate in the game, along with Raze and Sova.
What types of ultimates are found in Valorant?
There are three basic types of ultimates used by agents in Valorant. Some ults benefit the specific agent, and others can benefit the entire team.
- Area-of-Effect (AOE) – This type of ultimate does an area effect, as its name suggests. These ultimates can be effectively used to hold down a site after capture, keep enemy agents off the site post-plant, or even re-take the site. Agents with AOE ultimates: Astra, Breach, Brimstone, KAY/O, Killjoy, Viper
- One-Shot – These ultimates have the ability to do a massive amount of damage to an enemy agent, killing them in one shot. Agents with One-Shot ultimates: Chamber, Jett, Neon, Raze, Sova
- Battle Boost – These ultimates give buffs to just one agent or assist other agents with information. Agents with Battle Boost ultimates: Cypher, Omen, Phoenix, Reyna, Sage, Skye, Yoru
When should ultimates be used in Valorant?
Using ultimates can obviously vary from game to game, and players can choose to use them in many unique and effective ways. Of course, an agent can also get taken out while casting an ultimate, so players should know the best ways to use their ultimates.
Some ultimates work well at holding the site or re-taking the site post-plant. Using Viper ult to hold the site after planting the spike can be effective, as the enemy agents will have to enter the area-of-effect in order to kill teammates or diffuse the spike. AOE ultimates can also be used to counter enemy AOE ultimates, such as using friendly Killjoy ult to combat the enemy Killjoy ult.
Ultimates can help with team economy. In simplest terms, an economy in Valorant is how much money is being spent on weapons per round. Certain ultimates can counteract the lack of money if the team is running low on funds.
Chamber and Jett can use ultimates rather than buying more expensive weapons. Sage can resurrect a player at the end of a round after the fighting is over if funds are tight to avoid having to buy more weapons in the next round.
Do ultimates in Valorant reset?
At the end of the first set of rounds, the ultimate abilities each agent has left will reset before switching sides. If the game goes into overtime, ultimate abilities will reset after every round.
Understanding the purpose, cost, and types of Valorant ultimates will improve gameplay, from learning how to counter the enemy agents through ults, help with team economy, and even turn the tide of the game.