Valorant Will Launch With 5 Unlocked Characters and 5 More to Earn

Valorant, the upcoming competitive PvP shooter from Riot Games, will launch with a roster of 10 characters or ‘Agents’. Five will be available to use right away, while the other half will need to be unlocked. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/03/02/valorant-riots-gameplay-explainer"] Talking to IGN, Valorant executive producer Anna Donlon said: “Of the ten or so agents available at Valorant’s launch, five will be fully unlocked out of the gate. From there, players can unlock additional characters.” Unlocking characters is done via an “engagement-incentivized model”, which is also being used to unlock tiers on Valorant’s battle pass. Riot describes this as so: “players will have the option of earning in-game content through playing and engaging with the game, or they can choose to purchase desired content as a shortcut.” That essentially translates to players being able to earn via extended play, or unlock using real money instead. Basically, the same as Apex Legends and many other games that feature both unlockable characters and battle passes. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=riot-games-fps-valorant&captions=true"] In addition, Valorant’s battle pass features both free and “premium” tiers, with a promise that there will be no ability to pay for gameplay or power advantages. Of the ten agents coming, eight have been revealed: Brimstone, Jett, Phoenix, Sage, Sova, Cypher, Viper, and Omen. Footage of these Agents is gradually rolling out, starting with this video of British Agent, Phoenix. For more, check out our Valorant hands-on preview. The game releases this summer.