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The most common question I see on this subreddit is how to be more consistent. Consistency is key to climbing the ranks, and everyone knows this. You can't be playing like a diamond on one day and gold on another. However, the answer isn't as simple as telling people to go to practice more or anything like that. In this post, I'm going to teach you how to deal with inconsistency in Valorant.

The Basics

First, we need to understand that consistency is relative. You're not always going to have the same performance because the variables in each game are not constant.

You're not going to be playing against the same set of agents, the same map, or the same skill level of players each time. The goal is to minimize inconsistency to a point where your worst performance will still be pretty good.

That said, consistency can depend on how much the enemy team capitalizes on your mistakes. In one game, you could be playing against a team that doesn't use utility to counter OPs which results in you getting a bunch of kills. But in the next game, the enemy team is coordinated and executes attacks properly, making it hard for you to score kills.

Even your teammates are factors to inconsistency. Each player has a different view on how to play the game so if you're playing Solo Queue, this can be a problem when you don't see eye to eye with your teammates.

These are factors that are out of your control. You can't dictate what type of team you'll be playing against, so let's focus on the things you have full control of.

1. The Importance of Fundamentals

In every match, no matter what agent you're playing, the base mechanics and concepts of Valorant will always be relevant. This means that crosshair placement, peeking, positioning, game sense, and economy usage, are critical because they're concepts that play out in every round.

Learning these concepts, and applying them properly will definitely make you a more consistent and complete player. If you have great fundamentals, then enemies will have a harder time exploiting holes in your gameplay.

For example, knowing when to full-buy and when to save is something that you can always be consistent in, and if you economize properly, it'll increase your chances of winning the match.

Your aim might not always be consistent. On some days you have insane aim and on some days, you don't. Crosshair placement goes a long way because it isn't as reliant on raw aim, and if you have good crosshair placement, duels essentially become point-and-click scenarios.

Also, you should always be warming up before playing your first competitive match. It's important that you do so to reduce the chances of missed shots because of cold hands.

2. Having an Adaptable Playstyle

Being adaptable and versatile is essential to being consistent. This might come as a shock to you but it's the truth. However, this isn't possible if you're not a complete player so knowing the concepts in the first point is a prerequisite to having a versatile playstyle. You can't adapt to something if you don't have the fundamentals or knowledge to do so.

If you have a static playstyle, which means that you're playing the same way every game, you're going to run into players that don't do well against you and players who know exactly how to counter you.

This is where you need to be flexible in terms of playstyle.

One of the worst things you can do is play on autopilot, which means that I'm not actively thinking about what I'm doing and I'm just making decisions w/o considering the effects. While this can work, autopilot becomes a main source of frustration when it works in one game and then doesn't work in another, hence the inconsistency.

For example, playing aggressively on defense is something you like doing. It's gotten good results in the past, so you play this way every game. Some teams won't expect you to push and will get caught off guard while others will be prepared for it. The same goes for teammates - some will peek off your entry, others will bait you.

In order to solve this, you need to be mindful of your choices and make decisions based on how your team and the enemy team are playing, and not what's worked for you in past games. You can't expect players to behave in a certain way, although there are patterns - like running away from a Raze Ultimate.

Sometimes, it might be hard to see the flaws in your own gameplay. I suggest reviewing your matches so your bad habits become easier to identify and fix. Either way, changing up your playstyle to fit the current scenario is a great way to improve consistency.

3. Strong Mental State

Another factor you can control with regards to consistency is your mental state. If you're tilted, you won't be able to play properly. Your judgment and decision-making will deteriorate and you're probably not going to have fun playing the game too — this is important because you'll play better if you're not as stressed.

I've found that my best games (in terms of my own performance) are when my teammates are cracking jokes in between rounds or just having a good time. But great teammates are hard to come by, so you need to learn how to deal with toxicity and avoid tilt.

There was a recent Reddit post by u/SMcArthur about the "1 strike" rule that I agree with a lot. Basically, at the first hint of toxicity or negativity, you mute the player. Even if you won't have voice comms from that player anymore, muting him won't affect your chances of winning too much as you won't have to deal with the toxicity the entire game. Getting tilted is far worse than losing comms from one player.

While this is a great method, if you're already tilted, this doesn't apply. You also need to be able to reset your mental state. Everyone has different ways of doing it, but personally, I take a 5-minute break and then hop into a deathmatch to distance myself from tilting or toxic experiences.

4. Compatible Teammates (optional, but very helpful)

The best teammates aren't the ones with the highest skill level. If you're around the same rank, chances are they're also stuck there for a reason. Finding teammates who complement your playstyle or understand how you play will make things a lot easier as you don't have to deal with strangers and constantly adjust.

Now, there's a lot to learn from randoms too, but having a dedicated stack, or even 1 or 2 players that you can trust removes another coin-toss element of Solo Q. This one's optional because I understand that finding compatible teammates is hard, but I just wanted to put this out there because it's helped me become more consistent.

Final Thoughts

I just want to quickly mention that slumps are real. Everyone goes through them, even pro players. Sometimes, there isn't much you can do to get out of a slump. Everyone has their own methods of dealing with it, so it's best to find what works for you, and please try not to be too mean to someone who's slumping.

Either way, I hope this has been helpful. In multiplayer games like Valorant, there's bound to be some level of inconsistency in your play. The best we can do is try to minimize it so that you can perform at peak performance often.

Anyway, that's it for this post. If you have any further questions, feel free to reach out to me on discord (Eggwick #7855) or check out a new server I've launched to help players improve: https://discord.gg/H2VjZqyEJe

Good luck on the grind! :)