Is counter-strafing worth it in Valorant?

Counter-strafing, CS:GO's unrefutable movement tactic, made its way into Valorant's competitive dictionary soon after the game was launched in 2020. However, since its introduction, counter-strafing in Riot Games' tactical shooter has triggered countless debates in the community.

Being a tactical first-person shooter at the core, Valorant shares multiple similarities with the highly-competitive CS:GO. As fans may know, counter-strafing is one such analogy that has descended into the tactical shooter.

Several creators and professionals have shared guides and insights for beginners to learn and take advantage of counter-strafing. However, some have chosen to analyze Valorant's complex mechanics and negate the claims behind the tactic's efficacy.

So, what exactly is the final verdict on the popular tactic? Read on to find out.

Note: This article is subjective and solely reflects the opinions of the writer

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What is counter-strafing in Valorant, and how does it help?

In simple words, counter-strafing refers to the act of force-stopping your movement before you begin to fire. In CS:GO, this is an extremely important mechanic that a player must follow to land accurate shots on an enemy.

For example, you are holding A on your keyboard to move left. To counter-strafe, one should leave the A key and press the D key for a split second. It may appear as if you are moving to the right, but in reality, you have caused your leftward velocity to halt entirely, thus landing a perfect first shot on your enemy.

The concept is to "stop entirely" before firing, which is a critical idea in first-person shooters like Valorant and CS:GO. Moving while shooting increases firing spread, causing massive inaccuracy.

While counter-strafing has proven to be a strong movement tactic in CS:GO, it hasn't been linked with any significant benefit in Valorant, leading to never-ending debates.

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The theory against counter-strafing

Many creators have spoken strongly against counter-strafing in Valorant, including Michael "Shroud" Grzesiek, who was a successful CS:GO professional. While there are multiple opinions that could disregard counter-strafing, Shroud's comments explain the game's core mechanic thoroughly.

In his most recent stream, Shroud explained why one can land headshots while running in the game, which later becomes a basis for counter-strafing. He said:

"You stop on a dime in this game... You start shooting when you see the person and your character just stops. Because they stop so fast and it looks like you're running and headshotting, but you are actually not."

Shroud also mentioned how other first-person shooter games cause the player to slide slightly even after the movement actually stops, which isn't the case in Riot's tactical shooter.

He also went on to show how swiftly the player movement stops and stated that players shouldn't counter-strafe in Valorant as it may do more harm than good:

"People are so insane at this game who haven't played CS. Because in CS:GO, you have to counter-strafe. In this game, you don't."

Shroud's theory, when coupled with other ideas, seems to be enough to disregard the mechanic in the Agent-based tactical shooter. After all, most players can land headshots as accurately without counter-strafing as they can while using it.

Even then, many former CS:GO players have continued to vouch for and utilize counter-strafing in Riot's tactical shooter.

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Verdict

Valorant houses a vast competitive meta that encourages more theories than facts. Most players eventually run into a sweet spot that works best for them and stick to it.

In the case of counter-strafing, the debate isn't going to stop anytime soon. Both sides have proof to back their claims, thus leading to an infinite discussion. Having said that, learning to counter-strafe may give players a slight edge, although the benefit isn't really clear.

It shouldn't hurt to counter-strafe in Valorant during certain fights. However, beginners should stick to learning the important mechanics first. Movement, or strafing, is essential in the game as it dictates how accurately your shots will land. Players will have to master strafing, if not counter-strafing, to win gunfights.

Counter-strafing has become more of a choice; you may or may not use it. No one can guarantee that it will help you win gun fights every time. Winning games also requires good overall strategies and on-point utility usage.

Counter-strafing or not, you need to focus on hitting an accurate headshot and landing the first shot.