Game Modes

Game Modes are different types of modes that can be played in VALORANT. Most modes can be categorized as either Plant/Defuse-style or Deathmatch-style.

List of Different Modes

Plant/Defuse

Plant/Defuse is a 5v5 type of game mode where you play as an Attacker or a Defender. The Attacker's objective is to plant the spike or kill all living Defenders, while the Defender's objective is to prevent the Attacker to plant the spike (either by killing all living Attackers or preventing the Attackers from planting within the round time limit), or defuse the spike if it has already been planted (killing all living Attackers is not enough to win the round in this case). These modes are played in rounds where participants only have one life per round. Upon being killed, players must either wait for the next round to begin or be revived by Sage's Resurrection to enter the battlefield again.

Most Plant/Defuse modes give access to a shop, where players can spend credits to obtain weapons, shields, and abilities.

Game Mode	Availability		Estimated Game Time	Description
	PC	Console
Unrated			30-40 minutes	Unrated is VALORANT's standard Plant/Defuse mode. Teams play 12 rounds on Attack or Defense, then swap to the other side for the next 12 rounds. The first to 13 rounds wins (best-of-25), with a final Endgame round played should the game reach a 12-12 scoreline.
Competitive		v9.0	30-40 minutes+	Competitive is a higher stakes version of Unrated where you play competitively against other players to earn and compete for a rank. Should a game reach a 12-12 scoreline, the games instead goes into Overtime where the first team to get a 2-round lead on their opponent wins the game. Players can vote every two rounds on whether to continue Overtime, which can result in the game going on for longer or ending in a draw should enough players vote for either options.
Swiftplay			10-15 minutes	Swiftplay is a best-of-nine mode. It has most of the same gameplay rules as Unrated, but adapted for a shorter match length.
Spike Rush			8-12 minutes	Spike Rush is a best-of-seven mode where all players start each round with the same random weapon. Random orbs spawn around the map that players can collect to grant buff for themselves and/or their teammates or afflict enemies with debuffs.
Premier			30-40 minutes+	Premier is a tournament mode that uses the same in-game rules as Competitive, but with a focus on top-tier competition and playing together as one squad throughout a tournament structure, including additional features taken from pro play such as map pick/ban phases. It has the potential to go on for slightly longer due to Overtime, though Overtime in Premier is limited to a maximum of 5 additional rounds.
Replication	v6.01, v7.0		10-15 minutes	Replication was a best-of-nine mode where all players on a team play as the same agent. Players vote for an agent they want to play and the game then randomly selects one of the choices.
Bot Match	v9.02		—	Bot Match is a best-of-nine mode made for new players who want to warm up with AI controlled bots and teammates. This special match is meant for new players that want to apply what they just learned in the basic training tutorial. It has the same gameplay rules as Swiftplay. The map will always be Haven.
New Map			See Unrated and Swiftplay	When a new map is released, a separate game mode named after the map would be available to play that specific map only. This game mode is available for a short time period (usually one week) before it is removed. This mode can alternate between game mode styles. Prior to the release of Swiftplay, it was best-of-25 (same rules as Unrated) With the release of Swiftplay, it was changed to best-of-nine (same rules as the game mode), It went back to best-of-25 during the release of Abyss. Due to a technical issue, it was best-of-nine format during its initial release. On June 13th, 2024, a hotfix patch was deployed and it went back to best-of-25 format. New map releases Best-of-25 Best-of-9 Breeze Fracture Pearl Abyss Lotus Sunset

Deathmatch

Deathmatch is a type of game mode where the objective is tied in some way to killing enemies. These modes can either be free-for-all or team based. Players have an infinite amount of lives and upon being killed will respawn at a random location after a short delay.

Game Mode	Availability		Estimated Game Time	Description
	PC	Console
Deathmatch			7-9 minutes	Deathmatch is a 12-player free-for-all game mode designed to allow players to hone their gunplay mechanics without abilities or warm up before playing Competitive. Players equip weapons of their choice and kill anyone in their way until either a player reaches 40 kills or 9 minutes have passed, at which point the game will end.
Escalation			7-9 minutes	Escalation is a 5v5 team deathmatch mode where players kill and race the enemy team through a cycle of different weapons and abilities, advancing together as a team through Escalation levels. The first team to finish level 12, or the furthest along in 10 minutes, wins the game. Each level has a specific weapon or ability that the player is equipped with. Killing enemies grants points for the team that help to advance levels.
Team Deathmatch			8-10 minutes	Team Deathmatch is a 5v5 team deathmatch mode where the first team to 100 kills wins. Players choose their loadouts based on the stage their team is at. Abilities regenerate over time instead of purchasing them with creds. There are Weapon Spawners throughout the map that give you weapons different from your loadout. Recovery Orbs appear throughout the map that recover the team's health and shield. Ultimate Orbs also appear to charge up a percentage of your Ultimate.
Snowball Fight	v1.14		7-9 minutes	Snowball Fight was a 5v5 team deathmatch mode where the first team to 50 kills wins. All players only have access to a Snowball Launcher that fires lethal projectile-based snowballs. Gifts also appear on the map that contain temporary power ups for the player. These can increase the launcher's rate of fire, increase snowball size, let snowballs ricochet, or increase the player's movement speed and max jump height.

Custom Game

Custom Games can be created to invite specific players to the lobby from their friends list if they are on the same platform as the host. The party leader can configure the settings of the lobby, such as choosing the desired game mode and the map for the match. A lobby can only have 10 participating players (including Deathmatch) and 2 observers (which can be expanded using Tournament Mode setting). All participating players can leave the game at anytime without penalties, but will not be able to rejoin the current match. No XP will be awarded and Dailies and Missions will not progress for all participating players.

The party leader can also enable the following custom game options:

Options	Functions
Allow Cheats	Allows all players in lobby to use methods that are not available during normal play. Cheats can be accessed by pressing ESC, then to Cheats on the top side of the menu bar. Cheats are not available in Deathmatch and Escalation. For Plant/Defuse modes: Match Flow Pause Match Timer - Pauses the current timer for current game phase. Round Rollback - Reverse round to the desired round chosen. This will also reverse the point earned for the team. End Game Phase - Ends current game phase. Restart Game - Restarts game and the scoreboard for all players. Game Infinite Abilities - Abilities will always be available and will not consume charge. Infinite Ammo - Weapons will not consume ammo. Infinite Magazines - Weapons will not cause magazines (reserve) to deplete. Infinite Creds - Buy Phase Creds set to 99,999 and will not deplete. Ignore Shopping Restrictions - Player can open Buy Phase at any point of the match. Player Invulnerability - Player will not receive any damage (excluding out-of-bounds damage) and all projectiles pass through the player. Auto-Respawn - Player will respawn immediately at the current position they are in. Swap Team - Swaps the player to the other team. Ghost - Freely explore the map and go through walls. Agent For Next Round - Player chooses the agent they own for the next round available. For Team Deathmatch: Match Flow Pause Match Timer - Pauses the current timer for current game phase. End Game Phase - Ends current game phase or stage. Game Infinite Abilities - Abilities will always be available and will not consume charge. Infinite Ammo - Weapons will not consume ammo. Infinite Magazines - Weapons will not cause magazines (reserve) to deplete. Player Invulnerability - Player will not receive any damage (excluding out-of-bounds damage) and all projectiles pass through the player. Ghost - Freely explore the map and go through walls.
Tournament Mode	Increase observers slots from 2 to 10. Attackers and Defenders coach slot added to each team.
Overtime: Win by Two	Initiates overtime when both teams reach 12-12 (essentially the same rules as Competitive).
Play Out All Rounds	Both teams play a full 12 rounds on both attacker & defender sides, followed by Overtime/Endgame (if applicable).
Hide Match History	Match history will not be shown in Career from the custom game match.

Rotating Game Mode Queue

The Rotating Game Mode (RGM) queue was a feature introduced in 2.09 by Riot intended to prevent the dilution of the player base across VALORANT's more casual modes and the large increase of queue times it could cause. The RGM queue would cycle through these modes (Replication, Escalation, and Snowball Fight) so that only one was available at a time. For most of the time it was operational, the queue alternated between Escalation and Replication around every two weeks, with Snowball Fight occasionally making select appearances.

The RGM queue was effectively retired in 4.08 when Escalation and Replication became simultaneously available to play.

Defunct

These game modes are no longer available, and they are essentially replaced with the Basic Training mode.

Practice Game Modes

Practice Game Modes are a series of modes that you can play in the Range. These series of modes will let you have a taste of how VALORANT games will work. Despite these options provided on the menu, the Range can still be explored freely.

Spike Planting

Upon starting the spike planting scenario, the player can purchase their necessary equipment in the buy menu, and the spike will be placed at the entrance. When the player passes through the green line, the scenario starts with enemy bots spawning. The player can stop this scenario anytime by pressing F3or exiting the spike planting scenario by shooting the check box.

The player can modify the difficulty and ammo limit by pressing F3before starting the scenario.

Spike Defuse

Upon starting the spike defuse scenario, the player can purchase their necessary equipment in the buy menu. When the player passes through the green line, the scenario starts with enemy bots spawning, and the spike timer immediately starts counting down. The player can stop this scenario anytime by pressing F3 or exiting the spike defuse scenario by shooting the check box.

The player can modify the difficulty and ammo limit by pressing F3before starting the scenario.