VALORANT

The VALORANT logo

*VALORANT* is a free-to-play first-person shooter game developed by Riot Games and released in 2020. As one of the most popular 5v5 first-person shooter games on the market at the moment, Valorant provides players with an unparalleled ranked system with robust anti-cheat and customization through skins. Two teams take turns planting and defending a spike in a best-of-25-round format.

## In-Game Currency

Valorant currently offers three types of in-game currencies:

* **Valorant Points (VP) :** Bought with real money to purchase various in-game items.
	+ **Uses:** Agents, Cosmetics (Weapon Skins, Player Cards, Gunbuddies, Sprays) Radianite Points, Battle Pass.

* **Radianite Points (RP) :** Bought by using Valorant Points, or has a chance to be obtained through playing the game (ex: obtained through a Battle Pass reward).
	+ **Uses:** Upgrading weapon cosmetics.
		- When a player buys a skin for a gun, the skin and sound obtained is considered to be at a default level. Radianite points can be used to upgrade the level, obtaining different colourways, special effects and finishers for the same skin.

* **Kingdom Credits (KC) :** Does not require real money, obtained by playing the game and completing daily rewards.
	+ **Uses:** Agents, Agent Gear, Accessories.

### Currency Bundles

To purchase VP or RP that isn’t through a “Purchase” button on a weapon skin, agent, etc., a player has to click the first two symbols on the top right section of the screen next to the gear icon:

#### Purchasing VP

Upon clicking the symbol to the left of the gear icon, the player is sent to this page to purchase VP.

There are 6 VP bundles offered that allow you to get different amounts of VP. The bigger bundle you purchase, the better deal you get on the conversion between CAD and VP.

#### Purchasing RP

There are 3 RP bundles offered that allow you to get different amounts of RP. The bigger bundle you purchase, the better deal you get on the conversion between CAD and RP.

 40
 80

### Currency Exchange Rate

The currency exchange rate is an estimate calculated by accounting for all currency bundles available for purchase. You can find a detailed breakdown of this process here.

The currency exchange rate is the average rate of all 6 bundles: 1 CAD to 73.96 VP.

### Payment Methods

Current payment methods include the following:

* Mastercard
* Visa
* Amex
* JCB
* Discovery
* PayPal
* Prepaid cards and codes

### Refund Policy

Valorant allows a refund only on unused in-game and Valorant point purchases within 14 days of being bought. A used in-game item consists of equipping an item and reaching the loading screen of a match in any of the game modes they offer. Any refunds related to Valorant points will be issued to the form of payment used to make the initial purchase. Refunds can be requested by submitting a ticket on the Riot Games website.

## In-Game Items

Current in-game items that can be purchased using VP are the following: Agents, Weapon Skins, Player Cards, and Gunbuddies. To access in-game items to purchase, the sections “Battle Pass”, “Agents” and “Store” on the main menu all lead to menus where you can buy items using in-game currency. “Collection” is where you can see all the cosmetics you’ve purchased, but you can’t directly buy from there.

### Agents

Agents are the characters you play in Valorant. Each agent is unique, with their own specific set of skills, abilities and ultimates. There are currently 24 agents in Valorant with 5 agents automatically being unlocked as a new player.

As a new player, you can unlock 2 more agents for free under their “Welcome Contract” event by just playing a couple of matches. Otherwise, agents need to be unlocked by playing the game (using 8,000 KC) or can be bought using 1000 VP.

Although agents can be bought directly from the “Agents” section on the main menu they can be bought in the “Agents” section in the store.

### Cosmetics

#### Weapon Skins

Weapon Skins are a form of cosmetic microtransaction which enables players to modify the appearance of a weapon. Weapon skins are mainly bought through the store using VP or through the Night Market. Some weapon skins can be obtained through the battle pass, either in the free rewards section or by buying the premium track.

In the store, the featured page which contains the weapon skins for purchase is divided into 2 sections: a featured bundle and the daily skin offers.

Players can buy featured bundles at a discount in comparison to buying each skin in the bundle individually. The daily skin offers on the other hand, are not offered at a discount, but the offers refresh every day at 8 pm EST. The offers are a randomized set of skins with different gun tiers. If there is a specific skin a player wants to buy, they have to wait until it appears in their daily offers or through the night market.

##### Gun Tiers

There are 5 symbols that are represented through different icons. Each tier represents a different price that each gun skin is classified under:

**Other information on weapon skin microtransactions:**

* Melee weapons in every tier are always priced higher than their weapon counterparts, usually costing about double the price of a gun skin.
* Different skins will have different skin variants:
	+ The SE tier has no variants, but the DE tiers and above do have skin variants.
	+ The SE and DE tiers do not have VFX and Finisher add-ons that can be bought for 10 Radianite Points per level (there are 3 levels to buy), but all tiers have skin variant levels, which can be bought for 15 Radianite points (per level).
	+ None of these variants can be bought until the default skin has been purchased.

The Prism II Stinger is an SE skin that has no variants in skin, VFX, or finishersThe Nunca Olvidados Vandal, a DE tier weapon skin. The skin only has colourway variants which can be seen on the bottom left.The Oni Shorty in the default skin. This is a PE skin that has both variants in gun skins and VFX/Finishers.This is the same Oni Shorty from the image prior, but displaying the level 4 skin that can be obtained.
#### Player Cards

Player Cards, a form of cosmetic microtransaction, allow players to customize their background image for their account. Player Cards can be obtained from featured bundles for free if the player decides to purchase the whole bundle or can be obtained as a battle pass reward.

Player Cards can also be bought as an individual item from a featured bundle for 375 VP.

#### Gunbuddies

Gunbuddies, a form of cosmetic microtransaction, allow players to attach miniature charms to their guns to modify their appearance. Similar to the player cards, gunbuddies can be obtained from featured bundles for free if the whole bundle is purchased or can be a reward from the battle pass.

Purchasing a gunbuddy on its own from the featured bundle will cost the player 475 VP.

#### Sprays

Sprays, a form of cosmetic microtransaction, are images that can be applied in a match game on a surface. Sprays can be obtained from featured bundles for free if the player decides to purchase the whole bundle or can be obtained as a reward from a battle pass.

If a player would like to buy a spray from a featured bundle on its own, it will cost 325 VP.

### Item Costs

As of October 2023, the current lowest and highest cost items that are purchasable in Valorant are the following:

 **Most Expensive Item** | Power Fist Knife (from the Radiant Entertainment System set)

## Battle Pass

The Valorant battle pass is split into two options: the premium track and the free track.

The battle pass has 55 tiers which are grouped into 11 chapters and 75 items to obtain in total. About 20 of those items are free, meaning that if you play the game without purchasing a battle pass upgrade, you can obtain some items (free rewards are sectioned out on the right). Items that can be obtained range from weapon skins, player cards, gunbuddies, sprays, player titles and RP.

It costs 1000 VP to upgrade your battle pass, and battle passes are changed out every 2 months. Players can choose to complete the battle pass, and then upgrade to the premium track to retroactively obtain all the premium rewards. If a player wants to progress through the tiers automatically, they can pay 300 VP for every tier they want to unlock.

## Subscriptions

Valorant offers no subscription-based microtransactions.

## Loot Boxes

Valorant currently has no loot boxes available to buy.

## Pay-to-Win Systems

Valorant does not have any specific items that can be bought to boost performance or give an advantage to players.

## Limited Time Offers

### Shop Bundles

The shop features rotating bundles of skins that are updated every few weeks and are available for a limited amount of time. Bundles include skins for a subset of weapons in a specific theme alongside a themed gun buddy and player card.

Players are incentivized to buy entire bundles together during the featured period as it is cheaper than buying all of the items within the bundle individually. Specifically, the gunbuddy, player card, and knife skin come for free when buying the entire bundle, with the rest of the items being at regular prices. Once a bundle is no longer featured, the only way to buy individual skins or knives is for them to appear in the daily rotation shop. Gunbuddies and player cards are no longer purchasable after the featured period.

### Night Market

The Night Market is another time-limited offer that appears every 6 months, where you have access to 6 random skins to buy at a greater discounted price. This is separate from your daily store, which resets every day and is permanent. The night market is usually available for 1 month but the skins do not reset.

## Personal Review

**How does the video game’s culture impact microtransaction spending?**

Cosmetics in Valorant are highly coveted by the player base and they tend to identify with their own choices of weapon skins, charms, gun buddies, and sprays. It has come to a point where people try to attribute characteristics to different players based on the specific cosmetics they use. Although the game is still fun to play without cosmetics, it is hard to feel involved in the community unless you have cosmetics of your own. This is amplified by Riot’s constant stream of cosmetic releases that are marketed heavily, with prominent content creators highlighting them on their own streams.

**Is it possible to free-to-play while having a good experience?**

Although the cosmetics have a significant influence on the community aspect of the game, the microtransactions have no bearing on the base game, it is entirely cosmetic so it is possible to have a good experience if you are able to move past the community aspect. One thing to note is that people will often compare and discuss their cosmetics within games, so it might be hard to interact with the community when that occurs.

**What is the value proposition offered by the microtransaction systems and are they substantial improvements over not spending?**

As the microtransactions in Valorant are strictly cosmetic, the answer largely depends on the player's definition of value. Cosmetics offer additional visual, audio, and cultural benefits in the game which improves the overall experience of playing and interacting with other players.

**Do microtransactions add “value” or simply add prices to features/items that other games include by default?**

Some microtransactions add value whereas others take away features that should be available by default. Radianite points are used to unlock effects on purchased skins rather than them being available by default. It makes very little sense to buy a skin with real money, only to need additional currency (that can be earned or bought) to unlock the full potential of that skin. The Radianite points system also veers people towards buying the battle pass, which offers significantly better money to Radianite points return compared to purchasing it directly.

**Do you need to spend to have fun?**

If you are able to go into the game with realistic expectations (i.e. not wanting to customize your weapons through cosmetics since they are hard to come by for free), it is possible to have fun without needing to spend money. All gameplay features are available for free to anyone willing to play the game.

**Is it worth spending on microtransactions in the long run?**

It is worth spending money on microtransactions only if you plan on playing the game for a very long time. Riot has a history of supporting games such as League of Legends for almost a decade, so if you are committed to the game your microtransactions will go a long way. It is also worth considering if you plan on engaging with the community.

**Do I recommend that you spend on this game based on my personal experience playing it?**

Yes, but only if you plan on playing it for a long time and you’re passionate about the community behind the game.

## Resources

1. ↑ Valorant Wikipedia
2. ↑ Valorant FANDOM Wiki
3. ↑ Valorant FANDOM Wiki - VALORANT Points
4. ↑ Valorant FANDOM Wiki - Radianite Points
5. ↑ Valorant FANDOM Wiki - Kingdom Credits
6. ↑ Riot Games Support - VALORANT Refund Policy
7. ↑ Riot Games Support - Price Tiers for Skins in VALORANT
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Valorant FANDOM Wiki - Battle Pass
9. ↑ Valorant FANDOM Wiki - Night Market