Valorant: ranked economy rules and team comps

Pistol round: Ghost or light shields plus utility. Winning pistol usually means a bonus round with Spectre/Stinger the next round.

After losing pistol: full save round two, then buy round three. Avoid half-buys unless the team agrees — a split economy loses more rounds than it saves.

Full buy threshold: roughly 3,900 credits covers a rifle (2,900) and heavy shields (1,000). Buy as a team; drop rifles to teammates short on cash.

Vandal vs Phantom

Vandal one-taps to the head at any range; Phantom has a silencer, no tracers and more forgiving spray up close. Hold long angles with Vandal, close sites with Phantom.

Reliable comp shell: 1 Controller (Omen or Brimstone), 1 Initiator (Sova or Fade), 1 Sentinel (Killjoy or Cypher), 1 Duelist (Jett or Reyna) and a flex second Initiator or Controller depending on the map.

Map notes: tight maps reward Killjoy/Cypher lockdowns, open multi-site maps reward double Initiator info, and long sightline maps favor a Viper wall. Riot rotates the competitive map pool each act, so check which maps are live before locking a comp.