Key Takeaways
- Silver is one of the most crowded and difficult ranks in the game for hard-stuck players. However, proper guidance and consistency will get you out of it in no time.
- Work on honing your game sense and mechanics as much as you can. Your individual skills are enough to carry you to Gold.
- Play one or two warm-up games to get a feel for your form that day and jog your muscle memory.
- Start mastering agents’ abilities to the fullest. Reserve 1 agent for each map and pick your favorite role.
- Your consistency with the crosshair placement paired with your ability to hold unsuspecting off-angles will net you the easiest kills in the game in Silver.
Table of Contents
Silver is undoubtedly the Elo hell of Valorant, filled with trolls, smurfs, and toxic players. However, now that you’ve reached this far, nothing stops you from ranking up to Gold. While SIlver players are expected to have many skills that make them decent at the game if you find yourself struggling and want to know how to rank up in Silver, check out the following tips.
Download the Z league app and use our LFG feature to find fellow Valorant players and compete in the tournament by building your own community.
Check out our Valorant Rank Distribution list and general ranking guide. Now, let’s get started with our tips!
Master 1 Agent For Each Map
At this stage, you shouldn’t fuss about learning a dozen agents to improve at the game. However, you should be comfortable with 1 agent on each map. Rather than filling a role depending on your team comp, learn how to play 1 role for each map effectively. That said, having a secondary pick helps in case your agent gets instalocked by someone else.
Although most people are inclined towards picking a Duelist when solo queuing, the recommended roles are that of a Controller and an Initiator. These roles are highly undervalued in low Elo. However, when you learn how to play them correctly, an Initiator or Controller’s utility is unparalleled.
Warm Up Before Your Ranked Games
We recommend warming up before playing a ranked game, regardless of rank. However, people in low Elo usually queue ranked as soon as they get on. Warming up helps you get a good feel for the game and get you in a competitive mindset. You will likely whiff your shots during your first game if you hop into ranked without a proper warm-up.
Having a proper warm-up routine would not only help you improve at the game and ensure you’re on your top performance during ranked matches. Although aim trainers and shooting bots in the Practice Range can be useful, we recommend you play at least 2 Deathmatch games before queuing up for ranked.
Consistent Crosshair Placement
The importance of proper crosshair placement can’t be understated in low-rank lobbies. Silver players are expected to have a good crosshair placement, but they’re not consistent with it. Even though Silver players rarely have their crosshairs on the ground like Iron and Bronze players, a significant problem recurring in Silver lobbies is players with lazy crosshairs.
If you get lazy with your crosshair placement that’s just idling inside a wall, you’ll be forced to flick toward an enemy’s head, making the duel much more unfavorable. Therefore, be aware of where your crosshair is at all times and ensure it’s placed at head level at an angle you expect the enemies to peek from.
Start Building Up Your Game Sense
Silver is really the rank where players should start building their game sense. Although a crisp aim might still carry the match at this stage, your focus should always be winning the rounds rather than getting kills.
Try to understand the enemy’s patterns during the game and counter them accordingly. As Defenders, you should know when to rotate, be a site anchor, and flank. Similarly, on the Attack side, ensure you know when to aggressively execute a site, pause, rotate, draw rotations, and re-hit a site.
Hold Off-Angles Efficiently
One thing Silver players tend to avoid is exploiting off-angles. By this stage, players should be able to clear all the common angles reliably, but clearing unexpected angles is a much more challenging task.
While you’re on defense, it is particularly helpful to hold off-angles using agents with some kind of movement ability like Jett, Reyna, and Chamber. Doing so, you should always be able to get a pick and get out, giving a numbers advantage to your team and raising your odds of winning the round.
That’s it for our general tips section for how to rank up in Valorant. Be sure to check out our Valorant character tier list.
