
Attacking can be very scary at times in VALORANT. If the team doesn’t have the credits for proper guns, or the defenders have been holding strong, certain pushes seem impossible in pivotal moments. Sometimes all the team needs is a little space to work with, and Brimstone’s smokes can do just the job. Smokes are extremely helpful in denying enemy vision of the attacking team, as well as putting the enemy in dangerous peeking spots in order to scout the attackers. With just a few well-coordinated pushes, attacking with smokes can help the team get right back into it.
Split is a map with plenty of close corridors to approach site, but the sites themselves are very open. Attacking A has the risk of running into a sniper sitting across the way staring down A main. If someone isn’t there, A Heaven typically has someone peeking down onto site, and one more watching A ramp. As attackers, it can be extremely tricky to rush onto site needing to check 3 places – not to mention all the small corners where defenders can hide.
Utilizing Brimstone smokes, attackers can reduce the amount of places they need to check. By smoking out Heaven, Ramp and Long, attackers can quickly plant the spike and work to defend from the retake.
A Ramp is the most dangerous spot, as it stands as a premier location for defenders to scout the attack.
Quickly running through A Main, attackers are safe from the obvious heaven and A Door sight lines. These smokes allow for an easy plant onto A Site and an easy push through the defender side through heaven to help defend the plant.
Battling for “Mid Control” is one of the most important fights to win on Split. Having complete access to both sites allows the attackers to have incredible control over the entire map. If the attackers lose the gunfight for mid, the defense gains a massive advantage. Now the attackers need to push through down one or make a full rotate and commit to a site. In order to prevent that opening, pick onto one of the attacking team members, smoke out Mid Ropes, Mid Cubby and Heaven Box.
The smoke onto Heaven Box is more important for the team to push through onto B Site, making it more optional than necessary. The other two however are extremely important in order to block potential snipers peeking down Mid for quick picks. With the sight lines smoked out, the attacking team can push forward and add utilities like Molotov and ice to prevent the defense from moving through the smoke safely.
Pushing through garage onto B Site is incredibly tough most matches. Often times the opposing team will have a Sage or a Phoenix lurking towards B in order to slow down attackers with fire and ice. When there isn’t a wall blocking the way, attackers need to check the back of site behind boxes and Heaven. Smoke out those problem areas and the push will be safer for attackers approaching B.
The smokes on to Heaven and Vents force the defenders to either move to back of B Site or drop down into the corner on the right. Even though those locations are not horrible for defenders, simply knowing where the defenders will be is a huge advantage for attackers. Planting after these smokes are down can still be difficult, as the defenders most likely have 3 roaming around Mid and can rotate quickly. Clearing out the site and pushing through the defender door on site will provide a high rate of success for attacking B.
While smoking certain common areas is helpful over the long term, each game is very different. New games have new players, and new players will bring new weird strategies that attackers may not expect. Opponents will sometimes sit it unexpected locations with Operators or shotguns ready for anyone to come around the corner. Anytime the team approaches a site, check all the corners. Get a sense of where the opponents like to hide and always check there first. People tend to favor things they already know if its worked in the past. If the opponents feel like they need an early pick, be confident they will hide in the same odd corner again.
Featured image courtesy of Riot Games
You can like The Game Haus on Facebook! And make sure to follow us on Twitter for more sports and esports articles from other TGH writers.
Follow me on Twitter @esportsbrock for more updates on VALORANT and Overwatch