The economy in Valorant is a system that is often undervalued and ignored and exists mainly as an afterthought for most players. However, understanding it can be a valuable tool in winning your team more rounds and games. In this guide, we will not only cover the basic cost structure of a typical game, but also explore the economic impact of certain weapons and abilities.
Economic considerations start from the pistol round, where you have a set value of 800$ per person, totaling 4000$ of credits throughout the whole team. Importantly, you should aim to maximize spending to provide yourself and your team with the maximum advantage, whether that is with gun upgrades [classic → ghost - 500$] or utility [Double Shock darts - 2 x 150$ = 300$]. This is because whether your team wins or loses the pistol round will completely influence how the economy will play out for your team.
| Round No. | 1 | 2 (Anti-Eco) | 3 (BONUS) | 4 | 5 (Assumed Won) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Credits / Player | 800$ | 3100$ | 3100$ | 4200$ | 3000$ |
| Buy Amnt. | -700$ (full buy) | ||||
| -3000$ (full buy) | -800$ (utility / pistol buy) | -4200$ (Full Buy, Rifles + shields) | Full Buy whatever you can | ||
| Credits / Player (After Buy) | 100$ | 100$ | $2300 | 0$ | 0$ - 2000$ |
| Credits Gained | +3000$ (base) | +3000$ (base) | +1900$ (base) | +3000$ (If win) |
If your team WINS the pistol round, it is essential that you full buy in Round 2 and overrun the enemy team with better weapons and utility (there are different variations of a full buy). The third round is then used as a Bonus Round, where the team keeps their weapons from R2 and attempts to maximize economic damage to the opponent with lesser weapons. Round 4 is then the first buy round of the game, and the team that wins Round 4 has the potential to start snowballing their economy and ult points in the game.
| Round No. | 1 | 2 (Eco) | 3 (Full Buy) | 4 (Swing) | 5 (Assumed Won) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Credits / Player | 800$ | 2000$ | 4000$ | 3000$ | 3000$ |
| Buy Amnt. | -700$ (full buy) | -400$ (full save) | -4000$ (Full Buy) | -3000$ (Full Buy, Rifles + shields) | Full Buy whatever you can |
| Credits / Player (After Buy) | 100$ | 1600$ | $0 | 0$ | 0$ - 2000$ |
| Credits Gained | +1900$ (base) | +2400$ (Loss Bonus 1) | +3000$ (base) | +3000$ (If win) |
If your team loses pistol round, round 2 has to be a save in order for your team to minimize credit loss, while building the economy. Round 3 has to be the Full Buy round, where you utilize full rifles to win the anti-bonus as cleanly as possible. Round 4 is once again the most important round of the game, as both teams reach economic equilibrium at Round 4.
For most teams, strategies for pistols and Full Buy rounds are important, while Bonus or Save rounds typically see teams going for aggressive pushes or gamble stacking sites, so be aware of these potential ideas.
One of the main questions that you will constantly keep asking yourself is whether your team (and you) should be saving or buying on a particular round. As a conventional rule, your team should save if ≥ 3 people cannot afford at least a Guardian + Light Shields (< 2800$).
Remember that a save round is for your team to build up loss bonus (which increases the more rounds your team loses in a row), so ensure that everyone will at least have enough after the save round to purchase a rifle + shields + utility in the buy round.