The fast-paced game mode is here to stay.
VALORANT is a very competitive FPS shooting game with a low time-to-kill ratio. The game’s low time to kill means that engagements in VALORANT don’t last for more than a few seconds between players of the opposite team.
Despite the game’s fast-paced nature, VALORANT matches typically last upwards of 30 minutes, forcing players to sit down and commit to matches that can easily last an hour when players in both teams are well-matched.
Enter, Swiftplay, a beta game mode introduced back in December last year that features modified Unrated mechanics in a shortened first-to-five-round format. Swiftplay’s future ultimately depended on how well the community received the beta game mode. Fortunately, it didn’t take long for the devs to realize just how much the fanbase loved the short yet competitive game mode.
What is Swiftplay in VALORANT?
Swiftplay is a 5v5 VALORANT game mode that features slightly modified Unrated mechanics and fewer rounds.
Teams take turns Attacking and Defending for four rounds, where the team that wins five rounds first wins the match. Unlike Unrated or Ranked, players will not play Overtime rounds in Swiftplay. Instead, stalemates are decided through a sudden-death round where the team that comes out on top wins the match.
To accommodate for the reduced number of rounds, the devs have increased the per-round Credits rewards for Swiftplay:
- 800 Credits at Round 1 of every half
- 2400 Credits in Round 2 of every half
- 4250 Credits in Round 3 of every half
- 4250 Credits in Round 4 of every half
Players get the typical bonus rewards for completing objectives such as successfully planting the Spike and killing multiple enemies within a round. Players also start with two Ultimate points to speed up gameplay.
Swiftplay is Here to Stay
Since Swiftplay’s introduction last December, it has become one of the most popular and most-played game modes in VALORANT. The shortened yet still very competitive gameplay meant players could enjoy the thrills of Unrated without having to sit down and commit up to an hour of their day to play a single match.
Last Friday (February 10), Coleman Palm, VALORANT Product Manager, and Gameplay team member announced that the devs will be removing the Swiftplay Beta period in Patch 6.03.
Coleman Palm quickly follows up with a great announcement – the devs are keeping Swiftplay as a permanent playable game mode starting from Patch 6.03. Great news for thousands of fans who have found Swiftplay to be the game mode of choice for playing casual VALORANT games with friends.
The devs say they will keep an eye on the Swiftplay game mode as they plan to add or change Swiftplay mechanics when the opportunity presents itself. Coleman Palm calls for the community’s feedback on Swiftplay to help make Swiftplay as enjoyable as possible for the most number of players.
Beta No More
Swiftplay is set to become a permanent alternate game mode in VALORANT from Patch 6.03 onwards. This is good news as players could definitely use a shorter game mode where they can practice and enjoy their favorite Agents with their friends without having to sit through multiple rounds in VALORANT.
More information will be made available when the official Patch 6.03 drops on February 14.
