VALORANT coach explains why you’re using deathmatch wrong—and how you can improve

Playing deathmatch in any tactical shooter like VALORANT is hard. There’s a good chance that you might get frustrated at some point with enemies shooting you behind your back or straight out camping to catch you off guard. DMing, however, is one of the best ways to learn how to properly utilize weapons and practice your mechanical skills.

But if you want to get better at VALORANT you can’t simply head to a deathmatch server and just run around. There are, actually, some steps that every player should take each time they play deathmatch in VALORANT, according to Cloud9 training grounds coach and top Radiant player royalG. The coach listed four steps that you should be taking into consideration when DM’ing:

• How to use sound correctly
• How to practice first-bullet accuracy
• Play deathmatch with some goals in mind
• Focus on improving, not on getting more kills

Here’s how you can improve your skills in VALORANT if you play deathmatch correctly, according to royalG.

How to play VALORANT deathmatch correctly

Sound use in deathmatch

A lot of players straight-up play without sound to avoid sitting on a corner and using the sound to get kills or because they recognize this is awful behavior in VALORANT deathmatch. This, however, isn’t optimal because you’ll play deathmatch “very differently” than your ranked matches, because it will have sounds on, according to royalG.

Sound is important because you use it to know your enemies’ location, how they might peek at you, and what kind of shots they’re taking. Playing without sound might prevent you from camping, but it also puts you in an environment that isn’t realistic and overall “a waste of time”. What you should be doing then, is playing deathmatch with sounds but using your discipline to not abuse it.

How to practice first-bullet accuracy

A lot of players use the Sheriff or the Guardian to practice their first-bullet accuracy in VALORANT deathmatch, but this is the wrong approach to take, according to royalG. “First-bullet accuracy usually isn’t about mechanical aim, but mental aim,” the coach says in the video.

In order to improve on that aspect, then, royalG says players should train to be faster in taking their shots. Your first-bullet accuracy should improve if you’re focusing on hitting your opponent’s head while using discipline to not hesitate.

Set up goals for your deathmatch sections

Although deathmatch is unrealistically compared to Ranked, for example, that doesn’t mean it’s useless. It’s a useful practice tool if you know what you want to practice, according to royalG. Instead of playing with music on and just running around the map looking for kills, you should be focusing on skills like learning how to peek, how to improve your crosshair placement, or how to improve your movement.

It’s impossible to do that in Ranked, for example, because you’ll be focused on winning the game. But you can do that in a deathmatch. Pick one aspect that you wish to improve in VALORANT and focus on that aspect while playing deathmatch, and you shall notice improvement after a couple of sessions.

Related: Learning callouts? VALORANT expert’s Deathmatch exercise will change how you play

Don’t overly focus on playing for kills

Players shouldn’t make getting kills or winning a deathmatch game their goal while DM’ing, according to royalG. What players should do is remember that deathmatch is a tool for improving in VALORANT, so they must focus on practicing “different aspects of mechanics or awareness”. If you focus solely on winning or getting the most kills, you’re more likely to create bad habits, according to the coach.