Ingame leader (IGL) is a vital role in any shooting game, and VALORANT is no different. Most of the team’s responsibilities will fall on this player, who will make the most callouts in a game, guiding their teammates through victory.
A good IGL is key to coordination in any game. It can make the difference, whether it’s on the ladder or in team-based competitive matches. The role gets a lot more challenging in proper tournaments, however.
For this reason, a player who’s just started experimenting with captain and IGL role asked the community for some tips on a Reddit thread—and there’s a lot to take away from their advice.
First, the most-upvoted piece of advice in the comments was to “watch as many IGL vods as you can.” Many of them can be found on YouTube and Reddit.
They are simply broadcasts of older games, including communications among players. There are also VOD reviews, which are videos by coaches and experts who give tips and advice to the VOD’s authors. They’re incredibly helpful since they show how communication is handled by teams, rather than simply seeing their strategy unfold on the map. It provides a lot of valuable information, but it’s also time-consuming.
Some users also advised the poster to look at general IGL guides from CS:GO experts, as the skills translate in both shooting games.
“Being an IGL is hard,” another user wrote. “Everything is on you, especially in making decisions, callouts, a good environment, and maintaining the mentality throughout tournament.”
The Reddit users suggested that players communicate efficiently with the team’s coach too, as the IGL is the one executing the strategy that was set up by them. Tasks distribution between the coach and IGL must be clearly assigned, as both roles can overlap if the team isn’t well-organized in that aspect.
“Not everyone can IGL, it’s like playing Valorant but also watching a chess match on your minimap at the same time, and providing instructions when pieces aren’t moving the way they need to be”, a player said.
Others pointed out communication distribution between teammates; the in-game leader can do it all, but others can also participate and give specific commands, such as rotations, executions onto sites, and more. Another thing to know is also the game’s general callouts, to get more efficient communication with other players.
The general idea provided by the advice is that there is no magic solution to becoming a good IGL. It requires a lot of experience and strong knowledge of the game, and it’s not enough to know what to do with one character, as they must also monitor what the others are doing and provide clear communication on what do to next.
Moreover, each player has their own communication style. They’ll find their own pace through more experience and from taking examples of other high-level players.
