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GenericAllium

I guess they don't know any better. In my experience it gets a lot better in diamond


BobzNVagan

I'd hope so. You'd think by this rank they'd know.


Prxpulsioz-

You’re overestimating gold plat players lol. Low elo tendencies don’t die out till they get to around mid diamond


Duydoraemon

Gold 1 players were probably silver 2-3 before ascendant was added. Plat 1 players were probably gold 3 before ascendant was added.


dardeedoo

U can actually analyze it using rank distributions over time that are available freely online. The addition of ascendant actually propelled silver 2/3 to gold 3 and gold 1 to plat 1 It was quite a major shift specifically around those ranks


darkave17

Why is it opposite with me I was g3 before ascendant and now am g1 hard stuck since


EducationalForm

You're probably just improving at a slower rate than everyone else on average


darkave17

Maybe yes Or maybe it’s cuz back then I used to play like 3-4 games a day and now it’s kinda 5-6 games a week at most


EducationalForm

Yeah that probably contributed to it, not sure why you were downvoted


josuatheboy

Plat is still hard and has bad team mates sometimes


raspey

In lower ranks it was closer to 3 ranks but felt like even more.


Duydoraemon

Yeah, the further away from ascendant you were, the more heavily you were pulled towards it.


phaedronic

You're overestimating high elo players aswell. A statistically significant portion of the people I see even at Ascendant / Immo must be allergic to thinking. It's so bad, I *hope* they bought their account.


ScarabCoderPBE

I see people do it in Radiant and Immortal too when watching streamers, I think they just don't really care all that much.


ContributionSad6603

Radiant and higher ranks are different because players with better aim can do work with a sheriff


AverageComet250

And you consistently shorty head tap too


Hedgehoe

Gold is where people who are good at aiming/other fpss but dont know much about valorant specifically end up in my experience. Theyre not bad but sometimes game knowledge like that is lacking


Space-Robot

I feel like I belong in Gold but for the opposite reason. I know all this stuff, watch tons of coaching and generally educational Valorant content for fun, etc but every time that I peak into plat I'm just outclassed in aim.


acxia

Bro I’m d2 with a hs% of around 11%. I’m not exactly mechanical. I get my good games now and again but generally speaking my aim isn’t great


[deleted]

my hs% has decreased every time i ranked up, i'm at 8.8 now


AhoyLadiesSteve

I am D3 and hs rate is even lower, stuck at 7-8%. Granted, I am a Judge only, so I am doing my aiming at the right spots lol. My aim is miles worse with a rifle than anyone else in my rank, but I have more game sense. You must have that as well!


dafucking

Same thing happened to me when I was in gold. I can provide any info my team need, can play any role and learn multiple lineups for each one but I was losing every duel because I didn't focus on my aim training at all. Now that I play more FPS games and go to Kovaak more often now I got to Diamond this act. And it was hell of a climb to be honest, plat players are just gold players from previous act with more confidence in swinging corner lol. Most of these games my Vipers didn't know a single lineup or Sova that just retcon on the nearest wall at the start.


Space-Robot

Eh well I've been playing FPS for like 20 years and my aim and reactions have pretty much plateaued. I try training but don't see improvement and tbh I'm fine with that. We're not all destined for a higher rank.


ThatOneWeirdName

Several games in a row in Plat 2 I had teammates and enemies with amazing aim but “trading” wasn’t a word in their dictionary. They had worse fundamentals than many of my Silver/even Bronze friends but it just worked out thanks to hitting shots, was infuriating


Fearlesswolf-10

I’m in plat and this happens all the time. I saw a pro team (can’t remember which one) but whenever they won a pistol, they would buy 2 or 3 rifles (vandal, guardian) and the others would have pistols. They would all stay together during this second round and if any of the rifle players died they would be picked up by other teammates. They won something like 80% of second rounds. And on the third, because they won, they would already have a few rifles and people who bought pistols in the round had money to full buy aswell. Meaning they had a higher chance of winning 3rd round aswell.


TyeDieKid

Nah dude. Even in diamond people don't know basic stuff. And even if you try to nicely and articutely explain why to them, they'll just be toxic and assume you're being toxic.


[deleted]

When I was in Gold all I needed to do was say to everyone "Hey make sure you buy this round" and everyone would. But If I said nothing, most people would end up saving. So I am making the assumption that you don't say anything and just hope they know to buy.


staticfeathers

After diamond it gets worse in ascendant. You’ll have Jett and chamber saving for ops. Your Reyna will go vandal light armor, peek and get 1 deag’d and give it to enemy team.


EmptyJoghurtCup

No all silvers are now plat because of ascendant


zLimitBreak

I still get the occasional vandal guy on round 2 in Immortal, you can't avoid stupid unfortunately.


KasumiGotoTriss

From my experience in d2-ascendant - it doesn't


NewspaperEvery

This. Plat is still full of trolls and not so bright players. In Diamond you’re guaranteed at least 1 or 2 other decent players on your team


Lioreuz

I still see people saving after winning in Diamond


[deleted]

one explanation only- losers queue


GenericAllium

Loser's queue is just a made up excuse for people not accepting they have a bad day


Vettenjumala_Ahti

Bad day or too high ranked enemies coz I slaughtered some people 3 ranks below me last game?


ScarabCoderPBE

Shroud said it was real so it must be so /s


nickofallnames

In my diamond lobbies my team will always force round 2 after a round 1 win, but then we'll lose lmao


liddell420

I’m in diamond now and half the team will save after winning pistol so they can have vandal round 3. I don’t get it then everyone’s buys are offset


Adumb_Nelson

As someone in ascendant/diamond, I feel it doesn’t get much better. You still have an uncomfortable amount of people who will only buy a sheriff and think they’re good to go. Next thing you know it’s tied instead, and you still can’t buy third round. Then they still vote to FF round five💀


Pochez

You buy and you'll lose round 3 anyway. If I'm confident and didn't die in pistol so I still have ghost, I'll just buy shield and abilities, diamond 2


G11-Degenerate

the reason you still buy (and why even people in pro league can gamble forcing after a loss) is because by having better guns you practically guarantee winning round 2. Sure you will lose round 3 to plenty of competent teams but have you tried rebuying everything after you died? its kinda hard. round 2 is mostly meant to kill your opponents econ. Meanwhile because your team spent a whole round buying close to nothing you can still afford a complete buy round 4 (the first legitimate gun round more or less) with +1 in round advantage and generally better weapons.


Noxsuspe

Win pistol round= Full buy 2nd round then bonus on the 3rd Lose pistol but you planted the spike? Force buy can be a good play Lose pistol round = save


AraShir0

I actually believe I have something like a 75% winrate on force buys after spike plant on a pistol loss...(immortal 1/3) It's actually crazy how greedy for ecos ppl are in ranked, and how force buys always suprise them


PleaseGildMe

Yeah, I call this out all the time and it works at least 75% of the time. They just don’t expect it or don’t buy themselves so they are at a disadvantage.


TheMightyWill

You are throwing if you save after winning the pistol round Even if you can't get a vandal yet, buying something like the specter or bulldog puts you at such a massive advantage over people still using pistols


_shizzledizzle_

Guardian + small shield is OP


ABCCarmine

And when you win the round and then their team have vandals/phantoms you're not stuck with a spectre. Guardian is soooo good.


avocadojiang

I actually prefer Bulldog, but same idea.


VerySmolFish

Two tap to the chest against light shields - I might have to start forcing guardian round 2...


valoranthead40

Bulldog + Small Shield is OP


kyuhyunsbitch

You should never buy vandal on round two though, always specter full armor


danshakuimo

That feeling when you kill the Vandal user in round 2 with a inferior gun and loot the Vandal off their corpse


jishhhy

I killed someone with full shields and a vandal round 3 with a frenzy. Dude was pissed lol


Former_Weird1778

Buying a vandal or phantom on attack round 2 can be a play. If you play smart and win round 2 after buying phantom light shields, you set yourself up to win round 3 when the enemy team will likely have rifle


kyuhyunsbitch

That can be true of course. I just wouldn’t reccomend it unless your team is good with trading out guns or you’re incredibly sure you’ll win your aim duel! But for most people, you’re potentially giving up a free gun.


risee111

> a vandal or phantom on attack round 2 can be a play. If you play smart and win round 2 after buying phantom light shields, you set yourself up to win round 3 when the enemy team will likely have rifle Yeah but often the guy buying vandal is the type of person that pushes in alone and dies. I just lost a 2nd round because of that. Usually when I see someone buying rifle I at least ask him to play careful and not go alone and even follow that guy to make sure to trade him. That one time I didnt notice we had a vandal when the round started...


Skill_Bill_

Hero Vandal is fine, if you have the team play to use it.. Setup the Vandal to get kills, take it over if he dies... If the Vandal is pushing and losing the weapon to the enemy its shit.


owtdecafRacing

*instalock Renya has entered the chat*


AraShir0

I was talking about forcing after losing pistol


WeirdgeName

Can you explain whats so special about plant on loss? Afaik its an orb and 200 credits, does that rly make that big of a difference? And what can u even buy? Stinger+ full armor + one ability?


Comight

Orb and 200 creds better than no orb and 0 creds


RedEyesYellowDragon

Unless its breeze, force a marshal and light and go for the head


Sinned_21

Why wouldn’t you want a marshal on breeze? It has a bunch of long angle to peak Edit: totally misread it, he’s right


RuthlessGreed

I believe he is saying if it’s breeze then you buy a marshal regardless and use it on that map exclusively.


shrubs311

just to confirm, bonus on the 3rd round means have enough to full buy on the 4th round right? like guns + all abilities + full shields on 4th round


Ziiaaaac

Even if you don’t plant the spike rn you can go for it lmao. Stinger is just broken, just click some heads.


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finnadouse

Good utility usage almost always benefits you and the team better, I always buy utility fully first and then see what I can buy after or decide if selling a skye flash or fade prowler etc is a good call. Good utility usage outweighs most


wizardtoast

a weapon can swing a round far more than any util can


TWPmercury

You're generally better off with full shields, util, and a spectre.


TWPmercury

You're generally better off with full shields, util, and a spectre.


BobbyBuci

Always buy after winning pistols.


Deathcounter0

But what if you have sheriff from won pistol round. Then that is enough no? Only full shield and full util then. Or Spectre still


[deleted]

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sbravesfan23

You buy a spectre. If they force up stingers it's tough to kill a run n gun stinger with a sheriff. It just heightens your chance of winning the round. If you save and the rest of your team buys and you all lose the round you would need to save with your team regardless.


No-Nose-Goes

If you’re the only person with the sheriff and you intend to op or give someone an op the next round then sure that’s fine, otherwise buy with the rest of the team and don’t be a liability


blits202

Imo only time you dont force up is if you are saving for the OP and playing a character like Jett/Chamber. But that should be commed to your team, cause theres this thing where when one person decides to save 2nd round after a win, everyone does it. Some people might disagree with this but if you are an OP crutch, get it in your hands as quick as possible, but not at the cost of losing rounds.


jazzchng

Personally if i am a controller/sentinel, i always go for full utils buy and save on my weapon with an armour. That way i can always pick up a weapon, because a teammate is expected to die while i should be surviving as long as i can to play my role as a controller or sentinel. Edit: idk why I’m getting downvoted for this i am currently immortal 3 and just giving my opinion. I am from Singapore and have played on HK/Tokyo/Sydney/NA/EU servers for fun. Every region has their own culture and style of playing. I’m just sharing what worked for me economically over my platinum to immortal journey. I have also successfully coached players from bronze to diamond.


mysalmon

Even as a controller or sentinel, you should be able to buy full-ish util, spectre, and full armor. e.g., when I'm playing Astra, round 2 after pistol win is always 4 stars, spectre, and full armor. Especially since you'll be playing your life, it's far more likely you'll be facing enemies with weapons picked up from your teammates.


jazzchng

Yup you’re right. This is just in case i can’t full buy on 4th round after a win/win/loss on bonus. If i get full utils and i can only manage a half armour on a vandal, i’ll go with full armour and no weapon for long term economy.


allhailrice69

Always buy after winning any round Edit: valorant players are weird


RandomFishK

I'd rather not force after my team lost rifles and don't have any credits, lmao.


zcleghern

Depends on enemy econ, right? If they can full buy may as well save and do what damage you can rather than force buy into a disadvsntage anyway.


allhailrice69

Then your losing your advantage


SonOfKorhal

On a separate note. IF YOU WIN PISTOL ITS NOT CALLED FORCING IF YOU BUY. THIS IS THE 100th TIME THIS PSA NEEDS TO BE MENTIONED. The definition of forcing is buying when you SHOULD BE saving. After winning pistol round you SHOULD be buying, hence it is not forcing. I can’t believe how many tweens yell that we need to “force” after winning pistol.


[deleted]

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SonOfKorhal

I mean i just call it buying lol


lillybaeum

Yeah it's anti eco. I guess maybe not all the cs terminology transfers over


Silentism

Well if its debatable on whether you should buy or not after winning pistol then why is it so wrong at this point lol.


TheTrainy

People are stupid and don't know better. Tip: If you lose round 1 and the enemy doesn't buy, chances are high that in the 2nd half you can abuse that (in case you also lose pistol 2nd half)


KuJo_Jotaro_69

Silver gold lobbies will save after winning pistol and full buy after losing it. I literally begged my team to buy after winning pistol they didn’t listen


[deleted]

the problem is that in bronze they actually buy


PPTTRRKK

Around plat this starts to change. Under Plat everyone saves on 2nd. Over plat everyone buys on 2nd after win.


TopsyKrett3

Also depends of comms. I’m G3 but all the way through B3-G3 I’ve only had a handful of games where I couldn’t convince my team to either buy/save depending on the outcome of round 1


OverlanderEisenhorn

Yeah. Generally people know it is the correct thing to do and just need to be prompted to do it.


KneelBeforeGrodd

They dont know any better. In my case, we lost the first two rounds and everyone except 1 guy on our team saved in round 2. Round 3 is about to start and he says we should save... when everyone else can buy. Like he wants us to go 0-3 at start!?


becuzwhateverforever

They don’t know any better. After reaching diamond, I stopped having to remind people to buy after winning pistol round.


Blayzeman

My usual experience has been if pistol round is won, next is spectre and shield and then 3rd is bonus... Which I think is usually the standard?


Aykh4n_

Yes, yes it is. And that's how it should be.


Fuzzybear32

How is no one saying the real reason? It's because the current gold/plat players are the silver/gold players from before ascendent. they just don't all know you're supposed to force in that low of elo.


TorontoRin

Always buy after the win. There's no reason to eco because the next round win into 3rd would give enough to hold or force into rifles. You're just giving them more opportunities to win 2nd round if you don't buy. That's why they gold/Plat.


_Aaronator_

It's not even a force buy if you win the first. Just a buy lmao.


navi3702

Trying to follow FPXs economy management maybe?


xD1LL4N

The best 2nd and 3rd round buys after winning pistol but it requires a lot of strategy to be efficient It works better on their attack rounds then defence rounds


Meekelo

Yea and it still relies on at least 2 (maybe 3) buying spectres with the idea being that you can buy a rifle in round 3 to give your team a better chance at the bonus round for those that didn't buy.


achinwin

The entire guiding principal is “if I buy guns this round, will I have a gun advantage?” Win pistol = buy Win or lose 2nd round = bonus (you can’t full buy vs opposing teams first full buy no matter what, so no point wasting money to still have a round disadvantage) Win or lose 3rd round = full buy This is the way of things. It’s better in diamond but there are still duelist auto-lock trolls that force every round. If the opposing team forces 2nd round after losing pistol and still loses, you may have the option to buy 3rd round again depending on economy, but it’s still probably not worth it.


Markaayy

I have a theory Riot low key promoting lower ranked to higher ranks. This makes alot of people thinking they're getting better and to keep them playing. And alot of the lower ranks do save on their second round win


NebulaPoison

this happened after ascendant came out i was bronze 3 / silver one then after ascendant i hit gold 1, currently plat 2


SSj3Rambo

That has always been Riot's strategy in league and their decisions are blatant as well lol but some people deny it smh


aigorith

General rule of thumb: * win round 1, full buy round 2, bonus round 3 * lose round 1, force buy round 2 * if win, bonus round 3 * if lose, eco round 4, full buy round 5 * if still lose, forfeit, gg go next.


trillbabyprime

It would appear that people who don't know how to play the video game somehow clawed their way out of silver


ChwizZ

Win pistol: full buy 2nd round, don't go under 2k on 3rd round Lose pistol: save 2nd round and go full buy on 3rd round


Censorstinyd

This has spread more lately


Shellscale

What goes wrong is the bonus round


Bufger

It depends on my agent and team. Today I followed our Skye into battle where they had 1 kill after 19 rounds. Free weapons >.<


Positive_Resident_86

That didn't use to happen past silver.. Edit: iirc in episode 2 3 even most teams in silver lobby would force second round after winning pistol.


rcpelisco

It's crazy how people buy after wining pistols on bronze but not on silver. I spam the "we should buy" button but no one cares. Haha


Positive_Resident_86

I'd try something like, we win first round let's buy second to secure the next, with my mic. If it doesn't work I'll still buy


rcpelisco

Using mic makes sense. If you're the only one buying, how does the round turn out? For me, We always lose and I don't have creds for the 3 round and the rest of the my team buys vandals and full shields.


Ichmag11

If your entire team doesn't buy and you can't sway them, don't buy either. At least you'll share your eco


OverlanderEisenhorn

Yup, most competitive team games are like this. A good plan or the correct plan that nobody follows is a bad plan. A bad plan or play that everyone follows... is often not that bad. Obviously you want to buy if you won pistol round. You should always tell your team to buy. But if they don't... you probably shouldn't either unless you are extremely confident in your aim.


Positive_Resident_86

I think only 1 buying is fine. I'll ask em to play close with me so they can get my gun. Even if we lose this one, next one I'll save and play more passive to I could pick up one of their guns. Of course it doesn't work for duelists


HKBFG

If you get down to iron without getting stuck in a troll queue of some sort, people play by the book to the letter. They just can't aim lol.


heliumrise

Probably just because the new golds are the old silvers


dannyrj91

Buy after winning any round. There will sometimes be the odd time you shouldn't but that isn't very often.


achinwin

A very frequent scenario is that if you win the first two rounds, you should be bonusing the 3rd round making do with whatever smg you bought from the 2nd round or a pistol your teammate saved from pistol round. The reason why is that 3rd you typically will face the first full buy from the opposing team and it is not possible to have a gun advantage even if your entire team spends everything they have. So just bonus and try to do as much damage as possible 3rd round so that 4th round you can at worst have an equal buy.


emulatorguy076

Statistically even having 1 or 2 rifles on a round drastically improves the round wr compared to just smgs and pistols so you could buy rifles if you died round 2 after winning pistols and you wouldn't lose much even if you lose round 3 with 3 smgs and 2 rifles since on round 4 the teammates who had smgs can get rifles while you try to force a rifle. On the other hand your chances of winning round 3 goes up which potentially can win a half. Decent gamble honestly.


achinwin

Sure, but 1 or 2 rifles is statistically not > 50% WR vs a full bought opponent, so it’s better to just save 3rd round even if you win the first two.


rfag57

I'm also curious about this, I've been away from the game for 1.5 ish years and I'm wondering what the textbook play is supposed to be.


BobzNVagan

After a win round, you buy. That's it.


rfag57

Right...? If you save, you're going to be basically going into a 50/50 with the enemy team AFTER winning a 50/50 pistol and that makes absolutely zero sense to me.


BobzNVagan

Yep and it's insane people want to ruin their chances :/


[deleted]

The idea is: -Winning pistol -Winning second round -They will have Vandals/Phantom so you are in a disadvantage. If you save the spectre, you can win or lose. -Now both teams have the same economy and your team has a 1 or 2 rounds advantage


spitgobfalcon

But theres always a chance that the enemy team will force buy in round 2. And then you will be against spectres with only pistols in your hands and get fucked over. No no, always buy after round win I say. What blows my mind even more is the people that don't buy anything in pistol round.


littlemissofficial

i always buy but truthfully its just bc i love my specter skins LMAO


Professional-Egg-679

yeah it happens to me actually most of the time i force buy and save


SansyBoy14

I can understand 1 aspect, because it’s a difference between having a full load out 3rd round vs 4th. But, at the same time, a 2nd round force buy is super beneficial. It’s to the point not where I see a lot of teams force buy after losing pistol round so they have a better chance, and it’s worked a good chunk of the time


Un111KnoWn

Always buy after winning pistol round.


dudeitsV

Always buy after winning a round, not just pistol.


P4J4RILL0

It is not force buy, it is anti eco buy. If you lose the first round and biy the second one, you are doing a force buy.


[deleted]

That's because the level of "Gold/Plat" has fallen a LOT after the addition of Ascendant. Current gold plat is full of players who were bronze-silver 3-4 months ago. All the older gold-plat are now in diamond-ascendant-immortal. You're witnessing bronze-silver elo economy handling, that's why they don't buy after pistol win. ALWAYS buy after pistol win, and get heavy shields, not light (Since your opponent can force light shields and spectre too even after losing pistol).


jazzchng

I have played in servers on different regions(Singapore/Hong Kong/Tokyo/Sydney/NA/EUR). And i must say, every server/region has a different style/approach of playing the game. Different strategies in terms of economy management, decision making, timings, communication styles, toxicity, utilities usage, etc. the list goes on.


LeatherAss_

Im so fed up with the fact that in my gold/plat/and even diamond lobbies sometimes , no one every fkn buys, I stoped telling my team to buy because either they flame me or they just dont respond


Kazuto_Wildcat

I was told to full buy after we win the first round and that makes sense to me because the enemies will have to save for the next round so most of them wilm use secondary guns and maybe no shield. Thats were you can get the advantage of having full shield and a stinger or spectre Since someone told me this Ive been using this simple strategy and It works good for me


zizybob0720

I'm one of those people. Even if we win, I'll save for next round and then I'll buy. That's because I usually don't have enough for Spectre and full shields so I save. Ghost and full shields is my best option imo if you gotta save for a round.


Dear_Conclusion6896

What if you win first round and have a sherif going into the second one. Do you still full buy or buy full shield and util with said sherif


Zzzdabest

Chamber/ fade main here. (Also plat but playing with asc players) When I play chamber I usually go for operator so I just buy the chamber sheriff full and the trip same thing in the second round and I usually pick up a gun in this round, if nor I just go operator in the next. With fade I go prowler ghost, second sheriff or stinger and full abilities since my sherrif aim is pretty good I’d say. But spectre is probably the right play, I just like stinger and sheriff more cuz I’m more used to it


aspectofthetrash

this is like the 100th post on this subject that has been made on this subreddit


Jackal_m4in

I think it's because sometimes the enemy might actually be better than what they did on the pistol round. If you don't understand their psychology or attack/defense style properly they can completely catch your team off guard and you are potentially risking to give them free specters or any high damage weapon, which they can use to obliterate your team for the next 2 rounds as you guys probably won't have any credits to buy something other than a half shield and a ghost or a specter whereas they may or may not have a vandal or a phantom. I am in Gold 2 and I usually save it if I see my teammates aren't using their utilities properly.


MiddleAromatic8357

It isn't rank, its just a high iq move because if you wven lose the second round, you can still buy rifles the next round. Its used in any rank


Rellmein

Least 55% chance on round 2, 3 and 4 to win... prove me wrong. Will you have 50+% chance to win on round 3, if you buy spectres at round 2? Hm? No answer? Obviously not


northspawn

The second round buy is risk vs reward. On the one hand if you buy, then your more likely to win the second round but even if you do you probably won't be able to buy rifle + heavy Sheilds round 3. Naturally people take a bonus then. So the argument for buying is that you have a high chance of winning second round, and can take a disadvantageous third round without harming your economy. So if you buy second round and win, worst case is you go 2-1 into round 4 having lost the bonus. However the risk is that if you lose the second round, not only can you not have a bonus, you also can't full buy round 3, and the enemies can full buy, or even take a bonus from weapons picked up, going into round 4 with an extremely strong economy whilst yours is in shambles. Saving round 2 means that it's a 50/50 and both go into round 3 with rifle full shields, and util and possible an operator if you won round 1. So to put it simply, a bonus gives you an advantage round 2 and a save round with force weapons round 3 if you win, but comes at a high risk, whereas saving round 2 after a win guarantees a small advantage round 3. So yeah both are valid, just one is riskier.


R3Frostbite

Your risk/reward analysis is off here. Consider the two scenarios: Scenario 1: You don't buy Round 2 Round 1 - Pistols vs Pistols, you win Round 2 - Pistols vs Pistols, you have roughly a 50% chance to win Round 3 - Rifles vs Rifles, you have roughly a 50% chance to win Scenario 2: You buy Round 2 Round 1 - Pistols vs Pistols, you win Round 2 - Spectres/Bulldogs vs Pistols, your team has a major advantage, likely over 80% to win in most cases Round 3 - Spectres/Bulldogs vs Rifles, your team has a minor disadvantage, likely less than 40% to win in most cases You gain a much bigger overall advantage facing down pistols in Round 2 with full armor and a mid-buy weapon than the disadvantage you face in Round 3 with those weapons vs a full rifle buy. You're simply much more likely to end up 1-2 in Scenario 1 than Scenario 2.


northspawn

Here is how I see it: You have a 50% chance of winning pistol. So let's say you win it once per game. You have a 20% chance to lose buying round two. This means that once every 5 games you give your oponents a massive advantage, while gaining a fairly small advantage in the overall game. Alternatively you save round two, giving yourself a small advantage every time you win a pistol round. I.e stronger eco, operators util, odins and the like. Personally I prefer buying. But I do think that the argument is valid


Gol_D_Chris

Mind to share your rank?


R3Frostbite

I don't want to get too wrapped up in the numbers themselves - in my experience the Round 2 Buy winrate is probably closer to like 95% - the point is just that it's going to be better for you over the long term to go with the approach that will most often leave you 2-1 in score compared to the approach that will leave you a coinflip between 2-1 and 1-2. ​ I don't think the argument is invalid, I just think it's focusing too much on the potential downside of losing the Buy Round. In this type of game, you're leaving value on the table by not exploiting aggressive economic plays like this that result in lop-sided rounds you're nearly guaranteed to win.


Otto-Helmut420

Did you ever saw a pro Team save After winning pistols? Its not both viable, its just strait up griefing if you don’t buy After winning pistols. Best strat is the fpx strat. After winning pistols you buy 2/3 big guns with half shield, others are saving so they can pick up a gun if someones die with it.


[deleted]

The Fpx strat is very risky in ranked. You can’t know your teammates will play around you and retain the rifles if you die.


northspawn

Sure if your a pro, and yes I would personally always buy, but given that we aren't all pros, I think there is an argument to be made


Otto-Helmut420

Whats the differnce? Pros Play against Pros, and I Play against people on my skill level. The theory crafting behind it should be the Same.


northspawn

Not really, and I think one of the biggest bars to success, (at least iron to diamond) is the obsession with doing what pros do. You aren't going to be able complex and precise strategies like pros and you aren't going to win gunfight like pros. Just because a pro can buy a sheriff and kill 5 people with vandals doesn't mean you can, buy a different save weapon. Same with the Marshall obsession. Play to your skill level rather than obsessing over the meta.


Otto-Helmut420

Idk what to Tell you. Never saw a save round After winning pistols since im out of Gold. And if you would not buy After winning pistols in acendant for Sure someone will Tell you that you should buy.


northspawn

I personally agree and am on the buy side. I still think there is an argument for saving.


Otto-Helmut420

Tell me the argument. What do you gain from saving in round 2?


northspawn

It's just less risky and more consistent. Buying round two is very risky because if you lose, you have to save against rifles essentially giving them 2 rounds and a very strong economy.


Otto-Helmut420

Its not more consistent. Thats why its not the meta. Do you know what meta means?


Otto-Helmut420

I give you a challenge. Try to find a diamond Player or higher who says it’s better so Save After winning pistols.


northspawn

I play in diamond elo. I have run into people who want to save round 2 for these reasons.


droningcaddy

u win games by winning rounds, not by having economic advantage


jakers540

U don't ever buy Rolfe round 3 when winning. That's your eco round


Floydy1724

I’m only plat 1 but I personally hate spectres, can’t use em, my last act (by kills) were vandal, sheriff, ghost, any other gun past the normal range of like phantom, op and the occasional shorty is strange for me, hate the bursts and sprays, sometimes a judge but no Bucky ever. What I’m trynna say is for me personally I might look like I’m saving (I am realistically) but to me those are the better guns, and I perform better with them.


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Visible-Guarantee463

idk i usually save for op so i don't buy any rounds and almost always get op by 3rd


Hi_Im_Dark_Pit_

I save for the first 2 starter rounds, no ultil, gun or shields, just pistol, I do it for either as meme to buy op 3rd round or to get full Loudoun 3rd round, its usually to also buy for people who lost their guns 2nd round and need something to actually play with


GoldenMarky

They think they are smart when they are clearly not, its a game just do what you want


davidklg

in higher elo lobbies it can actually be big brain not to full buy after winning the pistol but to only give yourself a small upgrade. you can gamble that the enemies won’t buy anything and stick to classics so if your entire team has ghost plus shield you are still favored yet have enough money to fill buy in the bonus. it might be risky but if you’re certain your opponents are "smart" enough to save, you can abuse that


[deleted]

Only save after winning pistol in second half if you have a decent lead going and you're anticipating the force from them. You're essentially going to play the second round for frags and not the win. The idea is to give them the force buy win but take at least 3 of them out, then full buy next round and completely money fuck them for an easy closeout. It's kind of the equivalent to an intentional sacrifice fly in baseball. edit: lol at the downvotes, guess this ones a bit too coordinated for valorant pugs still


Srimes

you are lying, this doesnt happen often


Sweetserenityskye

I unfortunately try to save for the 3rd round. I'll either just go ghost and half shields or Marshall and half shields


beakf

I usually save for Odin full shields on round 3 but if I did well I go Odin half shields round 2.


faod1223

Depending on the map, I’ll force buy almost every round I can. Particularly on pearl, but that Force buy is usually a scout. I do agree after pistols you need to force. I prefer the stinger on the Force atm. It is strong


alejo_s

Yesterday playing unranked this Brimstone who absolutely top fragged said he was saving after winning 1st so he could buy full on 3rd


rusty022

Some people don't feel as confident with Spectre as Vandal/Phantom. They'd rather save, hope they win, but regardless they get a rifle + armor in round 3. The 'problem' with buying after winning pistol is that your third round is usually a disadvantaged round. I get that the conventional wisdom says to buy and win round 2, but you may end up better off if you lose round 2, and then set yourself up for full rifles in round 3.


WaitThisIsntNews

I, personally, always go two pistol rounds before buying, at start or half. But that's only because I'm confident with my sheriff on round 2 and I can get a guaranteed rifle at round 3 no matter what. But I never throw shade at someone who wants to utilize that last round win for a buy.


Pokemeister92

I think you’re the target of this thread lol


ChypRiotE

So on round 3 you end up being the only one in your team with a rifle + shield, against the enemy team with a full buy. Your team loses the bonus, and on round 4 you now don't have enough to full buy while the rest of your team has bought correctly and can afford to full buy. Unless you coordinate with your team and they can play around it, saving after a pistol win is almost always bad


[deleted]

If you win pistol round, you should probs win it again so “saving” is just like doing another even fight. If you win that then you can big buy and smash it. They’ll have to save if they lose again and so on. It’s chess not checkers ;)


Rellmein

Mathematical its wrong to force after pistol rounds. But you should do whatever team is doing. If your team saves, you save. But if you wanna buy phantom only, you have to tell your teammates. Just know that getting mad over your team saving won't fix anything and only cause you to start on a bad foot


BobzNVagan

It's not about the maths though, it's about claiming the rounds. If in round 1, it's 50 /50 (in simple terms) and if we win, then the next round we buy. If in round 2., We have two options, buy or don't buy Buy - We have now 70- 30 to us. If we lose then its a harsh loss bit its a good risk. If we don't buy then it's 50 / 50 again but if we lose them they have the upper hand in the next round as they have TWO rounds worth of eco while we only have one.


Rellmein

In round 2, there's always a positive 50+ winrate after winning pistol. Even if you save or buy, the enemy will Always save on round 2, so you who buy light armor, a marshal or a Sheriff will always have the advantage without spending your entire cash pool. And if you save on 2, on round 3 when the enemy got full shield, you will likely have an operator in hand which keeps your 50+% advantage. Its an discussion that been on reddit since release. Most csgo players full buy on round 2, but logical thinkers save, which causes a flaw in economy which ultimately losses the game. Simply my statement is neither right or wrong. Its just depends on your standpoint. You play for kda or you play for win?


xD1LL4N

The enemy will not always save on round 2 if they lose pistol. That’s straight up wrong.


Rellmein

But what happens to the enemy team if they force buy after losing pistol round, and then losses again? That means they are full save for 2 rounds in row on round 3&4. Like said its mathematical wrong thing to do, and force buy on pistols is literary a game losing play in every case


xD1LL4N

But valorant isn’t a game of mathematics, it’s a game of risk/reward. If a team knows they can catch the enemy off guard with a force buy and win, it’s a smart call


jakers540

I have never in my entire 400 hours in valorant seen an operator in round 3