Valorant is a title that is designed to have a really high-skill level. There is a wide gulf that separates standard players from those at the top of the game. One of the key mechanics is peeking. All gameplay is cantered around peeking down lines of sight at enemies. Ignoring it is a death sentence. To get the most out of your games though, there are some Valorant advanced peeking techniques you should be using.
Peeking properly in-game starts with the basics. You need to aim down the angles that an enemy will be coming through. Other players will be peeking too, so you should have your crosshair in the perfect position prior to an enemy peeking to get your shot off the fastest. A lot of this depends on your reaction times too, so using the best Valorant settings can give you a leg up.
This guide covers some Valorant advanced peeking techniques and tips to help you step up your peeking game:
Valorant Advanced Peeking Techniques
Basic Types of Peeking
Before getting into Valorant advanced peeking techniques, it’s important to know all of the more basic techniques here. These are the standard ways of peeking in the game:
- Jiggle Peek – This is briefly popping in and out to peek. This type depends on good map knowledge and reaction time.
- Shoulder Peek – This is peeking just briefly enough to shoot before moving back in. If done right, this type of peek should only exposure enough of your character model to shoot. Hence shoulder.
- Short peek – This is peeking with your entire model but only slightly. This is mainly used to frag.
- Wide Peek – This is to move widely out. This will mess up the aim of the player aiming at your position. That should give the next peeker an advantage.
- Crouch Peeks – Crouch wide and short peeks are the same as the normal version, but while crouching. These types are risky as you can’t really turn back.
Try your best to conceal your position before you and the enemy make actual contact with each other. This means you should avoid crossing into an open area without having first peeked to ensure there isn’t an enemy with their crosshair lined up. This isn’t always possible, but you’ll save a lot of unnecessary deaths by peeking properly.
Walk Don’t Run
When you don’t know where the enemy you’re heading towards is, walk, don’t run. Enemies can hear your footsteps easily when you run and you’ll come around corners considerably faster. If you’re in unsure territory then treat every angle that you cross as a line of sight to briefly peek. This helps you find the angle you’ll need to take when you spot a player and prevents you from exposing yourself to enemy fire unnecessary.
You’ll get more from walking instead of running when you’re keeping your crosshair in the right spot. To maximize your reaction speed when you do spot an enemy, you need to have every advantage. Keep your crosshair primed to hit an enemy. Then, walk out instead of running to minimize your exposure.
Running Walk Peek
This advanced peeking technique is to combine a brief run with your peek. You use a brief run for a second to peek quickly and strafe back. This method avoids enemies hearing you, but gives you the speed you need for your peek. If you walk around the first corner to peek, you stand a good chance of being hit if an enemy is aiming at the line of sight.
This will take some practice, but with the right timing, you can avoid making too much noise with this brief run peek. Just be sure to only run for as long as you physically need too. This peek is to gather info on your first peek.
Smoothing
This is a technique when you move your crosshair as you cross a corner to keep it completely steady. To get this down, you need to spend time practicing it. It is a key part of keeping your aim steady and helping to track.
Once you master it, you should be able to keep your crosshair in the right spot as you turn around a corner. Having your shot already lined up helps you clear out a corner and push forward. Smoothing should mean it remains entirely stationary, which can speed up your peek significantly.
Pre-firing when Peeking
Firing before you’re in the exact right position is a bit of a weird technique. This is where you begin to fire as your crosshair moves to the right spot to get an enemy peeking. If you do this while you’re counter-strafing, then you’re able to get shots out without exposing yourself.
This one is actually a pretty tricky mechanic, but it does tie into some other tricks you’ll need to master. You need to know how to counter-strafe, our guide here covers that. Once you’ve got this movement down, then you need to practice your timing with your shots. The trick with pre-firing is to let your shot off as you counter-strafe. When you hit fire, the crosshair isn’t in the right place, but by the time you wobble out the shots will be hitting exactly where you want them too. Combine this exact timing with a counter-strafe and you’ll briefly wobble into view to make a shot then straight back out. This can be infuriating for the player that you’re peeking at.
Those are some Valorant advanced peeking techniques. A lot of this comes down to mechanical skill though. So to really build this up you’ve got to spend some time practicing. Take the time to work on your peeking form and your mechanical skill in the game. Watch your games, see where you made mistakes, and try to learn from them. With advanced mechanics, it is best to start off slow. You might take a while to be able to perform them reliably, but speed really comes last with this sort of thing. When it does, you’ll be able to peek quicker and more safely in Valorant.
Our other guides to Valorant can help you improve other aspects of your game:
- How to Get Valorant Skins – Guide
- Valorant Killjoy Guide – Abilities, Tips and Tricks
- Who is the Best Valorant Team?
- How to Counter-Strafe in Valorant
- The Best Valorant Team Composition
- Ascent Map Guide