Valorant
As VALORANT gets older, more game modes are expected to be added. Usually, these game modes get released as a seasonal event, for example, the Snowball Fight event, where guns would shoot snowballs and players could glide on the ice. While being quite fun to play, it was not helpful for the casual player who wanted to practice the game. The only options in the past were Spike Rush or Unrated. Each of them has its own set of pros and cons. Riot, noticing this, launched Swiftplay into VALORANT, and things got interesting.
Swiftplay & its impact on the VALORANT ecosystem
The Swiftplay game mode in VALORANT is a best-of-nine-round game. In this, each team will consist of five players. Similar to the format and economy of a normal unrated game, the match will end when the first team reaches five rounds. As such, this game mode could be considered a mini-Unrated match. The benefit of this game mode was that players could play for a short time. Instead of playing around 30-45 minutes in an Unrated match. Another dilemma in Unrated was that players could get a bit too competitive, thus affecting the morale of the team.
Unrated had the clash of both mentalities as there was no other place to play a relaxed or less stress-inducing game mode. One where players played as competitively as possible while not worrying about losing RR. Others just wanted a game to relax and play along with their friends. As this issue got bigger with time due to the increasing fan and player base, there were many outcries by the masses. Since its launch, there is now a place for fans to play for a short amount of time in a relaxed environment. For some of them, it became a place for players to practice the game mechanics before sitting in the game's Ranked mode.
Why has it become a permanent game mode?
Well, the proof is in the pudding. Since the launch of Swiftplay, there has been a reduction in the number of players who play Unrated. Instead, they choose to sit on Swiftplay for multiple matches. This could be because they are simply grinding for EXP in the game and finishing most of the weekly and daily missions in the game. The players who now play Unrated consist of most who wish to play an entire match of VALORANT. There has been a similar mentality within the players who are solo queuing in the game. As such, toxicity has decreased a good amount in chat.
According to fans on Reddit, there has been a massive wave of positive approval. Many of them are grateful for finding a game mode to test and experiment with various lineups and characters in the game while not expected to be the top fragger in each round. A player who is testing out a character like Neon can now run around and glide to practice the mechanic. It also has resulted in many players testing out their unique meta during each map round. Others can just be happy to test out the Chamber after his nerf and see which maps he is viable on with his new ultimate.
What could be the next game mode we see soon?
At this point, there is only one game mode that has been requested by the masses in VALORANT. It is the option to practice on the shooting range while waiting for a competitive match in the game. Now, this is because currently, while waiting in the game for a match, players can only see the loading screen and the market. While on games like Overwatch as well as on CS:GO, they could be practicing their aim. This is currently the most asked-for updated by fans of VALORANT. With this, while waiting for a match, most of the fanbase could practice their aim with various guns and keep themselves ready to cook their opponent in the upcoming Ranked match.