Lurk in Valorant: Key Takeaways
- Lurking is an essential skill to learn in Valorant.
- Lurking in Valorant allows you to gain more map control, get more kills, and flank the enemy team.
- It’s hard to effectively lurk, so make sure to be patient and continue to practice to get better.
Lurking is a unique way to play Valorant. It’s a strategy used across Valroant ranks and can be highly effective when used correctly. Most people don’t know how to properly lurk in Valorant and often get caught by the enemy team.
This is why we’re here today with our lurking guide to teach you how to infiltrate enemy lines by attacking the opposite side of the map. Here’s how to lurk in Valorant.
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Table of Contents
What is Lurking?
First, let’s define “lurking.” With a quick search, we can define lurking as remaining hidden so as to wait in ambush. This is quite similar to how it’s used in Valorant. You typically stay hidden or silent until the opportunity comes knocking at their door.
Lurking is quite similar to flanking, especially since both act requires a player to get behind enemy lines. Lurking requires a more passive playstyle, usually watching flankers, late pushers, and gathering information. On the other hand, flanking is more aggressive. It typically involves pushing with a purpose of killing enemies from behind.
When lurking, you slowly creep up the enemy lines. You wait for your team to start their push or make noise on the other side of the map and until the enemies start to rotate. Once the coast is clear, you can start your journey of sneaking behind enemy lines.
How to Effectively Lurk in Valorant
Being an effective lurker is hard in Valorant. You need to know when you have to run, when you can walk, when to push, when to kill an enemy, and when to stay completely silent. Timing is key when you’re lurking. This is why it’s often hard for Valorant beginners to not only play as lurkers but also counter them.
Being able to master lurking will unlock so many different ways to play the game, not only for you but for your team. So here are a couple of tips to help you learn how to lurk in Valorant.
Patience is Key
When lurking, you have to be as patient as you can. You can’t push up early and get caught by an enemy. This makes your lurk useless, and they’ll start to watch out for it. Ideally, you’ll want to wait at least 30 seconds into the round, if not more, before you push forward. Of course, this will still vary depending on the situation, but 30 seconds is a safe-ish number.
Relay the Information
While lurking, your main goal is to get behind enemy lines while gathering information. This information is useless if you don’t relay it to your allies. Tell them that you hear footsteps rotating and say all of the abilities you hear the enemies use.
You need a sharp ear when lurking. Things like Killjoy’s traps can easily tell you a ton of information when they get deactivated. This tells you that KJ is no longer in the area and allows you to easily push forward undetected.
Open Up the Map
The final tip is to open up the map. Lurking is a great way to secure map control whenever enemies start to rotate. Pushing forward allows your team to control more map space and possibly contain enemies in smaller locations.
Once you’ve pushed up the opposite site, there are two main things that you can do. You can either push further to try and get kills from behind. This helps your team get into the other site.
The other thing is to call for a rotation. Since you’ve pushed up, it makes rotating easier and safer for your team. At this point, all you need to do is get a good position and catch the rotating enemies off guard.
Overall, lurking is definitely a fun playstyle if you can properly make use of it. Practice is key here, and you can’t become a master lurker in just a few games.
