The big Valorant glossary explains 50+ terms from ranked, gameplay, aim, shop and esports – each in two or three sentences. Use the jump links above or simply scroll through the categories.
Valorant speaks its own language: agent select chats are full of "RR", "eDPI" and "full buy", casters talk about "thrifties" and "retakes". This dictionary translates the most important terms – compact enough for quick lookups, precise enough to truly understand what is behind them. For deeper dives we link the matching guide on every term.
Ranked & rank system
RR (Rank Rating): Valorant's visible rank points. You gain RR per win and lose some per defeat; at 100 RR you climb one tier. See how many wins you need in our RR calculator.
MMR (Matchmaking Rating): Your hidden skill rating that Valorant uses to judge your true strength. MMR controls opponent quality and RR gains – it can sit above or below your visible rank.
Elo: Colloquial term for skill rating (from the chess Elo system). In Valorant, "elo" usually means the combination of rank, RR and MMR.
Placements: The placement matches (5 games) at the start of each act or on fresh accounts. Together with your hidden MMR they set your starting rank.
Act & episode: Valorant's season structure: several acts form an episode/season. Each new act brings fresh placements, a new battle pass and your act rank as a keepsake.
Act rank: Your best confirmed rank within an act, displayed as a triangle of wins. It works as a trophy and influences your next placements.
Demotion protection: Dropping to 0 RR does not instantly demote you: Valorant softens the fall slightly. After a demotion you start the lower tier with an RR cushion.
Leaderboard: The regional ladder for Immortal and Radiant. From Immortal onwards, your leaderboard position matters alongside wins – all details in the rank system guide.
Gameplay & tactics
Spike: Valorant's bomb. Attackers plant it on a site, defenders defuse it. The half-defuse at 3.5 seconds is a key tactical trick.
Eco round: A save round: the team buys little or nothing to afford full equipment (full buy) next round. Opposite: force buy – buying despite low credits.
Full buy / force buy: Full buy: complete loadout with rifles, shields and full utility. Force buy: a forced purchase on a tight budget, usually after losing the pistol round.
Bonus round: The round after a won pistol round, when the losing team usually saves – the winner plays cheap equipment ("anti-eco") against little resistance.
Thrifty: Winning a round with clearly cheaper equipment than the enemy – celebrated in-game as "Thrifty".
Clutch: When the last player alive wins an almost-lost round solo – e.g. a 1v3. The highlight-reel discipline.
Ace: Eliminating all five enemies in a single round by yourself.
Flawless: Winning a round without losing a single teammate.
Retake: Recapturing a site after the attackers have planted the spike.
Rotation: Moving from one site to the other – as a reaction to information or as a fake.
Peek & jiggle peek: Controlled exposure from cover. A jiggle peek makes you visible only for a split second to gather info or bait shots.
Off-angle: An unexpected position away from the standard angles that enemies have not pre-aimed.
Trade: Instantly "buying back" a fallen teammate's death by eliminating their killer. Good teams never die untraded.
Entry fragger: The player who enters the site first and takes the opening duel – the classic job of duelists like Jett or Raze.
Lurker: A player flanking away from the team, cutting rotations and gathering info – classically Cypher or Omen.
IGL (in-game leader): The team's shot-caller: announces strategies, reads the enemy and makes the mid-round calls.
Utility / util: Umbrella term for all abilities (smokes, flashes, mollies, recon). A "util dump" means using everything at once.
Smoke / flash / molly: The three key utility types: vision blockers (Omen, Brimstone), blinds (Phoenix, KAY/O) and area damage (Viper, Brimstone).
One-tap: An enemy dropped with a single headshot – the trademark of Vandal and Sheriff.
Wallbang: A kill through a penetrable wall or crate. Not every surface can be shot through – high-penetration weapons wallbang better.
Anchor: The defender holding a site alone while the team plays elsewhere – needs strong solo utility like Cypher or Killjoy.
Ult points: The orbs and events (kills, deaths, spike actions) that charge your ultimate – using them wisely is called ult economy.
Overtime: At 12:12 the match goes to overtime: the first team two rounds ahead wins, with sides switching every round.
Premier: Valorant's team-based competitive mode with fixed match schedules and a promotion system – the path toward semi-pro play.
Aim, settings & tech
DPI: Dots per inch – your mouse's hardware sensitivity. Common in Valorant: 400 or 800 DPI.
Sens (sensitivity): The in-game mouse sensitivity. Only DPI × sens gives your real sensitivity – the eDPI.
eDPI: Effective DPI = DPI × in-game sens. The only fairly comparable sensitivity value – pros mostly sit between 200 and 400 eDPI. Calculate yours in the eDPI calculator.
Crosshair: Your reticle. Color, size and shape are fully customizable – build yours in the crosshair generator or grab one of 237 codes from the pro database.
HS% (headshot rate): The share of your hits that land on the head. One of the most honest aim stats – good ranked players sit above 20%.
First bullet accuracy: The precision of a weapon's first standing shot. On the Vandal it is lethal at any range – one headshot is enough.
Peeker's advantage: The slight network edge of the player swinging around a corner over the one holding it – which is why active peeking often beats passive holding.
Crosshair placement: The art of keeping your reticle at head height on the next corner – the most important aim skill of all, trainable in the aim trainer.
Skins, shop & currencies
VP (Valorant Points): The real-money currency for skins, battle pass and bundles. Prices and euro values: VP prices.
Radianite Points (RP): The upgrade currency: Radianite unlocks skin levels and variants. Sources: battle pass or VP purchase – details in the Radianite guide.
Kingdom Credits: The earnable free currency (since 2023): unlocked by playing, redeemable for agents and older accessories in the agent store.
Skin tier: A skin's price class: Select (875 VP), Deluxe (1,275), Premium (1,775), Exclusive (2,175+) and Ultra (2,475). All tiers explained in the tier guide.
Bundle: A skin package with weapons, melee and extras at a package price. Our bundle database lists all 166 bundles with prices.
Night Market: The discount shop with six random skins at 10–49% off, several times a year. Dates and countdown: Night Market date.
Battle pass: The season pass (1,000 VP) with skins, sprays and Radianite across 50 tiers – whether it is worth it: battle pass check.
Chroma / variant: Alternative color versions of a skin, unlocked with Radianite – often only at higher skin levels.
Finisher: A premium skin's special animation on the round's final kill – the prestige feature of expensive skins.
Gifting: The only official transfer: gifting skins to friends directly at purchase in the store. Trading or transferring from your inventory does not exist – more in our guide on selling skins.
Locker (Spind): Your skin collection. The Valorant-Spind app calculates its euro value automatically – locally and without login.
Community & esports
Smurf: An experienced player on a low-ranked second account. Frowned upon and actively fought by Riot.
Boosting: Paid rank-ups on someone else's account – violates the Terms of Service and risks bans.
Whiff: Completely missing a shot you really should have hit.
Diff: Short for "difference" – e.g. "Jett diff": the gap between two players in the same role decided the match.
GG / FF: "Good game" at match end; "FF" is the surrender vote (forfeit) available from round 5.
VCT (Valorant Champions Tour): Riot's official esports system of international leagues, Masters events and the world championship final – explained in the esports guide.
Champions: The annual world championship of the VCT – 2026 in Shanghai. The Champions bundle traditionally releases around the event.
Masters: The international mid-season tournaments where the best teams of all regions meet.
Ascension: The promotion path: through Challengers leagues and Ascension tournaments, teams can earn a spot in the partner leagues.
Drops: Rewards (e.g. sprays or titles) for watching official VCT streams with a linked Riot account.
Frequently asked questions (FAQ)
What does RR mean in Valorant?
RR stands for Rank Rating – the visible rank points. You gain RR per win; at 100 you climb one tier. Your hidden MMR influences how much RR each match gives you.
What is the difference between MMR and RR?
RR is your rank's visible point total, MMR the hidden rating of your true skill. If your MMR sits above your rank, you gain more RR per win – the system pulls you toward your real level.
What is eDPI and how do I calculate it?
eDPI = mouse DPI × in-game sensitivity. It makes sensitivities comparable: 800 DPI × 0.4 sens = 320 eDPI. Most pros play between 200 and 400 eDPI.
What is an eco round?
A save round in which the team deliberately buys little, so that a full buy with rifles and complete utility is affordable next round.
What does thrifty mean?
Winning a round with clearly cheaper equipment than the enemy – for example a pistol round against rifles. Valorant then displays "Thrifty".
Which terms should beginners learn first?
For a start you need: spike (the bomb), eco/full buy (buying behavior), rotation (switching sites), trade (avenging a teammate) and crosshair placement (reticle at head height). The beginner guide covers the rest.