The viewing system of Valorant is already giving out to players moments that are just amazing and unlucky together, which leads to the question whether the game is really just. ValorantUpdated just recently shared a clip that got viral in no time and it somewhat exemplifies perfectly how a shot that seemed impossible could take place and the community would feel both laughing and being annoyed. In the video, the dead gamer appears to take a very illogical way of dying and that has, in turn, brought the whole community to talk about the notions of luck, hit registration, and connectivity problems with the most popular of Riot Games‘ tactical shooter.
Now about the footage, it going like this. The character is Phoenix, and he is holding one corner with an Odin gun, which at least is a bit of an unusual choice for attack, but you know, that’s the way. He shoots through some shrouded smoke or has another way and until… the bullet just goes out. Is it even curving around the corners? The arc in the replay is simply bonkers. The player who fell is definitely pissed off and maybe even smashed his keyboard. The thread under the tweet is also full of such sentiments.
One of the commenters, Sophia exclaimed ‘this is the bullshit that happens to me whenever I play’ and tagged one of her buddies at the same time. This is very much a common thing indeed. Everyone has been through this and the realization of being the victim of a harsh and unfathomable twist of fate from the Valorant gods is a feeling that everybody has gone through. Another user, poteto, pushed the conversation even further by stating ‘it happened because phoenix is bl’. Not quite sure what that means but it certainly echoes the situation. We do have Phoenix mains with a strong personality coming off as a somewhat different kind.
‘Skill issue’ comments are there as always, the classic and ever-present complaints on the internet. A user named Erkonyx just replied with ‘Skill issue’ to a user complaining about ping. This led to another discussion about network connection. User Dxrpan2 remarked how one needs ‘100,000 Gbps internet speed to rank up in Valorant.’ What followed was a pretty extensive discussion about latency, Internet providers and server locations that was quite lengthy and drawn out. E.g. one user, 3o14eo, was trying to figure out the internet connection of another player located in Morocco or thereabouts. The user asked ‘where are u from and what servers are u connecting to’. It got real technical very quick and it looks like people are really passionate about their internet connection and that the stable connection is everything while others just take the classic ‘git gud’ approach and the debate goes on and on.
Now back to the original clip. These are the moments which the replay system really effectively points out. In the past, you would die and not have the slightest clue about what just took place. You would simply think the other player was using hacks. Nowadays, you can even go back and have a look at how much luck was involved. Or sometimes, you see the bullet going through your friend, then through a wall and finally hitting you on the head. redrazalf shared a CS:GO story when a bullet went through his friend’s…uh ‘balls’, then a wall and hit him in the head. They reported the dude thinking it was hacks but it was the ‘just a coincidence’ type. It’s just that on such occasions the stars are aligning in the worst way for you.
And community reactions attract the said reactions of despair and a yearning for that sort of luck. ‘Wish I got this kind of luck one day 😔’ user Aava confessed. It is a fact that we only see the clips of luck being with the viewers, not with the ones making all the magic. We are all just sitting patiently waiting for our moment of being the Phoenix with the magic bullet. ‘That shot should have kill clover as well.’ was the comment of the user analyzing the clip frame by frame, as if a gamer is very observant.
The community’s excitement has no limit, and even a single clip cannot be said to have played alone; it signifies a broader emotion in competitive shooters, the randomness that, at times, feels almost built in. The server tick rate, the peeker’s advantage, how a single packet loss can turn a sure kill into a humiliating death. The replay system, a great tool for improving and creating content at the same time, also lays bare all the little cracks in the experience. It shows you just how thin the line is between a highlight play and a ‘WTF just happened’ moment.
Certainly, the first thing to come to mind for many of the players is to report the case as cheating. User MasterCripto commented, “You can be sure that he was reported by cheating.” It is an instinctive reaction. When something is impl
PlayStation and Xbox gamers might find this discussion particularly interesting.
