Valorant Introduces Swiftplay Game Mode

Should everything go well, we might see Swiftplay added as a permanent mode in Valorant soon.

December 2022 brought us the 5.12 patch update, the Chamber adjustments, more skins in the  Valorant shop , and a brand-new game mode. Hold onto your seats because Valorant officially has a new game mode for us: Swiftplay. Essentially, it’s a bite-sized version of the standard Unrated mode that we all know and love. This condensed variation is designed for those who want a quick match; if you can’t stick around for more than 30 minutes to finish an Unrated, it wouldn’t hurt to dabble into Swiftplay. If you’re wondering what the latest game mode in Valorant is about, don’t worry—we’ll let you in on everything we know about it.

How Does Swiftplay Work?

Playing Valorant’s Swiftplay mode is as easy as pie, and if you’ve experienced the Unrated mode, you will know more or less what to expect. According to Riot Games, Swiftplay is your typical 5v5 Unrated game mode, with the difference being that it takes only about 15 minutes to finish. The gaming mechanics and the rules are the same as those of the Unrated matches. You’ll have a single Spike Carrier and two teams that will play as attackers and defenders, with both teams switching sides after four rounds.

Whichever team wins a total of five rounds will win the entire match. Like Unrated, you can pick an agent in your  Valorant account that you already own. What’s more, Riot has stated that they’ve streamlined the economy to make it more favorable for players when playing Swiftplay.

Before Swiftplay Happened

Lots of things have changed since the introduction of Patch 5.12. The update's highlight was undoubtedly Chamber’s adjustments, which proved bad news for Chamber mains. However, in exchange for that, we did get a new game mode, so at least there’s a silver lining.

Before we had Swiftplay, you had to settle for other game modes, such as Spike Rush and Replication, if you wanted to have a quick match. We can’t deny that there’s fun to be had when these modes, but they just don’t offer the same kind of fun that an Unrated has in Valorant. In Replication, while you have access to the buy screen, you and your mates must use the same agent in a best of 5. Meanwhile, in Spike Rush, the abilities of the agent you chose and the guns you’ll wield throughout the match are already pre-picked for you.

If you wanted to play a standard match in Valorant that wouldn’t affect your rank, you had no choice but to go with Unrated. Unrated is fun, but they take a long time to finish; an average match in Unrated can take at least 30 minutes to complete. Plus, even though there aren’t any high stakes like in ranked matches, you can’t help but get competitive in Unrated due to the sheer time it takes. Playing Unrated is like committing, and should you lose in the end, you can’t help but feel like you’ve wasted a lot of time.

Getting to Know the Ins and Out of Swiftplay

Swiftplay is a fast-paced game mode, so the developers decided to tweak the economy system to fit the requirements. At the beginning of the match, you and your other mates will get 800 Creds; the Creds will reset to the same amount once you switch sides after four rounds. In the subsequent round, you’ll have at least 3.200 Cred if you lose and 800 Cred should you win. You can earn more Creds throughout the match by doing the following:

• Plant the Spike: 300 Creds
• Kill an opponent: 200 Creds
• Lap Loss (3): 1.000 Creds
• Lap Loss (1): 500 Creds

Here’s the set amount of credits that are awarded to teams at the start of rounds:

• Round 1 of each half: 800 Creds
• Round 2 of each half: 2.400 Creds
• Round 3 of each half: 4.250 Creds
• Round 4 of each half: 4.250 Creds

In addition, the 2.4090 Credit rounds can drop another 600 Credits if you’re on a team that wins the pistol round. Since you can carry over your weapons and Credit throughout the match, survivability is more important than ever since you can choose to steamroll your opponents in the end to take the win unexpectedly.

Since the economy is tailored to Swiftplay, you don’t have to worry about not being able to buy one of those expensive guns.

The map pool for Swiftplay will be the same as Unrated’s, meaning the map rotation for Swiftplay will include seven maps (excluding Split, Breeze, Bind, Ascent, Icebox, Haven, and Pearl).

Will Swiftplay Be A Permanent Game Mode in Valorant?

Swiftplay is currently in beta, so we’re unsure whether Riot Games would add it to Valorant’s slew of game modes. If you have the time, we recommend trying it out with your Valorant account before Riot removes it from the game on January 10. As for what we think, we have high hopes that we’ll see Swiftplay being added to Valorant permanently once the beta is over. Not only is the mode ideal for practicing, but it’s also a great way to jump into a match without committing too much time.