Since its official launch in 2020, Valorant has become a popular online, first-person shooter game. Similar to Overwatch or Team Fortress, Valorant allows you to team up with your friends or random players. But does Valorant include any bots to play against offline?
There are bots in Valorant located in the tutorial section and the training range. You can fight against these bots in practice mode to improve your skills. However, there are no official bots in the custom game mode. The only way to add bots in custom games is by utilizing the cheat function.
So, in this article, we are going to discuss how to add bots in a custom game as well as how to play against bots in practice mode. Additionally, we will look at the possibilities of Valorant adding AI bots in the future.
What Are Video Game Bots?
A video game bot is a computer-generated character that performs specific tasks. For example, in many RPGs, there is a tutorial segment at the beginning given usually by a Non-Player Character (NPC). This type of tutorial NPC is a classic example of a video game bot.
In essence, you can consider all the NPCs in a game as bots. These are usually implemented in the game by the developer. But recently, players have started to add their personal programs in a game to play on their behalf. These programs are also considered bots.
Can You Play with Bots in Valorant?
Since Valorant is an online-based FPS game with a ranking system, the developers are strict on the use of bots, especially those created by third-party programs.
Valorant does have bots of its own. But as of now, they are limited to just the offline segment or practice mode. You cannot play the actual game using bots. And when you enter a match in Valorant, all other characters are controlled by other players. You do not come up against any bots or AI-generated characters in multiplayer mode.
Valorant also does not allow you to add bots in their games. This is because of the ranking system. People can simply use bots to play on their behalf and earn points without requiring any skill on the player’s part. As such, you cannot use bots to assist you when playing ranked games.
Can You Play Valorant Offline with Bots?
The only place where Valorant utilizes bots is in its offline mode. The main appeal of Valorant is to team up with your friends and compete with other teams online. But in order to enhance one’s skill, the game allows players to participate in practice games.
The game has a unique map called “The Range”. This is a training ground that you can access offline. Here, you can train against bots to improve various skills such as shooting, switching weapons, spike planting, etc.
To play Valorant offline with bots, follow these steps:
- Launch the game.
- On the top center of the menu, you will see the “Play” option. Click on it.
- Then select “Practice” from the bottom left of the screen.
- Select the training option that you want to practice by clicking on it.
- Then click “Enter Range”.
Valorant offers 4 different training simulations, each with different benefits. Compete in them all to improve your all-around skills.
How to Add Bots in Valorant Custom Games?
As of now, you cannot officially add bots at will in Valorant. But there is a creative way to get around this restriction. To do so, follow this step-by-step guide:
- From the main menu, go to “custom game”.
- Navigate to the Custom Game Option and turn the “Allow Cheats” option on.
- Start the custom game and select Sage as your character.
- Open settings.
- Go to the cheats tab.
- Turn on “Ghost Mode” and assign a keyboard shortcut to it. This mode allows you to explore the entire map without any restriction.
- Set the “auto-respawn” option to on.
- While on Ghost mode, fly up in the air. Then turn Ghost mode off by hitting the right key. This will drop your character to its death.
- Thanks to Sage’s ultimate ability, Resurrection, you will be able to revive yourself. And this will create your first bot.
- Repeat this process until you have your desired number of bots.
Will There Be Bots in Valorant in the Future?
Currently, there is no legitimate way of adding bots to custom games in Valorant. Fortunately, the developers have announced their intention of adding this feature sometime in the future. This will most likely come as a sort of update for the game.
If implemented, this may allow players to add other agents as AI-powered bots in custom games. Players will be able to use this feature to warm up before a ranked match or simply pass the time within the game’s world. Fighting customizable bots can help newcomers to develop their skills quicker.
Of course, this feature is still in development. And there is no news on how long the update will take.
Conclusion
So, are there bots in Valorant? Well, despite being mainly an online-based game, Valorant utilizes AI bots in certain features to benefit the player. Hopefully, in the future, they will allow players to add customizable bots, which will make for a more creative and fun gaming experience.
