Much like 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Counter Strike's bomb, the spike is the central element of Valorant's gameplay. While seemingly straightforward, planting and defusing the spike is more nuanced than is immediately apparent. Given the dozens of abilities of the Agents in Valorant, knowing as much about the spike as possible can often be the difference between victory and defeat.

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This can feel daunting for new players as the Valorant tutorial only gives general information on how the spike works, leaving out core mechanics that beginner and veteran players need to kn𝄹ow to succeed. How you transport, plant, and defuse the spike varies from Agent to Agent and from different team compositions.

How The Spike Works

Unarmed Spike

1💧68澳洲幸运5开奖网:The spike (🌞sometimes referred to as the bomb) is a device that g𝓀ets planted on designated sites on each map. When planting, the spike initially makes a loud beeping sound, and after🌃 the 4-second plant time, it makes a loud thud that can be heard from a large distance away.

Once planted, an announcement 🐻can be heard telling both teams that the spike has been planted. The timer at the top of the screen is replaced by a red flashing spike indicating the time left before detonation. Once detonated, the spike creates a black sphere with a 35-meter radius that will instantly kill any player caught in it.

Ultimate Charge

Ultimate Charges Before And After Planting Spike

Ultimates can be difficult to charge, especiallyౠ if you are not getting a lot of kills. While getting the orbs scattered around the map helps, planting and defusing the spike is just as useful. When planting the spike, whoever makes the plant is awarded one ultimate charge, which makes communicating who plants the spike important.

The job generally falls on the support classes while the duelists hold angles, but it is sometimes more effective to let 🌠the duelists plant if they are close to getting their ultimate. This is also true of defusing, as whoever disarms the spike is awarded an ultimate charge. It is common for teams to plan for this, especially when the enemy team has been wiped out and the site is secure.

Default Planting Positions

Viper Shooting Lineup Onto Default Plant Spot Of A Site Of Fracture

While bomb sites allow the bomb to be planted anywhere in the highlighted area, every site has a default position that is the most common to plant at. These positions usually offer cover so that the planter is not killed during the four seconds they are vulnerable. While the default location is not always the best, it is generally safe and creates a standard location that 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:can be used for many team lineups.

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These lineups create ways to protect the spike from being defused from safe positio🥀ns that are normally distant from the plant site. Agents like Viper and Brimstone are perfect examples of this,🏅 as their molly abilities can completely stop the enemy from defusing in the last critical moments before the detonation.

Planting In The Open

Spike Planted On B Site Of Fracture With Firing Angles Circled

A common mistake that new players make is always planting in the default location. While the default location offers excellent cover while planting, it also offers that cover to the defending team while they defus♕e. The reduced number of angles on the spike makes it easier for the defusing team to predict where you will be when you peak to protect the spike, oftentimes making you an easy target when they fake defuse.

When your team has secured a site, a better choice is to plant the spike in the open. This allows more angles to see the spike, forcing the enemy to be more cautious when attempting to defuse. The best open plant spot should be areas where💜 the spike can be seen from long positions as well as from the various site entry points.

Planting In Corners

Spike Planted In A Corner Of A Site On Fracture With Sage Setting Up A Wall

Planting in corners is𝕴 another tactic that new players use, since it limits the angles the enemy can see you plant by 270 degrees. These positions o🀅ften offer less cover, making it harder for the enemy team to defuse the spike.

When coupled with 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:abilities like Sage's Barrier Orb, it can mean the difference between winning or losing a round. Additionally, corners are static locations like default, allowing players with mollies to use lineups like they 🔯would in the default position.

The Spike Bounces On Crates

Valorant Spike Bouncing On Top Of Container At Haven B Site

Many Valorant agents have abilities that allow them to reach elevated areas that other agents can't reach. If those agents were to die with the spike, the spike would be unreachable and the attacking team would lose. Fortunately, Riot Games thought of this, and when the spike is dropped on crates or other high areas, it will bounce in the direction the player was facing until falling to the ground.

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This mecha🦋nic can also be utilized on sites like B Site on Haven, letting you move the spike across the site tꦉo a teammate while they stay in cover. This is a niche tactic, but it is something that will definitely catch the defenders off guard.

Fracture Spike Reset

Before And After Locations Of Spike After Being Dropped Off The Zipline On Fracture

Much like the crate technique, Fracture offers a unique way to move the spike quickly across the map. Moving on the ziplines is a fa💮st way to travel from one side of the map to the o🅰ther, but it leaves you completely in the open. A trick to preventing this is understanding how the spike reset works on the ziplines.

When dropped, the spike will respawn on whatever side of the map you are closest to. This means that if you see the enemy team waiting for you on the side you're headed to, or just want to shave a few seconds off of transport time, it is possible to drop the spike and let it respawn closer to your teammates.

Defuse Time

Spike Being Defused

One mechanic that Valorant fails to let you know in the tutorial is how long the spike takes to detonate and how long it takes to detonate. Coupled with the fact that the timer at the top of the screen is changed to a symbol post plant, new pꦬlayers can have diffi🃏culty knowing how much time they have left to retake a site.

The spike itself takes 45 seconds after it is planted to detonate, and it takes seven seconds for it to be defused. If de🙈fused for 3.5 seconds, the spike will reset to the halfway point when canceling a defusal. Knowing these timings is essential since it not only allows you to judge whether you should let the spike explode to save your weapon for the next round ꦉbut also lets you know if it is worth it to stick your defuse while there is still an enemy lurking.

Fake Defusing

Sage's Head Visible After Jett Fake Defuses Spike in Valorant

A common tactic for defenders when defusing is to fake defuse. When defusing, the sp꧋ike will make a loud beep to warn the enemy team. This can be used to your advantage as this is when enemies will peak from their defensive positions, making them easy targets for you if you can anticipate where they are hiding.

It is a mind game tactic that can be used any time and𝓰 can let you dodge molly lineups that would normally kill you during defus🔯e.

Sound Cues

Map And Ping Showing The Maximum Distance The Spike Is Audible From

The spike has many sound cues that can help you determine what to do in a round. The first important cue is the constant beeping a planted spike makes for the first 35 seconds post-plant. This sound can be heard from up to 60 meters away, which is important to know if you're not sure which site the spike has been planted.

The next sound to pay attention to is when the spike beeps begin to speed up. This lets you know that there are 10 seconds left before detonation, and once the spike beeps spไeed up again, you know it is too late to defuse. This allows you to determine whether you should save during a round, saving you precious credits during the next buy phase.

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