Valorant is a tactical shooter game where you are given credits at the start of each round to purchase weapons, abilities and shields. If you didn’t have much of an idea about the Valorant economy, you would struggle to buy your favorite weapons or skills and face defeat against a team that’s more careful without their credits.
Screenshot via YouTube/@skillcappedvalorant
In this guide, we will get into everything there is to know about the economy in Valorant, including how to spend your credits thoughtfully, eco rounds, half-buys and full-buys.
What is the Economy in Valorant?
As mentioned before, you get credits at the start of every round in Valorant. Killing opponents, dying, winning, or losing a round usually determines how many credits you will earn the following round. This is the most basic definition of economy in Valorant.
For example, in the very first round (pistol round) of an Unrated or Ranked match, you are given 800 credits to purchase sidearms, shields, or abilities. If you win the round, you will get more credit in the next round compared to if you lost that round.
The maximum amount of credit you can have is 9000. The economy resets when your team switches sides between defense and attack. Lastly, during overtime (rounds after a 12-12 draw), your team will always get 5000 credits for each round.
Earning Credits
How much credit you earn depends on winning, losing, and other outcomes.
- Per kill = 200 Credits
- Planting the Spike = 300 Credits
- Winning a round = 3000 Credits
- Losing a round = 1900 – 2900 Credits (depending on loss bonus)
- Staying alive during a round loss = 1000 Credits (added with loss credit)
In Valorant, sometimes dying to Spike or your opponents will secure more credits than staying alive and saving. This is usually when you don’t have a good weapon to take into the next round.
A loss bonus is the added number of credits you get as your losses stack up. For example, after the first round you lose, you will only earn 1900 credits. Each subsequent loss after that will increase your earned credits until it reaches 2900.
These numbers may seem confusing at first, but as you keep playing and learning, you can get the gist of the economy in no time.
Spending Credits
You can spend your credits in Valorant for the following:
- Weapons
- Shields
- Sidearm
You can also buy weapons for your teammates if you have extra credits.
At the start of the game or after respawning in a round, you will always spawn with Classic, the free sidearm of the game. Other than that, every weapon requires credits, and the better the weapon, the more expensive it is.
The economy in Valorant will be unique to different Agents, as you also have to spend credits to buy abilities. For example, you won’t have to spend too much on utilities when playing an Agent like Reyna or Iso, as their abilities are mostly self-sufficient and not always required for the entire team. That’s why you can get away with not buying every ability.
On the other hand, when you are playing Agents like Killjoy or Astra, you will always be required to have at least some part of your utilities, as they are important for the rest of your team.
By pressing the buy menu (“B” on PC), you can see what each ability, weapon, and shield costs, and if you have enough to buy them.
Valorant Economy: Buy Menu Interface
What a lot of guides tend to miss when talking about Valorant’s economy is the buy menu interface, which can teach us a lot about managing your credits, what to buy, and when to save.
Screenshot via u/enessus
The buy menu interface will show you the cost of everything, starting from weapons to abilities. On the left side, you can see how much credit you and your team have. This will help you decide when to buy expensive weapons and when you should stick to cheap sidearms or SMGs.
One of the most important things you should keep an eye on in the buy menu is the “MIN NEXT ROUND” number on the top left. This number signifies the least amount of credit you can secure in the following round. This means, that even if you die without killing a single enemy, you will at least have that specific amount of credit left.
You will notice that the more you spend, the lower the “MIN NEXT ROUND” number gets. This, again, helps you decide when to save and when to buy. We will get into that more in the next section.
Valorant Economy Terms
If you have been playing Valorant for a minute or have watched the game’s Esports, then you have heard terms like “half-buy,” “eco,” and “full buy” floating around here and there. These are the game’s economy-related terms, and getting familiar with them will take you one step closer to understanding how you can manage your credits.
Full Buy
Screenshot via YouTube/@proguidesvalorant
A full buy, usually, is when you are able to buy a rifle (Vandal or Phantom), full shields and necessary abilities in a round. This type of buy is possible only from the third round of the game, and you will need at least 3,900 credits for it.
Winning a regular (non-pistol) round in Valorant is highly dependent on securing a full buy for your entire team. As you can see, losing a round will make this impossible, and that’s why you have the concept of saving credits during specific rounds in the game.
Eco Rounds
Screenshot via YouTube/@proguidesvalorant
If you have won a round with too many casualties, or have lost a round, your team may not have enough credit for a full buy. For example, let’s say your team has lost the fourth round of a match and in the next round your team has around 2900 credits, which will not allow anyone to full buy.
In those rounds, spending all your credits will be a bad idea for a few reasons:
- You will have bad weapons and less utilities
- Your opponents will have better weapons and more utilities
- Your team will not have enough credits for a full buy in the next round if you lose
For these reasons, it’s better to save your credits in those rounds, making sure you have at least 3300 credits reserved for the next round.
During an eco round, you can purchase sidearms like Sheriffs, or SMGs, paired with light shields or no shields and a few utilities.
Half Buy
A half buy is in between an eco round and a full buy, where your team has enough money to buy rifles and minimal utilities, along with light shields. Some players may even opt for full shields along with SMGs. The goal is to keep enough credits for a full buy next round.
Force Buy
A force buy happens during specific rounds, where your team decides to spend full credits even though all of you do not have enough credits for a full buy. Force buys usually happen when you have lost way too many rounds or losing the ongoing round will result in defeat.
Bonus Buy
Screenshot via YouTube/@proguidesvalorant
After winning the first and second pistol rounds, your team may decide to have a “bonus round.” During this round, you will follow the same concept as a half-buy, making sure you have enough credits for a full buy in the next round. Winning a bonus round will keep your economy healthy for a few upcoming rounds.
As you can see, there are a lot of nuances when it comes to managing your economy in Valorant. One of the most important things to remember is whether you decide to save or buy, do it as a team. Communicate with your teammates to decide if you should go for an eco round or spend all of your credits.
