Valorant is a tactical, team-based FPS game created by Riot Games. The title has multiple unique characters in the Agent pool for players to choose from, ranging from Duelists and Initiators to Controllers and Sentinels. Out of these characters, Raze is arguably one of the best characters to begin with. In the right hands, Raze can become an explosive engine that deals damage and controls the map.
Here's our comprehensive guide to playing as Raze in Valorant.
Read More: Valorant: How Agent Contracts Work
Is Raze Good in Valorant?
In terms of Valorant's story, Raze is from Bahia, Brazil and represents the Duelist class in Valorant. She requires unlocking before you can play as her, but she is undoubtedly one of the strongest Agents, blessed with an explosive set of abilities.
Raze's set of abilities allow her to clear areas quickly, and she can use her Blast Pack to also get a height advantage over the enemy. This makes Raze quite a versatile Agent that can rush on sites while attacking, and defend incoming opponent retakes with quick positioning.
Is Raze Good for Beginners?
Raze's kit gives every bit of firepower a beginner needs to master this game. She is the only Duelist to have an arsenal of explosives that can effectively take down the opponent without precise gun play, meaning she is perfect for players also not entirely experience with FPS games either.
Although, while Raze's set of abilities may sound easy at first, they can take will take a while to master, especially her Blast Pack. After taking some time to practice with Raze and her abilities, she is great for those getting used to Valorant.
How To Play As Raze — Abilities & Skills
Boombot - Raze equips a Boom Bot. Fire to deploy the bot, causing it to travel in a straight line on the ground, bouncing off walls. The Boom Bot will lock on to any enemies in its frontal cone and chase them, exploding for heavy damage if it reaches them. The Boom Bot can be destroyed by enemies.
Blast Pack - Raze instantly throws a Blast Pack that will stick to surfaces and begin arming over 0.5 sec. Re-use to detonate, damage and knock away anything hit. Shooting the pack will also cause it to detonate. Damage falls off to 30% at the max range. Blast Pack will not damage Raze or allies, but they can still suffer fall damage.
Paint Shells - Equip a cluster grenade. Fire to throw the grenade, which deals damage and creates sub-munitions, each exploding and dealing further damage.
Ultimate: Showstopper - Equip a single-use Rocket Launcher and light its fuse. Fire to launch a rocket, which travels in a straight line and explodes on contact, dealing high damage to enemies caught in its blast radius.
Raze's Best Weapons
The best weapons for any Agent will depend on their play style. So if you're aggressively pushing sites for entry, then these weapons will be the best choice.
- Ghost
- Stinger
- Specter
- Phantom
- Bulldog
In case you are hanging back as Raze and adopting a passive play style, then work your way around with the following weapons:
- Guardian
- Vandal
- Odin
- Ares
- Operator
If you are entering sites by double-jumping with Satchels, then make sure to use the Spectre, Bulldog, or the Phantom over other weapons for close-range accuracy.
Tips for Playing Raze in Valorant
Raze has a high pick rate in the higher ranks and official tournaments, due to the amount of damage she can deal using her abilities. There is no rule set in stone while playing Raze, and most of the ability usage will get better with practice. For starters, anyone trying to play with Raze should focus on their basic movement, aim, game sense, and decision-making skills.
Raze's Boombot and Paint Shells allow her to damage enemies while closing down spaces swiftly. The Boombot in particular is the perfect ability to enter a site with. While the bot can be destroyed by the enemy, it will give Raze a crucial second to react and kill the opponent before they can reposition their crosshair, and will reveal the enemy's location.
Raze can also gain a height advantage over the enemy by using her Blast Packs. However, mastering the double-jump technique with Raze will take some practice. For instance, players can use Raze's satchels to jump onto any of the boxes and structures on different maps, giving her an unexpected angle to take out enemies from.
- To perform the double satchel jump with Raze, players will need to do the following. Gain a certain amount of momentum before jumping on the blast pack to get a forward boost. Without letting go of the W key (forward button) use the second satchel mid-air. The trick to use Raze's blast pack/satchels properly is to time it right.
Finally, Raze's ultimate is the Showstopper, which gives her a bazooka to target opponents with. Its large area damage destroys anything in its trajectory and instantly kills an opponent. Raze also gets a neat blowback from the bazooka, which can save her from the blast radius if she is close by. Most of the time, Showstopper will guarantee a kill on an unsuspecting rival. However, opponents in higher ranks will tend to wait out Showstopper's timer to avoid any casualties.
Raze's Weaknesses
Damaging and entering spike sites is fundamental to any gameplay as Raze in Valorant. While this is her greatest strength, it can also become her fatal flaw. For instance, entering a site without using abilities to clear out corners will usually result in death for Raze. Similarly, throwing a grenade every time an opponent shoots you will only waste a crucial utility.
Most players have noticed that it is easier to kill a Raze when she's trying to use her abilities, and this is because of the animation for each ability. Raze is at her most vulnerable when she is jumping up with Blast Packs or aiming her grenade. At the same time, it is more difficult to control any weapon while Raze is in mid-air. Players must make a note of this when using her abilities, and on the other hand, enemies should try to use these flaws to their advantage.
In conclusion, Raze is one of the strongest Agents in Valorant who can deal a lot of damage to the opponents. There is very little to counter Raze in ranked games, so the best advice is to shoot on sight, or make her waste her abilities and target her during the use of them.
That's all you need to know about playing as and countering Raze in Valorant! To find who is best for you to play as in Valorant, check out our tier list of all agents here.
This article was updated on 17th November 2021 by Kelsey Raynor.