There are a lot of bland descriptions about what is lurking in Valorant, but what really is lurking? And what does the lurker do?
Lurking is a role that takes game sense and awareness, the basic correct description of the lurker is that the player performing this role will provide the team information, about areas that the rest of the team is not around.
How lurking really works in Valorant?
Here are the points that create a good lurker:
- Great communication, the lurker contributes by giving information to the team, letting them prepare ahead to what is to come
- The lurker can stay in the same area without "doing much"! Providing good information is what the lurker is doing, but of course, by staying in good spots
- Being able to distinguish footsteps: this is more than great for a lurker! Yes the agents have different footsteps, but being very hard to distinguish, if you have a hard time doing this, try to recognize the difference between male and female footsteps
- Fast thinking: the lurker will often provide information of what is going to happen soon enough, and thinking about the next step for their team needs to be in an instant
Another big point is that the lurker shouldn't be "working alone", for example, hiding information from the team will often be more a problem than a help for your teammates.
If your teammates know you are lurking, and you are not giving information, it can be safe for them to assume that the enemies are not on the side of the map you are lurking, and this can be misleading.
Talk with your team, let them know the last information you had about the enemies.
Lurking is not about killing
Absolutely not, the lurker often will be in unexpected positions, where they will have a great advantage over an unwarned enemy, but that doesn't mean they should take that kill.
Trigger discipline is something not new to Valorant, competitive CS:GO also gives importance to this technique. Trigger discipline happens when you can easily kill an opponent, but you don't, to avoid revealing your position.
If your positioning is more valuable than fragging an opponent, or you know that a bigger advantage will come if you wait some time, then having trigger discipline helps you to take the most advantage over your position.
The lurker will often be in positions that are more valuable than a single pick, this is why a lurker that just wants to frag, and doesn't communicate with the team is a big disadvantage, it is a role that requires patience and discipline.
Lurking is about killing
Of course not, but you need to find the balance between killing and providing information.
You don't want to be the last person alive on your team because you are in a random place while they were fighting all the enemies, this is totally what lurking is not about.
If you are lurking to get information, while your team is fighting all the enemies, what information are you after? You should be helping your teammates!
Not everybody can play as lurker
Don't get me wrong, you can definitely practice and play well as a lurker, but it is not a role that you can just play like any other.
Not only that, but the communication skills to play as a lurker also play a part in this statement, the lurker can often make decisions for the team, and having confidence in your plans is a must.
The different special aspects of the lurker role are what makes players play as just another fragging role. This makes them lose the opportunities they should be looking after for their team.
How valuable is the lurker?
People like to measure everything using kills, it is a quantity we have to measure, but that doesn't account for other aspects of a team game.
Great lurkers can stay with a mid frag score, they are not on the top, even if they provided game-changing insights for their team, and roles like this get undervalued in any game.
If you like to play as a lurker, you will get better at it the more you practice, and you will have to deal with the players that don't understand the role, and this is true for any game.
Don't be discouraged, and after all, have fun!
