Valorant Escalation guide: tips & tricks for new TDM game mode

Escalation is Valorant’s take on a Team Deathmatch (TDM) mode, but for CS:GO players, it’d be reminiscent of Arms Race. With that in mind, read on to learn how to win more games in Escalation with a range of tips and tricks to stomp your foes.

Escalation is now the fourth major Valorant game mode. The TDM-style mode draws on elements of CS:GO to bring a whole lot of chaos and fun to the game.

If you want to jump into the action, we’ve got all the info you need to make sure your first game ⁠— and many others after it ⁠— are all wins. Well, that’s if you’ve got the aim at least.

How does Escalation work in Valorant?

If you ever played Gun Game or Arms Race in CS:GO, you’d get the gist of Escalation. It’s slightly different from those game modes, but the primary objective is the same: get kills, and swap guns when you do.

Instead of it being based around individuals, Escalation is a team game. You need to hit a set amount of kills with a certain weapon as a team. Then, you’ll progress onto a new weapon. Typically, the weapons will range from most deadly to least deadly, before ending with a final knife round.

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It’s not just weapons too. It’s Agent abilities ⁠— so you could have to watch out for a million Shock Darts or Showstoppers flying your way too. Whoever gets to the final knife round and gets seven kills first wins.

Play as a team

It’s called Team Deathmatch for a reason, and in Escalation, you’ll win a lot more games if you play as a team. If you group up and attack as a ball, against most weapons that’ll serve you well. Just be mindful if Raze’s Showstopper or shotguns are in play, and adapt if needed.

If you play together, running around the map as a unit, you’ll win most of your fights at a five versus one or two enemies. It’s simple math.

Find areas of the map that work for your guns

Where you can really gain an advantage in Escalation is playing in the right parts of the maps for your gun. You don’t want to be using shotguns in Mid on Icebox ⁠— look towards holding down A Site.

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If you position correctly around the map, you’ll give yourself the best chance of winning duels, and those small fights can ultimately win you the game.

Remember to utilize health packs

Just like Deathmatch, enemies will drop health packs when they die. If you take damage in a fight, you can use it to top up. However, these health packs can also be the perfect bait. You can hold them, catching unsuspecting enemies looking for a heal.

If you take these three things into account, you’ll give yourself the best chance of winning a game. Obviously, having great aim and other core mechanics is even better, but the small one-percenters do add up.

Be sure to jump into Escalation as it’s only around for a limited time, but could be making a return permanently down the line!