Not everyone has the time in the day to sit down for a full game of competitive or even unrated VALORANT. But now players have an alternative option for shorter matches other than just Spike Rush, following the beta release of the new Swiftplay mode alongside Patch 5.12.
The new mode, officially live in-game as of Dec. 6, is a “condensed” version of the standard unrated mode. It has all the typical features of a normal unrated game of VALORANT but lasts as long as a typical Spike Rush match, which is roughly 15 minutes.
Swiftplay consists of two four-round halves, with the first team to reach five rounds crowned the winner. Unlike Spike Rush, there is a single spike carrier, and weapons and credits carry over between rounds. Players will have a set amount of credits to start each round; 800 in the first round of a half, 2400 in the second round, and 4250 in the third and fourth rounds.
The team that wins a pistol round, however, also gets an improved 600 credit bonus to start the second round, on top of the standard bonuses for kills (200 credits) and spike plants (300 credits). Additionally, each player will start with two ultimate points granted. Overtime is a single sudden death round.
Given the current version of Swiftplay is still a beta, it is not the final product and will only be available for a short time until Jan. 10, 2023. The VALORANT mode is subject to changes and updates as Riot Games receives feedback from players from over a month of testing. While not explicitly stated in the release notes, players should be able to progress any active missions while playing Swiftplay. There is no ranked play for Swiftplay.
Other competitive multiplayer titles like CS:GO and Overwatch have experimented with quicker game modes in the past and found success, and if the VALORANT community embraces Swiftplay on its release, it could end up being a permanent addition.
