Valorant’s Team Deathmatch Mode Promises “No Econ, All Action”

Valorant, Riot’s tactical hero-shooter, is getting a Team Deathmatch mode, and it promises “No econ, all action.”

Team Deathmatch, which arrives June 27 alongside the game’s major 7.0 patch, is a big change of pace for Valorant. The game is known for its round-based gameplay that is heavily inspired by Counter-Strike, where players must carefully manage their funds each round to acquire weapons, consumables, and abilities. Dying in a round means sitting the rest of it out.

In Team Deathmatch, none of that will matter. Players will respawn every 1.5 seconds and there will be no economy to speak of. Over the course of the match, each player’s loadouts will be automatically upgraded. Stage one of the match will see players battling it out with pistols, for example, before later becoming progressively more deadly. The fourth and final stage will let players battle it out with the game’s two most popular weapons, the Vandal and Phantom assault rifles.

Battles will be 5v5 on three new maps. Whereas players in Valorant’s other modes need to purchase abilities for their chosen character, abilities in Team Deathmatch will automatically recharge over time. More powerful weapons than what is currently available each stage will periodically spawn around the map and can be picked up, albeit with limited ammo. The first team to 100 kills wins.

A new trailer for the mode establishes the lore behind why each team can kill each other ad infinitum, along the way adopting the “Live. Die. Repeat” tagline from the 2012 time-loop film Edge of Tomorrow starring Tom Cruise. The trailer features one of the game’s original launch agents, the fire-wielding Phoenix, alongside Valorant’s latest playable character, Gekko.

Valorant’s 7.0 update will add more than just Team Deathmatch. It will also be overhauling the free-to-play shooter’s progression system, with updates to daily rewards and the addition of a new currency called Kingdom Credits earned through gameplay that can be used to unlock cosmetics and new agents. A new “accessory” store in the game’s shop will let players use their Kingdom Credits to purchase emotes, sprays, and other items that were featured in previous battle passes.