There's a ton of interest around Valorant, the character-based tactical shooter from Riot Games (developers of League of Legends and Teamfight Tactics). It set Twitch streaming viewership records with 34 million hours watched in a single day and, at one point, reached a peak concurrent of 1.7 million viewers.

Whether or not it's from the thirst for beta access, Valorant is gaining notoriety by combining aspects of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Rainbow Six Siege, and Overwatch. For those who haven't dug into its systems or haven't even had a chance to play, here's our basic rundown so you can get a full picture of what Valorant is about.

Agents Are The Real Heroes

The "heroes" in Valorant are called Agents and there are five to start off with an additional five to unlock, which you get from simply playing the game and earning XP on your account. Each player chooses who to play as throughout an entire match, and only one of each Agent is allowed per team.