thank you for the advice! means a lot xxx

I think part of it for me was also friends ranking up without me that made me feel hardstuck, I know I haven't played the game super long but I deadass played with people who never play valorant, don't use util, and crouch spray everything that placed a full rank higher than me when doing placements, it all just felt super depressing and de-motivating, thats why I made this post :)

after all the comments I'm definitely downloading aimlabs after this! I didn't before because I've heard stories of players not finding value in it
also will be playing lots more dms!
general EU lobbies are just super rough because no one entries, no one holds plant, no one plays correct post plant and what not :((
but thank you so much for the tips! genuinely super appreciated and helpful xx

thank you for the tips! much appreciated xx

i actually used to spam clove loads!! I posted my tracker on a reply earlier so you can have a look xx but I spammed clove when I was literally like iron3 and couldn't hit shots to save my life lol
i still play clove occasionally but the smoke nerfs are rough dude
but definitely will take your suggestion and play DMs a LOT more, thanks for the tip, genuinely much appreciated xx

i think u mean 2 to 4 hours? haha xx
and tbh i actually do watch a lot of VCT/ valorant streams! even went to see it live :))
i think one of my bigger problems is panicking/spraying a lot when I know I have the aim/game sense to combat it, but that's something i just need to work on for myself and not a lot of tips can fix that lol
but thank you so much for the tips! really appreciate it, means a lot!!

genuine question, I warm up in the range usually (will move on to doing so in DMs) but do you think aimlabs will help? i've heard from different people that they found aimlabs really unhelpful, and tend to just click heads in the range xx
thanks for the tip though! much appreciated xx

already don't listen to music so there's that! but thank you for the tips, means a lot xx

I consistently get 25/30 in the range on medium difficulty, but I panic spray a LOT when enemies are flooding into site/having to retake
Definitely working on my mechanics, thank you for the tips! means a lot xx

this is a very me thing but I'm scared of playing duelist, i have no problem playing entry but i'm scared of getting out dueled and getting flamed by teammates for not fragging :( will start playing more DMs though, i mostly warm up in the range until i feel confident haha
but thank you for the tips! it means a lot xxx

I used to play loadsss of clove but the smoke nerfs are killing me :(( but defo working on mechanics and what not! Thanks for tips tho, its refreshing to see people nice and encouraging on here xxx

Definitely working on my peeking a lot recently! I have played tejo a little and I've performed okay with him, is this my sign to grind tejo lmao
but honestly thank you for the tips! Helps a lot xxx

idk how u had the strength to keep going! good on you xxx hope same goes for me!

https://tracker.gg/valorant/profile/riot/jpice%23czc/overview?platform=pc&playlist=competitive&season=16118998-4705-5813-86dd-0292a2439d90

don't laugh pls :(((

I've tried kj and don't find her super fun but I can play a little cypher! I'm very map dependent on whether I'll pick cypher or not, sunset is my most confident map to play cypher on!
Thank you for the tips and motivation! Means a lot xxxx

funny thing is i do love playing controller! I play a lot of astra and I find it super fun, but also terribly aware that astra is one of the worse agents to rank up with! Used to main a lot of Clove but the clove nerfs are hitting me HARD
Thank you for the motivation though! Means a lot xxx

Hi, so just for context Valorant is my first ever video game that requires mouse and keyboard. Before September of 2024, I've never played any video game let alone an FPS. My rank right now is Bronze 3 and I've been stuck b3 for all of 2025 basically, its been impossible to get out of no matter how hard I try. I used to have a duo to constantly queue with but they've ranked up to Gold now and I'm unable to queue with them anymore. Solo queue in Bronze is actually impossible, especially in EU ranked. Most of the time there are no comms, or players that don't even put down util. I usually main controller, and I've been told that KD is essential to ranking up and controller is not the best role to boost KD, but I'm just stuck in a position where if I don't play smokes, either no one plays smokes or they don't know how to smoke properly! What's more frustrating is that even when I do play smokes, its difficult to coordinate when people are no comms.

Another problem is that because this is my first fps, people try to tell me a lot how to play/what I'm doing wrong. As helpful as this is, it often comes off like I can't do anything right! I get told "you've smoked too early, we're not even on site yet" and "you've smoked too late you should be smoking before we're on site", all in the same game! Its become incredibly frustrating, and also de-motivating at the same time.

I set a goal to hit Gold this year and now that its April it feels more and more hopeless that I'll achieve this. I don't have great aim, its decent and I'm trying to work on that, I've also been told my peeking needs work, and I am trying to work on that, but it all feels really hopeless. I used to be able to queue ranked over and over and over but now I just stop playing for the day if I lose one.

I've also tried CS as a desperate attempt to try another fps that I might enjoy, but CS just wasn't fun for me at all and I enjoy the util element of Valorant anyway.
I know tips and tricks to improve, I'm just feeling depressed about all of this, and being bad at Valorant just feels like another thing in my life that I'm not any good at.
Can anyone offer their experiences? Anyone who's felt and experienced the same and managed to get out? Thank you!