Is Crouching Bad in VALORANT?

One of the most common habits of beginner and even intermediate VALORANT players is that they crouch excessively while shooting. You’ve arrived at this page, which means you are curious to know if crouching in VALORANT is bad, especially if you have the habit yourself.

Crouching is a hotly debated topic in the VALORANT community. While some pros include crouching as a bad habit in their list of tips, there are a notable number of players who say that it is easier to shoot and get a knock while crouching.

Well, both points are valid from different perspectives. Crouching can be beneficial in some situations, while in others, it can be the reason for your lower KD. Continue reading this VALORANT crouching guide all the way to the end to learn about the advantages and disadvantages of crouching. Before that, take a look at the quick answer to the question in your mind.

---

Is crouching in VALORANT really bad?

No, crouching isn’t bad, but excessive crouching, regardless of the circumstances, is bad. Crouching needs to be practiced by considering the situation at hand, such as whether the combat is short-range or long-range, the weapon being used at the moment, your aim precision, etc.

Most players who have made crouching a habit immediately hit the crouch key and begin spraying as soon as they see an enemy without first assessing the situation on the field. This is something they should strongly avoid if they want to improve.

Crouch spraying can be helpful for VALORANT beginners. However, with time, they should evolve their playing style and avoid frequent crouching.

---

Advantages of crouching

If you master crouching at the right time, you will certainly have the following advantages:

1) Maximum bullets will strike enemies

The foremost advantage of crouching is that when you crouch-spray, maximum bullets strike the enemies. This happens because when you spray bullets, the gun’s nozzle gradually climbs, causing the bullets to go over the enemy’s head.

But when you crouch-spray by keeping the crosshair in the middle of the target, the maximum number of bullets hit it, with a tendency to connect to the enemy’s head, which eventually helps you grab more kills.

In the case of shoot-first-then-crouch, you will not need to take your crosshair down by dragging the mouse; crouching will do that by itself.

2) Enemies will find it difficult to make headshots

Crouching in time allows you to defend yourself against lethal bullets to the head. Most headshot-magnificent players do not crouch frequently; instead, they aim for their opponents’ heads and land a one-tap shot. By crouching before the front fires, you can avoid being eliminated.

3) Crouching does not produce footstep sounds

Footsteps can be the ultimate reason for your elimination in accelerated combat. Thanks to the crouch state, you will not be producing any walking sounds while crouching. Shift + walk produces no sound as well, but crouching adds this benefit while serving a different set of purposes.

---

Disadvantages of crouching

Aside from the advantages of crouching in VALORANT, the disadvantages of doing it are more prominent.

1) It’s challenging to get headshots

When you crouch, you are ultimately taking your crosshair down, but the fact is that the enemies’ heads will remain up, except in a crouching state. This eventually makes hitting precise headshots challenging.

Because of unnecessary crouching, you will likely miss the headshot and get punished on the spot by the opponent.

2) Crouching too early leads to bad crosshair placement

Those with a habit of crouching often crouch as soon as they spot an enemy without adjusting the position of the crosshair. This practice should be avoided because placing the crosshair in a crouching position is not very accurate.

3) Crouching takes a bit of time – the enemy will not allow that

Crouching requires pressing an additional key, which increases the overhead. If you are a beginner, even a slight delay in shooting the enemy can result in your elimination because the enemy may not give you that time gap.

4) Crouching decreases movement speed – it becomes challenging to escape

It is no secret that walking while crouching slows you down. Movement is important in fast-paced combat, especially when the ammo is depleted and you need to step back for reloading or you have missed an operator or marshal shot. In such cases, contending in the crouch position may be less efficient.

---

Pro tips and tricks to crouch in VALORANT

1) When not engaged, keep crouching to avoid uncertain headshot elimination

Have you ever been hit while you were unaware of the enemy? Your answer is most likely to be yes. One of the biggest fears in-game, especially in first-person shooters, is that there is a high chance of being hit silently as you do not have a 360-degree viewing angle like you have in third-person shooters.

So, to decrease the odds of being targeted silently, you should frequently do crouch-walk when not engaged in combat. The enemies will likely miss their first shots.

2) Crouch only after precise crosshair placement

Winning a battle necessitates quick and accurate crosshair placement. Aiming is a difficult task in and of itself, but doing so while crouching makes it even more difficult. As a result, remember to crouch only after you’ve placed the crosshair in the proper position.

3) Strafe instead of crouching too early

To ensure your bullets stick to the target, you must position yourself quickly in VALORANT. You will undoubtedly pay the price if your position does not allow you to assault your enemies effectively.

Crouching too soon may put you in an awkward position. Therefore, you should strafe until the enemy properly comes within the range of your gun.

4) You should crouch in close and mid-range engagements

You should avoid crouching in long-range fights as there is no significant benefit in doing it, rather you may stick in trouble when escaping a situation. You should crouch in close and mid-range fights as there you usually do not get a chance to escape the warfare. Additionally, you can spray bullets with slightly increased accuracy while crouching.

---

Solution to get rid of crouch HABIT

If you think you have developed a crouching habit, you should adopt a solution to get rid of it.

The simplest and most effective way to break the crouching habit is to unbind the crouch key or make it difficult to access. The latter is more recommended, as crouching may be necessary in specific situations.

You can set the crouch key far from your habitual finger and ensure there is no key bound to that previous key to avoiding mistakes. This is because your finger will naturally gravitate to that location.

---

FAQs about crouching in VALORANT

If you have any feedback for us, please send us an email at feedback@gamingskool.com. It will assist us in enhancing our content.