For individual performance, many statistics get analysed to measure a player's efficiency in-game, these statistics could be kill-assist-death (KDA) ratio, creep score, win rate or round win rate. For my performance analysis, I will be looking at "BigAndy" and his individual performance in a Student Champions VALORANT game. This game was played on the 13th December 2023, joining "BigAndy" in this game was the the Craven Crusaders team, "Shnoodle", "Dekko", "Raven" and "Natoy".

For "BigAndy"'s individual performance, I would make a training plan to help improve his aim, movement and utility usage. I would suggest using Aimlabs or Kovaaks to help with aim, movement can be improved through playing consistently, watching how other people move around and utility usage can also be improved through playing and listening to what teammates want and responding quickly. For example, I would suggest setting up a training plan as follows:

• Aimlab/Kovaaks training for 30 minutes using a custom, personalised playlist of tasks

• The Range (In-game VALORANT training) for 20 minutes, practicing movement and aim around the robots. The robots provide good aim training as you can practice your crosshair placement, recoils of different guns and practice movement whilst improving your aim, without moving whilst shooting, as it is inaccurate.

• Deathmatch (2-3 games) to help with movement of players and individual aim. Deathmatch is a free-for-all game mode, allowing you to be able to kill multiple people quickly, training your reflexes and reaction times alongside aim and movement.

• Actively playing the Competitive VALORANT game mode. There is no point trying to improve from playing Unrated, you will need to be matched against enemies of similar skill level, if not higher, in order to improve and Competitive (has skill-based matchmaking) would provide this. You also gain more experience from competitive, getting into the higher ranks may increase your chances of being recruited for an esports team.

I would also suggest watching professional players or VOD reviews to allow you to see where improvements with in-game strategies and executions need to be made. Improving utility usage in-game can be improved through watching VODs too as you will see when other people use utility to give them an advantage. Continuously sticking to a training plan will improve individual performance as you will be improving the skills you are weakest on, allowing you to improve your overall performance. For example, improving your aim will also improve your in-game movement as a big aspect with aiming mechanics is moving to avoid catching the bullets from your opponent.

Aims and objectives would help "BigAndy" to progress further and faster as he will have set goals to work towards. I would recommend goals for improving aim, movement and utility usage. These goals would be:

• To practice crosshair placements around different areas of the map, for example if the map is higher in one place and lower in the other and you are stood on the higher bit, your crosshair would need to be lower than if you were on even grounds.

• To get faster movement around the map, making smoother turns and have more coordination whilst moving. In the VOD "BigAndy" was making movements much slower than he should have, meaning his opponent was able to kill him quicker because his movement was slower, and he was able to move around less. 

• To improve movement whilst taking fights with people. Work on counter-strafing to increase the chances of winning duels against your opponents.

• To improve utility usage to increase the chances of winning your duels. For example, on defence, using the "Slow Orb" ability more to delay the push of your opponents, allowing your team to come help you defend the site.

Some goals to improve performance could also be within a personalised training session. Sticking to the training plan will improve all your skills, if the plan is personalised towards your needs.

• To create a training plan personalised to your needs. Watching VODs from professional games, or of your own games, will allow you to see what you need to work on, what strategies need developing and how much needs to be improved.

• To stick to your training plan, both before and after a session. Playing before your session will allow you to warm-up for your game, after a session will allow you to see how the warm-up routine and playing a game helps improve your skills.

One recommendation I would make for personal strengths is to play often enough, preferably in competitive modes. This would help improve game sense, improving game sense allows you to improve utility usage and movement. Knowing when to use utility and knowing where to move when, all falls under the game sense category. Understanding how to play out a certain situation will increase your chances of winning duels and games as you will have a strategy to use.

One strength "BigAndy" had in his game was his communication was good, he was able to clearly let his teammates know where an enemy was and he asked for utility from his teammates to be able to execute a strategy. The only issue was that he often communicated things that did not need to be, making his teammates miss information, causing confusion and sometimes, deaths.

Another of his strengths was his positioning in a post-plant situation. He placed himself in a good position, not taking risky fights and not exposing himself to too many angles at once. The issue was him swinging into fights he did not need to take, sometimes losing them because of his crosshair placement or the way he swung into the fight.

Having the correct equipment for the game you are playing is crucial for succeeding. For example, with VALORANT, you need a high-end PC with a keyboard, mouse and ideally a microphone in order to communicate with your  teammates. In Gran Turismo, a series of racing simulation games, a PlayStation is required and to get the best experience, a racing simulation kit would be a good addition, especially if you are playing competitively.

"BigAndy" plays VALORANT often, more so at home then at college. Therefore, he is more used to his equipment at home, this being his own keyboard and mouse. Using other equipment would cause you to perform at a lower standard as you will not be used to the size of the keyboard or weight of the mouse.

Some skills or activities "BigAndy" could use to improve his performance could be applications such as "Aimlabs" or "Kovaaks". Aimlabs and Kovaaks are both aim trainers, used to help improve your aim. Both applications have many categories and tools to improve aim, tasks and playlists are created to master flicking, tracking, speed, perception and cognition. "BigAndy" would benefit greatly from this, he would be able to practice crosshair placement and all the weaker aspects to his aim.

Practicing hand-eye coordination exercises will allow you to react faster, performing an action faster from what your eyes see to how your hands react is an essential aspect in improving and developing in-game techniques. If you can react faster to what your eyes are seeing you can react to an enemy, piece of utility or react to a situation faster, increasing chances of winning duels, rounds, and games. To improve hand-eye coordination, you could play reaction-based video games (Aim Trainers/FPS Games/MOBA Games), play catch or bounce a ball against a wall.

Using mental practices could also improve performance in-game. Being able to stay calm, collected and focused in-game is crucial to having good performance. Breathing exercises and short exercises are recommended to reduce stress, anxiety and other mental health issues, these are quick and easy to do before a game, allowing you to prepare for the game and may cause you to play better as stress and anxiety symptoms will be reduced.

In-Game Statistics

"BigAndy" ended the game with a KDA of 11/17/7. This is not a bad KDA for the role he played, this being sentinel. Sentinels are not supposed to get a lot of kills, their main job is to gain information and defend a bomb site by delaying using utility until the rest of the team can give you backup, however if he were to have lurked throughout the game, catching opponents off-guard, he would have been able to get more kills and gather more information as the opponents may not expect a lurk, therefore they would not be waiting for him, providing "BigAndy" with opportunities to get more kills. All of his kills were spread out throughout the game, meaning his performance was consistent and his kills were impactful.

Mechanical Skills

There was a lack of mechanical skill throughout a lot of the game, his movement, strafing skills and survivability often caused him to lose duels. His positioning post-plant was good a lot of the time, however he often swung into fights he should not have taken, sometimes losing the duels. This caused the team to suffer as they would have been a player down, giving the opponent an advantage. However, when he was defending middle, he used his wall ability to deny a push from his opponents and did not take the fights that would lose his team a player. His aim throughout the game was inconsistent, the shots he did hit, were clean and composed, for the most part, but again, the fights he swung into and lost, were purely because of his inconsistency with aiming and movement. As stated previously, mechanical skills can be improved through external applications (Aimlab/Kovaaks).

Communication

"BigAndy"'s communication throughout the game was often clear and consistent. He was able to produce clear information about where opponents were and how much damage had been given to an opponent. He asked multiple times for utility from his teammates in order to gain space on a site, if attacking, or delay a push onto a site if defending.

Conclusion

In conclusion, "BigAndy" performed well throughout this game, excelling in his communication skills and maintaining a good mentality throughout the game. Mechanical skills need to be improved, however the mechanics he did show throughout the game (positioning and defending) made him a vital asset to the team. If he were to improve his aiming mechanics and game sense, he would further be able to support his team and make the game easier to win for his team. For example, if he were to have lurked more, getting a kill and surviving, his team would be at an advantage and if his team were to play it correctly, they would win because of this advantage.

"BigAndy" showed good performance throughout the game, he stayed consistent with his kills during the game, getting impactful kills and information for his team. However, some specific improvements that could help "BigAndy" play at a higher standard could be:

• Using his "Slow Orb" ability more frequently to delay opponents pushing him, giving his team time to help him, allowing him to live. Using his utility at the correct time and identifying where it can be used to improve the impact of it will help him further progress in VALORANT.

• Understanding the correct time to swing an opponent and take duels with said opponent would increase the effectiveness of the information he gains. Alternatively, he could use his utility to delay the opponents until his teammates get there, in which you could swing into the opponent together, increasing the chances of winning the fight against the opponent. A lot of the post-plant situations he played well, helping his team when needed and staying in a position that gives him the highest possible chances of winning a duel.

• "BigAndy" has a good understanding of the map he was playing on, knowing each corner of the map and knowing where opponents could possibly be hiding. However, strategies from him and his team lacked, often repeating the same strategies, allowing the opponents to adapt to these strategies. To improve strategy he would benefit from watching VOD reviews of professional games, seeing how they strategize and play out a situation. He could also try different things in the game, as stated previously, he could benefit from lurking more and could also suggest and coordinate with his team about strategies and gather their opinions on the suggestions.

The overall quality of "BigAndy"'s performance was very good. He played most situations well, despite needing to work on some mechanical skills, his overall performance was good for his team. The most effective skill of his was his communication, he was able to provide information for his team about where opponents where and how much damage was given to each opponent. Despite his KDA being negative, his kills were impactful and required for winning the game.

One of the primary targets for the team was to win the game whilst loosing as little rounds as possible. If the team were to win with as much advantage as possible, they would gain confidence for their next game and would be able to see clearly what strategies worked and what did not work throughout their game. However, even though it was a close game, this gives a lot of feedback and areas of improvement for the team, especially seen as the games were recorded from multiple POVs (Point of Views), allowing the team to review where improvements needed to be made for each player individually and the team as a whole.

The team also wanted to find a team composition that worked for them, based on each players strengths and weaknesses. For example, "Raven" started as a "Duelist" but when both her and the team realised the role was not for them as they did not play as aggressively as they needed to, they were switched onto the "Controller" role, which matched their playstyle much more.

Finally, the Craven Crusaders wanted to improve as a team, creating more chemistry and allowing them to create more strategies, figure out what worked and what did not work. This goal was achieved both during, and after the game. Due to how close the game was, the Crusaders wanted to improve together, this caused them to play together outside of a college environment, playing VALORANT, alongside other games such as Overwatch, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Minecraft and more. Team chemistry is essential for a team to improve, without team chemistry, arguments and miscommunication becomes an issue, reducing stress and making the team get along with each other as much as possible will improve team performance as a whole.

Strengths

• For the most part, the team composition was strong and followed the current Meta (Most effective tactics available) of the  game. The only change that would be made would for for "Natoy" to move on to the "Duelist" role, as this would fit his playstyle more. This would mean they would have a more aggressive playstyle, with there being two "Duelists" and less information.

• Each player had their own individual skills, meaning they were able to work with these skills if the team did not strategize well. Every member in the team understood their abilities, it was just a matter of knowing when to use them, which could be improved through play-time and VOD reviews.

Weaknesses

• One huge weakness for the team was the lack of communication. This was partly because the team were playing in a college environment, and the only piece of equipment that was not ideal was the headsets, the microphones picked up too much background noise, making it difficult to hear in-game sounds. This meant that communication lacked and strategies were not formed. This brings me to my next point:

• The team lacked strategies which meant the opposing team were able to counter their pushes easily. This was partly the reason they lost so many rounds. For the future, the Crusaders could use "ValoPlant", a strategy maker personalised for VALORANT, here they would be able to create strategies based on their team composition and playstyles. However, they would have to test these strategies in-game and tweak them as they go if they are not working as expected.

Communication lacked throughout the game. There was occasional communications from some members, however a lot of the time, the voice chat was very quiet. This meant strategies could not be formed and information was missed, causing in-game deaths or arguments after the game. Some information was narrated, however not enough to create flawless and working strategies. A lot of time, many members had to work off of what they saw, not what they heard from their teammates. For example, if a member were to swing an angle, the rest of the team would have to work together to help create an advantage for this fight.

"BigAndy" had good communication and often tried forming strategies and announcing information to the rest of his team about opponent locations, also asking for utility. From this, the rest of the team worked from these call-outs, using the utility requested.

Before playing, BigAndy played one Deathmatch to get used to playing on a setup different from his home one. In my opinion, one Deathmatch is not enough to warm up all the mechanics needed in-game. As there are so many different mechanics, there should be multiple training routines using both in-game games and external warm-up applications (Aimlab/Kovvaks). If BigAndy had warmed up before his game, there may have been less flaws and his performance would be better as he would be adjusted to the new environment and would not have to worry about warming up whilst in an important game, in this case, in a Student Championship game. It is better to go into a game as warmed up or familiar as possible with all aspects of the game (aim/movement/ability usage/positioning/strategies) to be able to play at your best.

In the game, their team composition was “Jett”, “Sage”, “Omen”, “Skye” and “Breach”. BigAndy played “Sage”. “Sage” is a Sentinel, meaning they are best for lurking and defending a bomb site. In this game, BigAndy did not lurk often and stayed with his team, when a possible strategy change could be to lurk and catch the opponents off-guard, giving your team an advantage. 

BigAndy’s post-plant (after the bomb has been planted on the site) positioning was good, he stayed clear of taking risky fights against opponents and positioned in a place that he could only be shot from one angle as his teammates were holding the other angles. He rotated well when needed, often listening to his team when they needed help, sometimes over-rotating, giving the enemies the opportunity to push the weaker defended site however he still rotated well and quickly when needed. Throughout the game, BigAndy used his “Barrier Orb” (wall) every round in the game, alongside using his “Healing Orb” (heals teammates for 100hp and if used on himself, heals for 30hp) most rounds, using his ultimate, “Resurrection” (bring a teammate back) whenever he could. The only ability he did not use as often was the “Slow Orb” (throws a slowing orb on the ground, making enemies 50% slower if stood in it).

When “BigAndy” fought an opponent, his mechanics were weak, he often had poor crosshair placement and did not strafe well when needed. This can be improved through aim trainers (Aimlabs) and continuous playing. Sometimes, “BigAndy” took fights he did not need to, losing his team a player and giving the enemies an advantage, I would recommend playing safer by using his utility to delay a push from an opponent until his team can help him.  

Another mistake was playing the game the same way on the attacking side. There were very little strategy changes and no lurks were made to throw off the opponents. This made the attacking side more difficult as it meant the opponents were focused on the push that the team were doing, having all five members holding the push.  

Each player played into their strengths, allowing me to identify their weaknesses. For example, both "Shnoodle", "Raven" and "Natoy" lacked communication and "BigAndy" and "Dekko" lacked mechanical skills and ability usage. I would suggest making personalized training routines to build on mechanical skill and build chemistry with the team to help with easier communication.

The Craven Crusaders performance is inconsistent, performance fluctuating throughout rounds. The limited ability usage caused their pushes to be predictable, letting their opponents counter them easily. If the Crusaders worked on consistency and utility usage, they would be able to succeed further in a competitive scene, improving individually and as a team.

I will be providing feedback through VOD reviews, casual chats and screenshots as I believe this is the easiest way to convey information to someone.

“BigAndy” took all my feedback on board, asking questions about what I concluded whilst watching his VOD review. He asked what I would have done in the situation, alongside asking what more could have been done in the situations he was put in. This meant he was able to learn from his performance in a constructive, positive way. There were some things he disagreed on, for example, he disagreed about his utility usage throughout the game but after I explained what I had found throughout his VOD and he soon agreed, asking more questions about how he could improve. He repeatedly changed his sensitivity throughout the game instead of sticking with one sensitivity, adjusting his sensitivity disregards the warmup he partook in before the game because he warmed up with one sensitivity, and then changed it in-game means he now has to get used to the new sensitivity in an important game, decreasing his performance. Another mistake was playing the game the same way on the attacking side. There were very little strategy changes and no lurks were made to throw off the opponents. This made the attacking side more difficult as it meant the opponents were focused on the push that the team were doing, having all five members holding the push. 

The feedback I gave the rest of the team was all relatively similar, and everyone took it the same as "BigAndy". Some members (Shnoodle and Dekko) did not ask as many questions as the other of the members, which made me believe they either understood what I was saying or did not agree with what I was saying.

Recording games, watching the footage back to understand the strengths and weaknesses to learn from mistakes would help build skills needed to excel in VALORANT. If each player were to record themselves playing, watch the videos back with their team and analyse each aspect of the game, where the players made mistakes and what could be done differently, their strategies, individual and team performance would improve. Making sure each player has an individual training plan personalised towards them would help them to improve their own skills, building on their strengths and improving their weaknesses. For example, if their weakness is their aim mechanics, I would suggest they use an aim trainer, like Aimlabs or Kovaaks, if their weakness is utility usage, I would suggest watching professional VODs to see where they could use their utility in a similar situation.

Constructive criticism from a third-party source is one of the best ways to improve, so gaining feedback would help players improve quickly and efficiently. For example, if you were to be taught by a professional coach about the aiming mechanics, you would take what they say on-board, using this to improve your performance.