It’s time to delve into some of Valorant’s deeper features – specifically, how progression and monetization work. Valorant is free-to-play, meaning you can enjoy all its core gameplay without spending a cent. However, there’s a rich system of cosmetics and rewards designed to enhance your experience and let you show off your style. In this deep-dive article, we’ll explore the Battle Pass, the in-game store and skins, and the role of Valorant Points (VP) – the premium currency.

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Leveling Up and Unlocking Agents

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Before we talk about spending money, let’s touch on progression that’s free. In Valorant Mobile, as you play matches, you’ll earn Account XP. This contributes to your Account Level (displayed on your profile). Leveling up might grant rewards at certain milestones – for example, in Valorant PC, hitting certain levels unlocked new Agents or gave bonuses; the mobile version likely has a similar system where early on you’ll unlock a few additional Agents for free. Keep an eye on the Agent Unlock quests or contract system:

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• Agent Contracts: Typically, Valorant has something called Contracts – you can activate a contract for a specific Agent you want, and by gaining XP, you progress through that Agent’s contract to eventually unlock them and get some cosmetics for them. On mobile, expect that you won’t have all Agents immediately; you’ll gain more by playing. So even if you don’t buy anything, you can get a decent roster just through gameplay.
  
  
• Daily/Weekly Missions: These give chunks of XP or other rewards and are key to progressing your Battle Pass (more on that next). Make sure to complete them for an XP boost.
  
  
  

Battle Pass: Is it Worth It?

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Most free-to-play games these days have a Battle Pass, and Valorant Mobile is no exception. The Battle Pass is a seasonal progression track (usually lasting about 8-10 weeks) where you earn rewards by gaining XP and leveling up the pass. Here’s how it works and why many players consider it the best bang for your buck if you’re going to spend:

• Free vs Premium Tracks: Valorant’s Battle Pass has a free track and a premium track. The free track will give some rewards to everyone – typically things like a few gun skins (usually the less flashy ones), some in-game currency or cards, sprays, etc., spaced out over the levels. The premium track, which you unlock by purchasing the Battle Pass (cost is around 1000 VP), provides a reward at every level, including more elaborate gun skins, melee skin, gun buddies (charms), player cards, and extra Valorant Points or Radianite Points (currency used to upgrade skins).
  
  
• What’s in a Season Pass: For instance, a typical pass might have 50 levels. On the premium side, you’d get perhaps 5 new gun skins (one for each weapon category maybe), a melee weapon skin, a bunch of cosmetic fluff (stickers, sprays, titles), and importantly, often enough Radianite Points to evolve certain skins or maybe a small rebate of Valorant Points. The free side might give one or two skins at specified tiers (like level 10 and 25), some Radianite, etc.
  
  
• XP to level it: To level up the Battle Pass, you just play and complete missions. If you play regularly (few matches a day, do your weeklies), you can typically finish the pass before it expires. If you start late or play very casually, it might be tougher – but even then, you keep whatever tiers you did unlock.
  
  
• Value Assessment: For ~1000 VP, the Battle Pass is widely regarded as worth it if you enjoy cosmetics. It’s the cost of maybe one or two store weapon skins, but you get a bundle of them plus extras. The catch: Battle Pass skins are usually “mid-tier” – they don’t have fancy special effects or animations as the high-end skins do (those are the ones sold separately in the store for higher prices). Still, they look great and are unique to that season (they might never return, which adds a cool factor).
  
  
• Encourages Play: The pass gives you something to work toward each session, which can be motivating. Even if you’re not spending, utilize the free track rewards. But if you are willing to spend a little, the pass is typically the first thing veterans recommend because of value per VP.
  
  
  

Skins and the In-Game Store

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Valorant is famous for its awesome weapon skins. These are purely cosmetic – they don’t give gameplay advantage (aside from psychological maybe – a cool skin might intimidate enemies or make you feel more confident!). Here’s what to know:

• Store Rotation: Valorant Mobile will have an in-game store where specific skins or bundles are sold. Typically, there’s a rotating shop with featured items. On PC, each player gets a unique daily shop with 4 skins that refresh every 24 hours, plus occasional featured bundles that everyone sees. On mobile, it may be similar: expect a section for current Bundle (e.g., a set of themed skins like “Dragonfire bundle” including 4 guns and a knife), and a Night Market or rotating offers.
  
  
• Skin Tiers and Pricing: Skins have tiers (select, deluxe, premium, ultra, exclusive) that determine their VP cost and level of special effects.
  
  
  
  • Lower-tier skins might just be recolors or simple models – cost maybe 875 VP.
    
    
  • Mid-tier deluxe skins (~1275 VP each) often have custom models and animations but maybe no kill effects.
    
    
  • Premium (~1775 VP each) usually have unique firing sounds, reload animations, and kill banners/effects, and are upgradable with Radianite to have variants/colors.
    
    
  • Ultra/Exclusive are the top end (2000-2675 VP or sold only in bundles)– these are like crazy skins (think dragons that animate when you reload, or guns that transform). They’re expensive but flashy.
    
    
• Bundles vs Individual: When a new skin line releases, it’s often sold as a bundle for a lump sum (with a slight discount vs buying each individually) and includes some extras like a gun buddy or player card themed to it. After the bundle period, skins can show up individually in your daily offers. So if you don’t want the whole set, you can wait and hope that one skin you like appears later.
  
  
• Free Skins: Aside from Battle Pass, Valorant doesn’t give many free skins. Occasionally, events or promotions might. But mainly, free cosmetics are things like sprays, titles, gun buddies via pass or events. Weapon skins you typically either earn via Battle Pass or buy.
  
  
• Upgrading Skins – Radianite Points: Some skins have variants (different colors) or additional flashy effects unlocked by spending Radianite Points (RPs). Radianite is a secondary currency you mainly get from the Battle Pass or occasionally buy with VP (but that’s usually not worth it directly). For example, a premium skin might let you spend 10 RP to unlock its green color variant, or 15 RP to unlock the finisher visual effect. As a beginner, don’t stress too much about Radianite; if you do the Battle Pass, you’ll accumulate some and then you can upgrade your favorite skin if you buy one.
  
  
• Do Skins Help Aim? A common meme is “skins get wins” or “pay-to-win skins” because some have cleaner iron sights that people feel help aiming, or sound cues that are more satisfying. Officially, they’re not pay-to-win. But confidence and clarity can affect your play. My advice: buy skins if you love the look/feel, not because you expect it to make you a god-tier player. Plenty of pros fry with default skins just fine.
  
  

FOMO and Budgeting: It’s easy to fall in love with skins – Riot’s art/design team does a great job. But be mindful: it can get pricey if you try to collect a lot. Perhaps treat yourself to a skin of your absolute favorite weapon (like if you always use the Vandal, getting one Vandal skin you adore is a good investment vs buying skins for guns you rarely use). The Battle Pass is cheapest way to fill your inventory with decent skins across multiple guns, and then maybe one or two premium skins for the guns you use the most will round you out nicely.

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Valorant Points and Top-ups: Getting the Best Value

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Let’s talk currency specifics:

• Valorant Points (VP): This is the premium currency you buy with real money. Everything in the store (skins, battle pass) is priced in VP. As standard, the more money you buy in one go, usually the better bonus you get (e.g., $5 for 475 VP, $10 for 950 VP + bonus, $50 for 5000 VP + extra etc.). If you think you’ll ultimately spend that much eventually, buying a larger pack can be more cost-effective due to those bonuses.
  
  
• Radianite Points (RP): As mentioned, mainly from battle pass. You typically can’t directly buy a ton of RP (or if you can, it’s with VP at a poor conversion rate). So the best way to get RP is through passes. Save these for skins you actually own and want to upgrade. No point having 100 RP if you have no skins to spend on – although they carry over season to season.
  
  
• Events or Sales: Valorant PC occasionally has a “Night Market” where random skins are offered to you at a discount. Valorant Mobile might implement something similar down the line. If you’re patient, you could get a skin cheaper. But it’s random which ones you get offered. Keep an eye on announcements for any limited sales, coupon codes, or cross-promotions (for example, sometimes they do a promo like “link your account and get a free loot item” etc.). We’ll try to keep readers updated on such things via our blog too.
  
  
• Avoid Loot Box Temptation: Valorant doesn’t use loot boxes for skins (thankfully no gacha). Everything is direct purchase or battle pass. That’s good – you know what you get. So the main spending decision is just which items justify the price for you. I’ll note: having a custom skin can make the game feel more “yours”. But skill still matters far more. There are also plenty of free player cards, titles and such to personalize your profile if you don’t buy skins.

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