Mastering Valorant: A Step-by-Step Guide to Taking Perfect Screenshots

Valorant is a popular multiplayer first-person shooter game that has taken the gaming world by storm. One of its key features is the ability to take screenshots, capturing epic moments and sharing them with friends and fellow gamers.

In this article, we will explore what Valorant is, how to take a screenshot in the game using different methods, where these screenshots are saved, and how to view and share them. We will also provide some tips for taking good screenshots in Valorant.

If you’re ready to up your screenshot game in Valorant, keep reading!

What is Valorant?

Valorant (officially written as VALORANT) is a tactical first-person shooting game developed and published by Riot Games, the same company that has several global hits including League of Legends. It blends simple gunplay with diverse agent abilities, strategic mechanics, and esports readiness. Players independently choose an ‘agent’ who has unique skills and weapons to fight their opponents. It was announced with the codename Project A in October 2019, formally unveiled with its present name in March 2020, and released in most regions on June 2, 2020.

Valorant operates on a distributed system of game servers and core game shells, and it operates on the Unreal Engine. The player profile and career information, which includes anything from level and gun skins to the behaviors such as AFK, chat conduct, reports, and mentality alerts, is stored on the nucleus services. This information can easily be accessed from any active game shell server, and Valorant improves the user’s connection by matching agent movements with the use of network optimization.

Each match in Valorant consists of 25 rounds, with 12 rounds needed for victory. In case of a 12-12 scoreline, an extra round known as overtime is played. Three agents, or sometimes players, take turns as the attacker side to plant a Spike bomb. The opposing team (the defense side) has the job to prevent the other team from planting the Spike. If planted, they must keep the spike from being disarmed by the defending team. Attackers earn points to buy and upgrade guns and spawn abilities by eliminating defenders. The defense side shall win rounds by blocking the spiker from being planted, or if planted, they will either defuse the spike, or wipe-out all the attacking players, thereby defusing the Spike.

What is a Screenshot?

A screenshot is an image taken by a computer or device showing the contents of a display at a particular time. Operating systems will copy an entire screenshot of the entire computer screen (=Display 0) to the clipboard when either the Print Screen or PrtScn key (also abbreviated as Print Scrn, Prt Scn, etc.) or other key input combinations such as Alt+PrtScn or Windows+Shift+S are pressed. This captures exactly what is being displayed. The image can then be pasted into an application such as MS Paint, Word, or an email.

A screenshot may also be referred to as a screen capture, screen dump, screengrab, snapshot, or Prt Scr.

Why Take a Screenshot in Valorant?

In Valorant, the key reason to take a screenshot is to capture visual glitches and bugs. Often you simply want to capture a cool or interesting frame, strategize with your teammates, document harassment or cheating, or share with friends that you are gaming with.

Communication and teamwork are key to success in Valorant, and being able to refer to an image changes the game during pauses or tactical time-outs. Taking a screenshot of the game and placing it into a PowerPoint presentation and quickly showing your teammates is a disruption. But talking through a tactic with a simple image can mean the difference between losing a round and winning the match.

How to Take a Screenshot in Valorant?

Press the F12 key on your keyboard when the print screen toolbar appears at the bottom of the screen to save the screenshot in Valorant. F12 will show a Valorant screenshot of the last 30 seconds of play. Use the print screen key (PrtScn, prt sc, Prt Scrn, etc.) to save an unedited screenshot in Valorant for PC or convert it to Fn+prtsc to capture a fullscreen image on a Mac. On some Windows computers without the PrtScn key or where it doesn’t work, use keyboard shortcuts such as Windows + Shift-S (for Windows 10), Command + Shift + 4 (for Mac), or the Xbox Game Bar (Windows).

Method 1: Using the In-Game Screenshot Function

To take a screenshot in Valorant using the in-game functionality, follow these steps:

1. Open Valorant and navigate to the scene you want to capture.

2. Press F12 to take a screenshot in Valorant using the in-game Bink Movie API.

3. Find your screenshots at the link for the Riot Games folder.

This method works best if you have your share settings set to save all screenshots. Just be prepared to sift through a lot of screenshots to find the one you want.

Method 2: Using the Print Screen Button

You can also screenshot in Valorant by using the print screen button on your keyboard. Press Print Screen to take a screenshot of your active window and copy the image to your clipboard. Launch an image editor such as Paint or a note-taking app such as Microsoft Word and press Ctrl + V to paste the image. After that, you can edit and save the image by choosing the Save As option from the File Menu.

Method 3: Using Third-Party Software

Players can use third-party screen capture software such as Lightshot and ShareX to take screenshots in Valorant. These applications provide more customized options including hotkeys, annotation tools, and image editing. They are not specifically created for taking screenshots but some people may feel more comfortable using such an app. Here is a brief explanation of distinction between Lightshot and ShareX features.

• Lightshot: Quick and very easy to use. Available for both PC and Mac. Initiates a screen grab with a hotkey.
• ShareX: More feature-rich than Lightshot. Available for PC only. Large selection of annotation tools. Has an image editor. Compatible with many platforms such as Imgur, Twitter, Dropbox, Google Drive, and more.

Download Lightshot: Official Lightshot site
Download ShareX: Official ShareX site

Where are Screenshots Saved in Valorant?

Screenshots are saved in Valorant’s Screenshots folder. Plug your username and #riot#number into the paths below. Such as *Username#1234*. The framebuffer file is one of Riot Vanguard’s files. Though how to save screenshots in VANGUARD’s quality is still a question for many? However, you can simply browse to the allocated directory and copy from this exact folder. To ensure screenshot files save with the proper file extension, users can just drag and drop the file before the servers delete it.

1. Windows: '%localappdata%VALORANTSavedScreenshotsVALORANT'
2. macOS: '$HOME/Library/Application Support/VALORANT/Screenshots/VALORANT/'
3. Console: Not Available

How to View and Share Screenshots in Valorant?

There are two methods for viewing and sharing screenshots in Valorant. To view one or multiple captures in Valorant and share them with others in-game, press F9 during the game to bring up the file viewer. Click on the photos you have captured to see them in full-screen mode, and select images by checking their respective boxes for games or players you wish to share them with. Users can also view or share captures by locating them in the screenshots folder and viewing or sharing them from there.

Method 1: Using the In-Game Gallery

The first and primary way to take a screenshot in Valorant is by using the in-game gallery of images known as the Collection. This automatically saves screenshots and videos by default and gives users some light photo and video editing tools. After starting up Valorant on the bottom left are four panels you can click on. Click on the Collection panel to see captures videos and any saved edits. Screenshots and videos are saved in the local app data folder. Riot Games is the subfolder to look for containing the Valorant image and video files. Videos are saved in mp4 format.

How to press keys to screenshot in Valorant: Press the F2 key to take a screenshot and open the Collection tab. Press the left mouse button to take a screenshot without opening the Collection tab. F9 toggles the HUD on and off for screenshots. F10 will toggle a black screen on and off for videos. To remove a screenshot or video press Del (Delete). Press Mouse 5 in game with a weapon and the Collection tab open to ad a chrome effect.

Method 2: Locating the Screenshots on Your Computer

If you want to locate your Valorant screenshots directly on your computer, the default location for your images is in a valorant folder which exists under the riot games folder in your documents directory. The entire path is C:UsersDocumentsRiot GamesVALORANTscreenshots. You can overwrite this directory in the Screen capture directory menu under the General settings area.

What are Some Tips for Taking Good Screenshots in Valorant?

Some tips for taking good screenshots in Valorant include adjusting Field of View (FoV) and Graphics settings to contribute to cleaner, more visually appealing screenshots, taking advantage of the flexibility of Spectator Mode, using third-party map download sources to take screenshots on custom maps, and taking advantage of the game’s short and simple developer assigned commands for quick and easy access.

The Field of View (FoV) can be adjusted in the in-game video settings, and graphic settings can be changed via the Escape (Esc) key to display the in-game menu. This determines how much of the game world is viewed at once which can be correlated with screenshot quality. Choose to shoot at 16:9, 16:10, 4:3, fill the whole screen, or set a wildcard value where you can make a screenshot at any custom resolution.

There is a wealth of user-created maps that players can take advantage of in order to experiment with settings and take screenshots in different contexts. Players should visit The Raiclear Workshop in Steam to explore these.

It is possible to take manual control of the flying camera in Valorant by utilizing the Hotkeys inside the external handcam interface (after you spawn a new handcam). It allows the camera to freely move in any direction and can even tilt the camera down, up, or around in a circular manner. Shooting glowing abilities is harder at this stage because players are always moving and abilities always last for a limited time, so you may need to go to a custom game and use cheats to limitless the available skills. For a more advanced look at camera spectating and third person camera movement, players can look to the experienced Valorant creator Zenith.

Use the Spectator Mode

Spectator mode in Valorant allows you to view a match live or a match which has already occurred. This is how you can use the spectator mode in Valorant to capture bookmarks. So, even if the bookmarker switches the view from player 1 to player 2, this is maintained. Learn how to use Spectator mode in Valorant to capture bookmarks. This video demonstrates bookmarking functionality in the Spectator Mode in Valorant, allowing you to capture moments on the map that are relevant to the action.

Adjust the Graphics Settings

If you want to create high-quality screenshots in Valorant, start by adjusting the game’s graphics settings. Press Esc to open the Game Menu, click on Settings, and then navigate to the Video tab. You can either take a screenshot of the game while it is paused with the game menu open, or press your pause key while holding down the key to take a screenshot so the game will pause for you to take the screenshot.

There are only five graphic settings for Valorant in the display quality settings. It is up to you what balance between appearance and your device’s performance you want. Beyond 4K discontinues because they are hard to find monitors that support this resolution, the higher the quality, the better the screenshots will look.

Use Third-Party Editing Software

Third-party editing software like Windows Paint, Microsoft Paint 3D, and FShare Screenshot Lightshot can be used to add an arrow or box around the part of the image that is being focused on. It serves the same function as taking an in-game screenshot in Valorent. The process is the same regardless of which editing software is used, the image you uploaded would be displayed and the Arrow or Box tool could be chosen to be drawn. The video will show the areas highlighted.

Conclusion

You cannot screenshot in Valorant. Attempting to use the console command bind to bind F5 to screenshot the game does not work. F5 is used to purchase weapons, and the console command is disabled during competitive play. If you want to save certain moments, it is suggested to save the match replay or use a third-party tool such as screen capture software.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I take a screenshot in Valorant?

To take a screenshot in Valorant, press the F12 key on your keyboard. This will save the screenshot to your designated screenshot folder.

Can I customize the key for taking screenshots in Valorant?

Yes, you can change the key for taking screenshots in Valorant by going to the “Keybinds” section in settings. Look for the “Screenshot” option and click on it to assign a new key.

Why is my screenshot not showing up in my designated folder?

This could be due to your designated screenshot folder being full or inaccessible. Check your settings to make sure the folder is still selected and has enough space.

Can I take a screenshot in Valorant while in-game?

Yes, you can take a screenshot in Valorant while in-game by using the F12 key. However, if you are in the main menu or lobby, you will need to use a separate key to take a screenshot.

How do I view my saved screenshots in Valorant?

To view your saved screenshots in Valorant, go to your designated screenshot folder. This can be found in your game settings or by searching for “Valorant Screenshots” in your computer’s file explorer.

Is there a way to disable the screenshot feature in Valorant?

Yes, you can disable the screenshot feature in Valorant by going to the “Keybinds” section in settings and unbinding the F12 key from the “Screenshot” option. This will prevent accidental screenshots from being taken.