VALORANT launched its newest Replication game mode on Tuesday with Patch 2.09. Replication features an adapted version of the unrated playlist rules, but where all the players on the same team will be the same exact agent. The mode is played in a first-to-five format and there is a set number of credits given out per round, so each round the teams return to an even economic playing field.

“With Replication, we are looking to create exciting and novel moments by widening the player theory-crafting space while highlighting Agent abilities.” explained VALORANT Game Designer Kyle Powell. “Quintupling down on Agents that were balanced around normal Agent restrictions, we’ve created lots of hilarious near game-breaking plays for players to discover.”

For those who want to hop into the new mode, here are all the rules of Replication that you need to know to get started!

The rules of VALORANT’s Replication mode

The game mode will be played in a best-of-9 format. Each round will be 80 seconds long, while pistol rounds will be 45 seconds long.

As mentioned above, the whole gimmick of this mode is that all the individuals on a team will all be the same character. Each round, players will vote on which character to be, with the majority of votes determining which agent everyone will play. The selection process takes place on a modified character selection screen.

All agent abilities are refreshed at the start of each round, with the exception of your Ultimate. For Ultimate charge, players will gain +1 Ultimate points at the start of every round, except Overtime rounds.

The economy is less important in Replication because teams will receive a set about of credits each round, regardless of whether they won or lost. Additionally, all your gun and shield purchases will also reset each round. The round credit amounts are:

• 900
• 2400
• 3900
• 6000

To help balance out the danger of five players with the same flash ability at once, this mode will have a feature called FLASHGUARD enabled. With FLASHGUARD on, you can still be flashed, but if you are flashed twice within four seconds you can no longer be blinded for a duration of five seconds. This will help prevent this mode from descending into flash rush spam.

Tips and Tricks for the Replication mode

Use your abilities every round

In this mode, you are guaranteed to have your abilities every single round, with the exception of your Ultimate. So it makes no sense to save or hold onto anything for the next round, except your Ultimate. Get in the habit of using your character abilities every round in Replication. If you watch pros play, something you will notice is that they use a lot of utility every round. This mode gives you the chance to use all of your utility with basically no consequences.

Coordinate carefully

If you are looking to take full advantage of this mode's wacky rule set, coordinating with your team will help you make the most of your five identical hero stack. The Replication mode obviously opens up a lot of theory crafting possibilities, since you can stack the same abilities five times. Depending on the map and enemy playstyle, all sorts of agent picks and approaches could make sense, so don't be afraid to get weird with it. 

Don’t sweat the round losses

Not only is this game mode super casual and designed to be fun, but it is also the least punishing game mode when it comes to losing rounds. Regardless of what happens in a round, your team will kick off the next round on an even playing field with the other team. This gives you more freedom to be aggressive and to try dumb stuff, without being unduly punished by accidentally breaking your economy. Take advantage of this consequence-free mode to just enjoy VALORANT without worrying so much about the meta-game.