Frenzy

The Frenzy is Valorant's fully automatic sidearm — a 15-round magazine at a 10-round-per-second fire rate, with real headshot damage (78 within 20 meters, 63 beyond it) that needs two clean headshots to guarantee a kill on an unarmored target rather than one. Its identity is spray-and-pray at close range rather than precision.

At 450 credits, it's a cheap full-auto option that punches above its price in close-quarters exchanges, especially against another pistol-round opponent who might be relying on a slower semi-automatic sidearm instead.

It's also one of the few sidearms with genuinely usable hip-fire accuracy at close range, which matters in the fast, reactive duels that pistol rounds and eco rounds tend to produce.

The full-auto fire rate is the Frenzy's whole advantage — in a chaotic close-range duel, especially with more than one enemy, the ability to hold the trigger and walk bullets onto target beats a semi-automatic pistol's need for individually aimed shots. It's genuinely strong for its price on eco rounds.

Low wall penetration and falloff past 20 meters mean it has real limits outside close range, and the smaller per-shot damage compared to a Sheriff or Bandit means a single clean headshot isn't enough on its own — it depends on landing multiple hits in quick succession rather than one precise shot.

It also loses value quickly in a prolonged fight once its 15-round magazine is spent, since reloading a sidearm mid-duel is rarely survivable — the Frenzy wants a fight decided quickly, not a drawn-out exchange.

At 450 credits it's one of the cheapest genuine upgrades over the free Classic, and a common pick on full-eco rounds where the team is saving for the following round's rifles but still wants a fighting chance in close engagements.

It's rarely worth buying once the economy supports a Ghost or Sheriff instead — those sidearms trade fire rate for far higher per-shot damage, which usually wins a one-on-one duel outright rather than depending on a sustained spray.

It's a reasonable choice specifically when facing another team also known to be on an eco round, since the fire-rate advantage matters most against similarly under-equipped opponents rather than against a team that's bought rifles.

The Frenzy wants close engagements and a willingness to hold the trigger rather than tap-firing for precision — it's built for chaotic eco-round duels where landing several bullets in a burst matters more than one perfectly placed shot.

It pairs naturally with an aggressive eco-round push where the goal is contesting space cheaply rather than a considered, patient hold — save the patient, precise angles for a round where a Sheriff or rifle is actually in the loadout.

It's also a reasonable pick for a player who wants to bait out utility or information on an eco round without much economic risk, since even a lost Frenzy round costs comparatively little relative to a lost rifle round.

Against a Sheriff or Bandit, the Frenzy is at a real per-shot disadvantage and generally needs to close distance and commit to a sustained spray rather than trade single shots — standing still and exchanging one shot at a time favors the higher-damage sidearm every time.

Against another Frenzy or Classic, the fight is close to even, and usually comes down to whoever gets the first shots on target rather than any weapon advantage — this is the classic eco-round coin-flip duel.

Against a full rifle on a force round, the Frenzy is a significant underdog at any real distance, but can occasionally win a true point-blank surprise angle where the rifle user hasn't had time to react to close-range automatic fire.

Because its effective range is short, the Frenzy is best used on maps and positions where fights are naturally decided at close quarters — tight sites, short corners, and connector rooms rather than long open lanes.

It's also a reasonable weapon for an aggressive flank or rush on an eco round, since the goal on those rounds is usually to force a fast, chaotic engagement rather than to win a clean, patient duel at range.

On maps with longer sightlines, the Frenzy is a much weaker eco pick than a Ghost or Bandit if the credits stretch that far — its falloff past 20 meters gives up exactly the range where those pricier pistols still one-tap cleanly.

Pairing it with whatever cheap utility the team can still afford — a single flash or a smoke rather than nothing at all — tends to matter more for winning an eco round than any marginal upgrade beyond the Frenzy itself, since information and picking the right fight are what eco rounds are usually won or lost on.