Reaching level 20 on Valorant opens up competitive play, so it is the most important early-stage milestone for a new player. Familiarity with the progression system and streamlining your strategy can cut grinding time by a dramatic amount. Your guide to quick leveling is here.
Valorant levels up accounts using Account Points (AP), and each level takes 5,000 AP. Do not mix this up with XP, which only levels up Battle Pass and agent contracts. New level 10 accounts get tremendous boosts: 4,000 AP for the initial daily victory, 4 AP every 6 seconds played, and 200 AP per win. These rates fall to 1,000 AP, 1 AP every 6 seconds, and 50-150 AP per win after level 10. Leverage this acceleration window early.
How to Level Up Fast in Valorant?
Spike Rush is always the most rapid leveling mode, delivering 1,000 XP for every match played in a mere 8-12 minutes – around 100 XP per minute. Testing by the community verifies Spike Rush trumps even perfect Unrated matches (145 XP/min vs. 120 XP/min). Swiftplay provides solid alternate efficiency with 140-180 XP per minute and 2,250 XP in 15 minutes. Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch give 900-1,000 XP in 6-9 minutes, ideal for short sessions.
Although Unrated and Competitive games can provide 1,300-5,100 XP per game, depending on rounds won, their 30-40 minute length makes them less effective simply for leveling. Opt for Spike Rush for optimal speed or include a bit of Swiftplay to keep things fresh without losing effectiveness.
Don’t let the First Win of the Day bonus go to waste – it rewards 1,000 AP (4,000 AP for sub-level 10 accounts) and is lost after 22 hours. One such bonus can be saved from days of grinding. Checkpoints give 4,000 XP in total from four tasks that were done fast in Spike Rush – two to three matches complete all checkpoints in 20-30 minutes.
Weekly tasks reward 14,850-27,225 XP per task and feature goals such as damage dealt, headshots received, rounds played, and ability usage. Team Deathmatch effectively fulfills damage and headshot tasks, while longer game modes handle rounds-played goals. Completing all weekly tasks over the course of an Act can reward more than 740,000 XP total.
The majority of players level up to level 20 after 60-100 hours of playtime. New accounts that utilize the sub-level-10 bonus but focus primarily on Spike Rush and daily rewards can reach level 20 in 40-50 hours.