VALORANT Attacking Guide (2026): Defaults, Executes, Lurks and Plants

Attacking in VALORANT is a time problem dressed up as an aim problem. You have 100 seconds to get the Spike down, five players who each have a different idea of how to do it and five defenders who only need to delay. Teams that win attack rounds don't necessarily shoot better; they use the clock better. This guide breaks the attacking round into phases, explains defaults, executes, lurks, splits and fakes, shows where and when to plant and how to play after it, and gives you the side data from the best teams in the world — plus a checklist that works in solo queue, where nobody has practised anything together.

The attack clock

Every attacking round runs on three fixed numbers. Attackers have 100 seconds to plant after the barriers drop; planting takes 4 seconds of holding the plant key, and letting go resets it; and once the Spike is down it detonates after 45 seconds. Everything else — the default, the mid-round call, the execute — is how you spend the 100 seconds.

The ring in the hero above is BoostPirate's coaching model for spending them. The exact second marks aren't rules, but the order is: first space, then information, then a commitment, then the plant. Teams that lose on attack usually break the order — they execute in the first ten seconds with no information (and run into a stack), or they gather information for 80 seconds and then sprint onto a site with no utility left and no time. If you only remember one number, remember about 35 seconds left: that's when your team should already be moving toward the site it's going to hit.

Defaults: taking space without dying

A default is the spread-out opening most teams use: one or two players in each lane, utility used sparingly, and everyone listening. Its job is to make defenders show themselves. A defender who peeks a default player, uses a utility to stop a fake push or makes a sound has told you something; an attacker who dies in the first 15 seconds has given the defenders a free 5-on-4.

• Hold, don't peek: in the default you're the one being peeked. Stand where a defender must swing you, not where you swing them.
• Use one utility, not three: a single reveal or a smoke to cross a gap is enough; save the rest for the execute.
• Say numbers, not stories: "two A Main", "one Mid, Viper wall", "nothing B" — counts are what the caller needs.
• Take Mid when the map has one: on Summit and Sunset Mid touches both sites — read the Summit and Sunset guides for where.

Five ways to attack a site

Executes: the order matters more than the agents

An execute is a short, violent sequence. The agents change; the order doesn't. BoostPirate's five steps:

1. SmokeCut the long angles and the rotation

   The controller smokes the defenders' main sightlines onto the site and the path their help arrives from.

2. ClearReveal or stun the close corners

   The Initiator's reveal, stun or drone goes in next, so the entry knows where to look.

3. FlashBlind as the entry moves

   A flash that pops as the first player swings — not three seconds before, when it only warns defenders.

4. EntryFirst in, second right behind

   The entry takes the first duel; the second player is close enough to trade within a second if it's lost.

5. PlantSpike down, then positions

   Plant in cover of the smokes, then everyone takes a post-plant angle — not five players on the Spike.

Patch 13.00 shortened the signature cooldowns of Sova, Fade, Skye, Breach and KAY/O from 60 to 50 seconds, so Initiators have their main tool back sooner in a round. Our initiator guide and duelist guide go deeper on the clear and the entry.

Lurking without throwing

A good lurk wins rounds the scoreboard never explains: the defender rotating to the hit site dies in a corridor, the retake comes in four players short, the Spike goes off. A bad lurk is a player wandering on the other side of the map with no information and no timing. The difference is three rules:

• Have a target: a rotation path or a flank the defenders will use once your team hits. Lurk where they will walk, not where they are.
• Have a timer: agree when you move — "when we smoke A" or "at 40 seconds" — and move then, even if you've seen nothing.
• Give information: if a defender walks past you and you can't kill them, the call "one rotating from Mid" is worth as much as the kill.

In solo queue, BoostPirate's advice is simpler: don't lurk unless the team knows you're doing it. Say "I'm lurking Mid for the A hit" so four teammates don't count on a fifth gun that isn't coming.

The mid-round call

Somewhere between 30 and 50 seconds into a default, someone has to decide. Good calls come from simple counts: if you've seen three defenders at B and nothing at A, A is the hit; if a defender died in Mid, the side that player came from is a player short; if a Sentinel's gadget was found on one site, that Sentinel is probably anchoring there. When nobody calls, BoostPirate's rule for solo queue: follow the first player who says a site with confidence. A mediocre plan done by five beats a perfect plan done by two.

Where to plant and how to play after it

The plant is where attack rounds are really won. Once the Spike is down the defenders have 45 seconds, and a defuse takes 7 of them — with a checkpoint at 3.5 seconds that lets a defender stop and come back. The Spike's beeping tells everyone how much time is left: once a second for the first 25 seconds, twice a second until 35, four times until 40 and eight times in the last five seconds.

• Plant for your post-plant, not for speed: choose a spot you can see from the positions you'll hold. A Spike in the open is easy to watch from three angles.
• Get off the Spike: the retake knows where it is, so it's the first place they shoot. Play from cover that sees it, not next to it.
• Play the sound: a defender who starts defusing makes noise. Swing on the sound, or use a molly or an ultimate on the Spike.
• Know the half-defuse: if a defender stops at 3.5 seconds, the next attempt only needs 3.5 more — it's often bait.
• Count the clock backwards: once fewer than 7 seconds are left, any defender who hasn't started defusing has lost.

The plant is also money. Every attacker gets 300 credits when the Spike goes down, win or lose, and the planter gets an ultimate point. The economy guide covers what those credits buy next round; the ult orbs guide covers the point.

Is attack the harder side?

Not by default. At VALORANT Champions 2026 (24 September – 18 October 2026) attackers won 51% of all rounds across 86 maps. The split changes a lot by map, though — Split, out of the ranked pool now, went 61% to attack, while Lotus and Ascent leaned defence. The card below has every map of the event.

Two things follow for ranked. On maps where attack is strong (Abyss in today's pool), a good attack half can win you the map — play it with energy. On defence-leaning maps (Lotus), a 6–6 half on attack is a good result; don't panic and force. Patch 13.08's own Map Rating shows your attack and defence win rates per map, so you can check which side costs you more.

The solo-queue attack checklist

Ranked teammates haven't practised together, so plans have to be short. BoostPirate's checklist for every attack round:

1. Buy phase: say where you'll start. "I'm A Main" takes one second and stops three players stacking one door.
2. 0–20 s: take space without dying. If you're first to see a defender, call the count and step back.
3. 20–50 s: use one utility for information. Listen to the team's counts.
4. Around 35 s left: if nobody has called, call the site with fewer defenders seen.
5. On the hit: utility first, then go in pairs so every entry can be traded.
6. After the plant: spread out, off the Spike, and count the clock backwards.

The attack mistakes we see most

Related guides: defending guide · ult orbs and ult economy · team comps guide · economy guide · how to rank up