VALORANT Ult Orbs and Ult Economy Guide (2026): Points and Timing

Every round of VALORANT has two economies running at once. The first is credits — what you earn for wins, losses, kills and plants, and what you spend on guns, shields and abilities; our economy guide covers it in full. The second is ultimate points, and most ranked players ignore it until their ult is ready. That's a mistake: points carry over from round to round, they decide which team has the round-winning tool on the next full buy, and the enemy's are visible on your scoreboard. This guide covers how points are earned, what ultimates cost and how that changed in 2026, how ult orbs work and when to take one, how to track enemy ultimates, and when to spend yours or hold it.

How ultimate points work

Every agent's ultimate needs a set number of points, shown as pips around the ultimate icon on your HUD. You earn them five ways, one point each, and they carry over from round to round until you cast the ultimate:

Patch 13.09 added a sixth, agent-specific source: killing a Clove after Not Dead Yet now gives the killer an ultimate point and a signature refresh point, so a revived Clove is worth shooting twice.

Two consequences matter more than they look. First, every round charges everyone: a player who dies without a kill still gains a point, so after a few rounds most of a team is within reach of its ultimates. Second, who plants and who defuses is a choice: hand the Spike to the attacker who's one point short, and let the defender who needs a point take the defuse when it's safe.

What an ultimate costs — and why you shouldn't memorise it

Ultimates don't all cost the same, and Riot changes the numbers. In 2026 alone:

1. 12.02Reyna · Empress

   6 → 7 points — 3 February 2026.

2. 13.02Phoenix · Run It Back

   6 → 7 points — 28 July 2026.

3. 13.09Clove · Not Dead Yet

   Killing a revived Clove gives the killer 1 ultimate point and a signature refresh point — 27 October 2026.

4. ListedKilljoy · Lockdown

   9 points on Liquipedia and the VALORANT wiki — one of the most expensive ultimates.

Third-party cost tables disagree with each other because they were written on different patches, which is exactly why we don't print one. The reliable number is on your screen: count the pips around your ultimate icon and the ones next to each player on Tab. When a patch changes a cost, the HUD changes the same day; a website may take months.

Ult orbs: where they are and how they work

Ultimate orbs are small pickups placed at fixed spots on every standard map. On most maps there are two per round, usually one toward each site, and they reset at the start of every round, according to Switchblade Gaming's 2026 ability-economy guide. Each one gives one ultimate point to the player who collects it, and collecting one shows on the scoreboard: when an enemy picks up an orb, their ult status on Tab goes up by one. In Spike Rush orbs work differently — they hand out abilities and extra charges instead of a plain point.

Orb spots differ per map, and new or reworked maps can move them. On Summit, Hotspawn's first look noted the orbs sit slightly toward the attackers' side, though defenders can contest them, especially toward B. The safest way to learn them is in-game: at the start of a round, open the map and look for the orb icons — then decide whether each one is worth the walk.

When to take an orb — and when to deny one

An orb is a point, but it costs time, makes you predictable and takes you out of the fight while you collect it. BoostPirate's decision matrix:

Tracking enemy ultimates

The scoreboard you open with Tab shows every player's ultimate status — the enemy team's included — and it updates live, so an enemy picking up an orb or planting shows up immediately. Every ultimate cast also plays a voice line that all players hear, so you know when one was used. Between the two, you never have to guess. BoostPirate's tracking routine:

1. Every buy phase, open Tab. Look for enemies who are ready or one point away.
2. Name them in comms. "Their Killjoy has Lockdown", "Sova one away" — the IGL plans around it.
3. Expect the obvious ult. A ready Lockdown or Hunter's Fury changes where you should hit or hold; a ready Run It Back means Phoenix will take the first fight.
4. Count the voice lines. Once an ult is used, it's gone until they charge it again — that's your window.
5. Watch the orbs. An enemy one point away near an orb is about to be ready.

When to spend an ultimate — and when to hold it

An ultimate is the most valuable thing you can buy without credits. Wasting one is like throwing away a rifle. BoostPirate's rules of thumb:

The strongest teams line ultimates up. If three players will be ready in the same round, make it a full-buy round and execute together; three ultimates arriving one per round are three half-chances. On defence, a retake ult (a site-clearing or reveal ultimate) is often worth more than a hold ult, because a retake has to win a fight in a fixed time — the defending guide covers the 45-second maths.

Ult points across a half

Because points carry over, an ultimate is a resource you plan across several rounds, not just this one. A few patterns to recognise:

• After the pistol round, most players have a point or two. The team that won it also has the credits — expect their first ultimates a few rounds later on a full buy.
• On a losing streak, deaths keep charging you. A team that's lost three in a row often has several ultimates ready for its first full buy — exactly when it's most dangerous.
• Before the half, check what's left: an ultimate you never cast in twelve rounds did nothing for the score.
• In overtime, every player gets the same credits each round, so ultimates are often what separates the teams.

Plant and defuse points fit in here too: an attacking team that plants every round earns its planters a steady extra point, which adds up over a half. Our attacking guide explains why planting is almost always right.

Ult economy mistakes we see in ranked

Related guides: credit economy guide · attacking guide · defending guide · duelist guide · Hush agent guide