What are Radianite Points used for?
Radianite points are one of the two main currencies in the game Valorant. Simply put, they’re used to upgrade cosmetics. Getting free Radianite points means you can get better animations for your skins without spending money.
Radianite points appear to have one core usage, and they tie in nicely with Valorant points. Many people will be purchasing Valorant points so that they can then unlock agents and advance contracts. People will also be using them to buy skins in the cosmetic store as well though. This is where the two currencies come together.
Skins have several levels depending on what you’re looking at. These different levels each do something different for the cosmetic skin and change the look of a weapon. To get between and unlock levels, you need to spend Radianite. It is important to note that Radianite cannot be used to unlock tiers in an agent’s contract or to unlock an agent full stop – Valorant points are used for that.
This is a key differentiating factor for Valorant’s skin system when compared to the one Valve has in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. In CS:GO, skins don’t have different levels, they just have one. While you can trade up to get a new skin, there aren’t different variants of the same skin. In Valorant there isn’t a trade-up system, but you can have different variants of each one. Many people have said that they are a fan of this. It allows you to have more variety while not having to have a large assortment of weapon skins in your armory.
How do you get Radianite Points?
Following Valorant’s launch, many people were asking about how Radianite is used and how you can obtain it. At the moment, it doesn’t look like it’s the easiest thing to get your hands on, and it appears to be quite costly.
The main way to get Radianite points in Valorant is through their store. While this may be a disappointment to some, it isn’t necessarily a bad thing. You don’t spend money on Radianite, unlike with Valorant points. In fact, it’s the Valorant points that you use to buy Radianite points. The shop allows you to purchase three different quantities: 20, 40, or 80 Radianite points. Each costs 1600, 2800, or 4800 Valorant points respectively.
During the closed beta, they are discounted, as shown in the screen capture, so it’s more likely that Radianite will cost 2000, 4000, or 8000 Valorant points respectively after the closed beta.
As I said earlier, Radianite points appear to be quite costly. 2000 Valorant points will set you back about $20 USD in the store. That only gets you 20 Radianite and many people may think that’s unfair. 20 points can actually take you quite far though. You can get all the way to level 4 on a cosmetic skin using just half of that.
You do start the game with a few free Radianite points. In the game’s current state though, there does not appear to be any way to get Radianite points for free through things like missions and challenges. It looks like the only way we will be purchasing them with Valorant points for the meantime.
For many people spending money may be worth it, as some of the custom animations that you can get in the different levels are rather impressive, like a custom death animation for the Vandal.
What is Going to Happen with Radianite Points in the Future?
When the Valorant closed beta ends, there will be a complete progression wipe in order to level the playing field. This will mean that everything purchased and unlocked, including skin levels, will be reset.
The goal behind this move is to allow everyone to start from the same point when the game becomes available to the general public, and it’s perfectly reasonable. Some people may not be happy with the move, but on the bright side, you get all Valorant points spent back, plus an additional 20%.
It’s not entirely clear what will happen with Radianite points after the game is reset when the closed beta ends. Many people are suggesting that all level unlocks will be refunded and you’ll get the amount of Radianite points that they cost back (10 for level 4 unlocks).
It’s also possible that you’ll only be refunded for Radianite points that you purchased using Valorant points. This would likely be a Valorant point refund, meaning you’d have to purchase the Radianite points again. This approach would make the most sense for Riot Games and is likely to be the one that happens. In the meantime though, we’re going to have to wait for news.
Speculation
Going ahead there will also likely be a way to get Radianite completely free of charge by playing the game. With the battle pass-like system that Riot Games is planning on featuring in the game, it will be possible to get rewards. This is similar to games like Fortnite. Players will be able to complete challenges regularly and in return, they’ll receive experience. In the future, it might be possible to get other rewards through these daily challenges. As a battle pass is leveled up from completing missions and challenges and whatnot, different rewards will be obtained. It’s expected that some of those rewards will be small amounts of Radianite points, as well as Valorant points.
There has been discussion online about other ways that free Radianite points may be used to upgrade things in the game. Some people suggest that it could be possible to upgrade skins in a different way, i.e. like a trade-up contract in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. This is not likely to be implemented into the game though.
Another interesting idea is that agents could be leveled up to unlock different actions and animations. This would be separate from the contract system. This would be similar to how Fortnite has dances that can be bought for characters, except it would be specific to each agent. Another possibility is special unlockable animations for each competitive rank in Valorant.
There are many possibilities for expanding the uses of Radianite points in the game and it’s likely that some will happen at some point down the line.
