VALORANT Replay System: Everything You Need to Know

If you’ve ever wished you could rewind a clutch round, dissect your opponent’s position, or see that entry from another angle, the VALORANT replay system are here to fill that void. Launched with Patch 11.06 (on PC), the replay system gives players powerful tools to review recent matches from every perspective. Below is everything you need to know: how it works, when it’s available, what its limitations are, and what Riot says is coming next.

What Is the VALORANT Replay System & Why It Matters

The replay system was built so players can get a complete view of any recent match: their own plays, teammates’ plays, even opponents’ plays. It’s not just about reliving flashy moments — replays are meant for learning.

Players can examine movement, decision-making, utility usage, and more, to understand what went right (or wrong) in a match. Riot states that they will monitor how people use replays, collect feedback, and adjust the system in future patches based on real usage.

When and Where Replays Are Available

Replays are rolling out in stages:

• Starting with Patch 11.06, replays are live on PC in all regions except China.
• For China, they’ll arrive with Patch 11.07b on October 9 local China time.
• For Console, replays will come later with Patch 11.10, around November 11 or 12, depending on region.

This staggered release is aimed at allowing Riot to ensure stability, troubleshoot region-specific issues, and scale server support.

What Players Can Do with Replays

Replays are built to be flexible and detailed. Once players load a replay file, they’ll be able to:

• Observe the match from any of the 10 players’ first-person perspectives.
• Toggle outlines (“wall-hack” style) for friendly or enemy players.
• Follow projectiles (for example, Sova’s Recon Dart).
• Use a free camera in third-person observer mode.
• Pause, slow down, fast-forward, or play at different speeds (0.1×, 0.25×, 0.5×, 1×, 2×, 4×, 8×).
• Jump between rounds or time-jump to any point in a game.
• See timeline icons marking key events like kills, deaths, and ultimate ability usage.
• Hide or show the minimap/HUD.
• Open the Combat Report at any moment during the Replay.

FAQs & Limitations: What VALORANT Replays Do Not Cover (Yet)?

Of course, no system is perfect at launch. Riot has disclosed several limitations and answered common questions:

• Pre-round shop screens, cosmetic preview effects, and certain “ability preview markers” (for example, preview outlines of placement like Cypher’s Trapwire, Deadlock’s sensors, etc.) will not appear in Replays until abilities are actually used or deployed.
• Ability minimap overlays (like smoke shapes or area of effect indicators) may not display until after deployment. The preview visuals won’t always be visible.
• Some things from a player’s live POV (for example during OBS captures) may not perfectly match what’s in the Replay, especially if latency/ping influenced in-game display. Replays are deterministic, and certain client-side visuals are simplified for consistency.
• While players can toggle outlines off to disable seeing enemies through walls in first-person POVs, they may still see them on minimaps or megamaps. The minimap doesn’t respect the toggled setting.

How to Access VALORANT Replays & Other Features

Players will find replay options in their match history or post-match screens once the patch is live. From there:

• Players can open a recent match’s replay file and use UI elements to jump between rounds, adjust playback speed, or observe different perspectives. There are settings to enable/disable outlines, adjust whether projectiles are visible, and toggle HUD or minimap visibility.
• There is no clipping or sharing features yet (for example, auto highlight creation or uploading clips directly via the replay system). At launch, those are not included.

Known Issues & What’s To Come

Riot has noted several known issues that may not affect all players, but are worth being aware of:

• Fog of War on minimaps/megamaps: toggling outlines off doesn’t hide enemy position from these maps. Players might see enemies in the minimap even if it doesn’t reflect first-person visibility.
• Preview markers for ability placement (e.g., turret outlines, Trapwire previews, etc.) are not present. When abilities are activated, visuals show up, but the preview isn’t displayed in the same way.
• The system doesn’t yet record voice chat or text chat in Replays.

Riot also emphasizes that the VALORANT replay system is a launch-system, and additional features or tweaks will be released over time based on player feedback.

What This Means for Players

The introduction of VALORANT replays marks a major step forward for the game. While some visual previews and features are missing at launch, the core functionality is rich: multi-perspective viewing, tactical analysis, and temporal controls (rewind, jump, pause) make replays one of the more powerful additions in recent memory. As these systems mature and Riot adds more polish, we should see deeper usage in coaching, esports broadcasts, and community content.