To improve, you need to put in the work on your agents, test your abilities and your combos … but in proper conditions, of course. The game's practice range offers some interesting tools, but it never lets you train on a real Valorant map.
Imagine being able to test your skills on any map in the game. And even do it with friends. Build and rehearse site-taking strategies, and run any drill that calls for practice and repetition. That is exactly why custom games exist, with their cheat mode.
HOW TO ENABLE CHEATS IN A VALORANT CUSTOM GAME?
The video below shows how to enable the cheat mode that lets you do whatever you want in these games (ghost mode, infinite abilities, unlimited ammo, invulnerability…). The commentary is in French, but every step is easy to follow on screen.
Or the answer in four steps
- From the main menu, click Play then choose Custom Game.
- Select the map you want to practice on.
- Click Options and switch the Cheats toggle to On.
- Once in game, press Esc to bring up the cheats panel, at the top right.
The Valorant cheat mode in screenshots
In Valorant, the cheat mode can only be enabled in custom games: click "Options" and turn the cheats line on. The screenshots show the French client; the menus sit in the same place in every language.
Pick your cheats inside the custom game
Once in the custom game, press the "Esc" key to bring up the cheat commands (at the top right).
ALL THE CUSTOM GAME CHEAT OPTIONS
You get a whole set of commands and features, detailed one by one below.
Ghost Mode
Bind a key on your keyboard or mouse to fly and pass through walls. This command lets you take height and get a global view of an area.
Ideal for discovering a map's geometry and spotting the anglesPause Match Timer
This option pauses the round timer without stopping the game. The point is to let you keep doing whatever you want without the round ever ending.
Essential to practice without being interrupted by the end of the roundInfinite Abilities
This option gives you unlimited use of every ability, ultimate included. There are plenty of uses: wild games with friends, or simply training sessions to learn how to throw a piece of utility properly. For one-charge abilities such as Viper's Toxic Screen, hold down the ability key to pick it back up.
The king of cheat commands: repeat a lineup until you land it with your eyes closedInfinite Ammo
Your ammunition refills automatically, so you never go back through a buy phase between attempts. It is the most useful option to work on a weapon's recoil control over time, or to map out which walls can be shot through.
Perfect for spray control with the Vandal or the PhantomInfinite Magazines
Not to be confused with the previous one. Here the magazine itself never empties: you no longer need to reload at all. The difference matters when you practice a sequence where the reload time would distort the drill.
Useful to chain shots without breaking your rhythmInfinite Creds
Your budget becomes unlimited, so you can buy any weapon and any ability without worrying about the economy. Handy to compare two weapons back to back, or to test an agent you do not know yet.
Ideal for comparing weapons or discovering a new agentEnd Phase
This option jumps straight to the next phase of the round. Its most common use is to skip the buy phase instead of waiting the full thirty seconds. The reflex to learn: trigger it first, then pause the match timer.
The most profitable time-saver between two attemptsRestart Match
Restarts the game from the buy phase of the first round, without having to leave and recreate a lobby. Useful when the map is cluttered with utility or when you want to start over from a clean slate.
To reset the map in one secondTurn on End Phase to skip the buy, then Pause Match Timer, then Infinite Abilities. You get a round that never ends, with utility that recharges endlessly: the reference setup for practicing lineups.
WHAT SHOULD YOU ACTUALLY PRACTICE WITH THE CHEATS?
The cheat mode is only worth something if you know what to do with it. Here are the four uses that actually make you improve, in order of profitability.
Practice your lineups
With infinite abilities, you can throw a Sova dart or a Brimstone molly a hundred times in a row until you memorize the exact spot. It is the number one use, and by far the most profitable one for ranked.
Learn a map and its callouts
Ghost mode lets you fly over the map to understand its geometry, spot the angles and put a name on every zone. Half an hour of flying is worth several games of stumbling around.
Find the wallbangable walls
With infinite ammo, systematically test which walls let bullets through and which stop them. That knowledge turns directly into kills nobody sees coming.
Rehearse a site execute with friends
As a group, you can replay the same execute on repeat: who entries, who smokes, who flashes and in what order. That is what structured teams do, and nothing stops five friends from doing the same.
CAN THE CHEAT MODE GET YOU BANNED?
No, absolutely not. The custom game cheat mode is an official feature, built and shipped by Riot Games itself. It only exists in custom games, has no effect on ranked, and using it is perfectly legitimate.
The confusion comes from the word. "Cheats" here means a set of training tools, just like the shooting range: infinite ammo, paused timer, free movement. These options live in the game's own menu, involve no external software, and Riot provides them precisely so players can practice.
Nothing to do with third-party cheat software, aimbots or wallhacks, installed outside the game. Those are detected by Riot Vanguard, the game's anti-cheat, and lead to a permanent account ban, sometimes with a hardware ban on top. The line is clear: what is in the game's menu is allowed, what comes from outside is not.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Can you enable cheats mid-game?
No. The Cheats option must be switched on in the lobby Options before the match starts. If you forgot, you have to leave, recreate a custom game and enable it. On the other hand, once the match has started with the option on, you can toggle each cheat on and off as many times as you want.
Do you earn XP or rank points in custom games?
No, and that is the flip side. Custom games grant no battle pass experience, no rank rating and no agent contract progress. It is a pure training space: the only thing you gain there is skill.
Can you use the cheats with friends?
Yes, and it is one of their best uses. Invite your friends into the custom game lobby before launching, split them between attackers and defenders, and you can rehearse a site execute on repeat. Each player then enables the cheats they want on their side, from their own Esc menu.
Does the cheat mode work on every map?
Yes. Custom games let you pick any map when you create the lobby, including the ones outside the current competitive rotation. That is precisely the advantage over the practice range, which only offers a generic environment.
What is the difference with the practice range?
The practice range is a closed space, designed for aim warm-up and ability discovery, but it reproduces no real map. A custom game with cheats puts you on the real map instead, with its exact distances, angles and elevations. For anything related to lineups and map knowledge, there is no alternative.
How do you pick a one-charge ability back up, like Viper's wall?
For one-charge abilities, such as Viper's Toxic Screen, hold down the ability key to pick it up and place it again. It is an essential reflex as soon as you practice wall placement; without it you would have to restart the round after every attempt.
Can the cheat mode get your account banned?
No. The custom game cheat mode is an official feature, built and integrated by Riot Games. It only exists in custom games, has no effect on ranked, and using it is perfectly legitimate. Nothing to do with third-party cheat software, aimbots or wallhacks, which are detected by Riot Vanguard and lead to a permanent ban.
