Machine guns
There are many different weapons in different classes but the heavy class only includes two, Ares and Odin. Depending on the situation or economy, heavy machine guns can be the players’ go-to weapons, and here is everything you need to know about Ares and Odin.
Ares and Odin are the only heavy weapons in VALORANT, and mostly, they are not very welcoming in the professional scene, except in certain scenarios for sure. Nevertheless, both weapons could be great for ranked usage. Especially in lower elos, it is not very easy to counter these weapons as the headshot percentage gets lower. The longer the skirmish takes, the better the heavy weapon gets!
ARES
Compared to Odin, you would see Ares a lot less both in the professional scene and also in the regular ranked games. It was never the “superior” heavy machine gun pick as its stats are not optimal. Ares costs 1600 credits, which is not bad considering the price of the other heavy machine gun. However, even at close ranges, it takes three bullets to the head to kill an opponent, if they are fully armored of course. It will take you two headshots to kill an opponent with full hp but no armor in close range. Ares has 50 bullets in each magazine and it comes with two extra magazines, totaling 150 bullets with 1600 credits. It is named after a god from Greek mythology, the god of war or the spirit of battle, in other words. Ares is not picked often as there are better picks with similar credits. In fact, it was not selected even once at VALORANT Champions 2022 İstanbul. Ares and Bucky were the only weapons that weren’t picked by the professional players.
ODIN
Unlike Ares, Odin is a much more popular choice both in the professional scene and regular ranked games. It is also twice the price of Ares with 3200 credits. Players mostly prefer rifles instead of Odin but depending on the situation, the heavy machine gun could also make a huge impact. You might have seen Sova players using Odin while holding B site on Ascent. That is because Odin can fire 12-15.6 rounds/sec and you can catch a player lurking on B Main or even the whole squad and give serious damage before getting into the bomb site. Odin’s bullets are very powerful behind thin walls or boxes. The weapon itself comes with a 100-round magazine and it also has two extra, a total of 300 bullets to make them rain on the enemy agents. In the 0-30 meters range, you will need two bullets to the head to get the kill if the opponent is fully-armored but that is not really the point of picking this gun. As mentioned, Odin is very powerful behind walls and boxes and that attribute is its specialty. Even though it is a lot more popular than Ares, it is still not the best option while you can buy Vandal or Phantom at a lower price. Odin was picked 50 times during VALORANT Champions 2022 İstanbul. It was the 14th least-picked weapon in the tournament, passing only Judge, Bucky, and Ares.
Ares and Odin may not be the most popular weapons of VALORANT but they surely have serious impacts!