Valorant Esports Draft Strategies Enhanced by Meta Predictions
Experts have already predicted the strategies and agents that might be banned before the opening pistol round. Predictions from meta give structure to team strategy and help them gain an advantage before a game.
Analysts invest a lot of time creating tier lists that evaluate an agent's usefulness, success rate, and connections to specific maps. Building a draft plan often begins by studying the rankings. Once Killjoy starts being a strong character after the patch in many regions, her name is often seen at the top of ban lists, or she is picked for nearly every game.
Using these insights, Valorant teams try to ensure that their lineup includes a variety of players. A poor draft means that a team misses out on area control, the ability to make an entry frag, or clutching achievements. No sooner than a meta changes, meta-analysts revise their list, and experts adjust it more quickly than fans notice.
It is not always easy for strategies to work in every part of the world. Teams from the Americas may choose a much more direct approach with duelists, but groups from the Pacific might prefer to use controllers with greater discipline. Analysts now create draft models specifically suited to each region.
Learning about how different sections work helps teams overcome their rivals from other countries. These preferences are observed by tracking match replays, popular agent selections, and how well players use these agents. A granular system matters most during big tournaments, for example, VCT Masters or Champions, in Valorant Esports.
Planning strategies now revolve around effectively using data. They use modeling tools to test different groups of agents against data on past matches. For example, if many opponents are choosing Omen and Fade at Haven, the analyst may advise selecting Breach or Skye to break up their game plan.
Thanks to heatmaps, round win percentages, and how often games are played, making these judgments is possible. With predictive software, you can expect not only what the opposing team will do but also what drives those choices. As a result, this method of planning helps top and prepared teams succeed in Valorant Esports.
A strategy is effective only if it's suitable for the players' skills and team personality. The draft is prepared by analysts with close input from the coaching team. Even though supers like Iso may look great, some teams prefer a different kind of agent that suits their teamwork.
Together, coaching and analytics give athletes the confidence they need during stressful decisions. A few organizations put analysts into scrims and watch pre-recorded matches, making changes to the team's strategies during the game. Good teamwork is key in those intercontinental games since the draft determines the mood of the encounter.
While tournaments go on, the meta changes. Assets in threats are arranged in creative ways, requiring analysts to respond without much time to prepare. An example is when Yoru dominates the beginning of a match, which can force your team to revise tactics for the rest of the day.
Esports analysts now have to respond quicker than ever before. They compare statistics from the team games and modify the team order before the playoffs. Because real-time processing is used, the strategies update as competition continues. People succeed in Valorant Esports because they are fast to react and adjust.
Nowadays, several teams try to determine if a new member knows the main strategies for winning. Scouts check players out, and then analysts attempt to picture how they fit into the team. If a duelist can't handle playing different maps, they are unlikely to play a role in a reliable international team.
Long-term flexibility is a main goal for Valorant Esports organizations. A good mechanic in a game may lose to somebody with little mechanical skill but strong strategic knowledge. The close relationship between skill and strategy determines draft consistency.
Modern Valorant analysts go beyond just crunching numbers—they also predict, influence, and strengthen valuable strategies before players start playing the match. Having meta predictions is no longer a luxury—it's essential. As team approaches and how agents fare continue to develop, top teams are counting on their analysts more than ever to stay successful in Valorant Esports.
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Engadget
a day ago
- Engadget
How to buy a GPU in 2025
One of the trickiest parts of any new computer build or upgrade is finding the right video card. In a gaming PC, the GPU is easily the most important component, and you can hamstring your experience by buying the wrong model. The buying process can be frustrating, with many manufacturers selling their models above their suggested retail price. In this guide, we'll help you navigate the market and find the right GPU for your needs. The first question to ask yourself is what kind of games do you want to play. Competitive shooters like Valorant , Overwatch and Marvel Rivals were designed to run on older hardware. As such, even entry-level GPUs like the GeForce RTX 5060 can push those games at 120 frames per second and above at 1080p (more on why that's important in a moment). By contrast, if you want to play modern, single-player games with ray tracing and other graphical extras, you'll need a more powerful GPU. Just how much more powerful will depend on the resolution of your monitor. A 1440p monitor has 78 percent more pixels than a 1080p screen, and a 4K display has more than twice as many pixels as a QHD panel. In short, running a game at 4K, especially at anything above 60 frames per second, is demanding, and most GPUs will need to use upscaling techniques like NVIDIA's Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS) and AMD's FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR) to push new games at high refresh rates. While we're on the subject of resolution, it doesn't make sense to spend a lot of money on a 4K monitor only to pair it with an inexpensive GPU. That's a recipe for a bad experience. As you're shopping for a new video card, you should think about the resolution and frame rate you want to play your games. If you're in the market for both a GPU and display, be sure to check out our guide to the best gaming monitors. If your budget allows, a good bet is to buy a midrange card that can comfortably render all but the most demanding games at 1440p and at least 144 frames per second. Put another way, you want a GPU that can saturate a monitor at its native resolution and refresh rate in as many games as possible. That will give you the smoothest possible experience in terms of motion clarity, and allow you to dabble in both competitive shooters and the latest single-player games as the mood strikes you. Photo by Devindra Hardawar/Engadget One of the confusing aspects of the GPU industry are all the players involved. What you need to know is that there are three main players: AMD, Intel and NVIDIA. They design the cards you can buy, but delegate the manufacturing of them to so-called add-in board (AIB) partners like ASUS, XFX, Gigabyte and others. As you can probably imagine, this creates some headaches. The most annoying of which is that AMD, Intel and NVIDIA will often set recommended prices for their graphic cards, only for their partners to sell their versions of those GPUs above the manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP). 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It's a latency-reducing technology NVIDIA introduced in 2020. AMD has its own version called Radeon Anti-Lag, but here again Team Green has a slight edge thanks to the recent release of Reflex 2. If you're serious about competitive games, Reflex 2 can significantly reduce input lag, which will make it easier to nail your shots in Counter-Strike 2 , Valorant and other shooters. Previously, one of the reasons to pick an NVIDIA GPU over the competition was the company's solid track record of driver support. With one of the company's video cards, you were less likely to run into stability issues and games failing to launch. In 2025, NVIDIA's drivers have been abysmal, with people reporting frequent issues and bugs. So if you care about stability, AMD has a slight edge right now. As you're comparing different GPUs, especially those in the same tier, pay close attention to the amount of VRAM they offer. 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Most new cards will take up at least two PCI slots on the back of your motherboard. They can also vary dramatically in length, depending on the number of fans the AIB has added to cool the PCB. To be safe, be sure to check the length of the card you want to buy against the maximum clearance listed by your case manufacturer. If you have a radiator at the front of your case, you will also need to factor the size of that in your measurements. The last thing you want is to buy a card that doesn't fit in your case. Lastly, be sure to check the recommended power supply for the card you want. As a rule of thumb, unless you know what you're doing, it's best to just stick with the manufacturer's recommendation. For instance, NVIDIA suggests pairing the RTX 5070 with a 750 watt PSU. So if you're currently running a 650 watt unit, you'll need to factor in the price of a PSU upgrade with your new GPU. Devindra Hardawar for Engadget It depends. If you can find a deal on an old RTX 40 series GPU, then yes. NVIDIA's RTX 50 series don't offer greatly improved performance over their predecessors, and with most models selling for more than their suggested retail price, it's not a great time to buy a new NVIDIA card. That said, I suspect finding a good deal on a used GPU will be difficult. Most people will know the value of what they have, and considering the current market, will probably try to get as much as they can for their old card. You may find better deals on older AMD and Intel GPUs, but I think you're better off spending more now on a new model from one of those companies since the generational gains offered by their latest cards are much more impressive. Simply put, the 9070 XT and B580 are two of the best cards you can buy right now. Anything older than a card from NVIDIA's 40 series or AMD's RX 6000 family is not worth considering. Unless your budget is extremely tight or you mostly play older games, you're much better off spending more to buy a new card that will last you longer. If you've read up to this point, you're probably wondering if it's even worth buying a GPU right now. The answer is (unsurprisingly) complicated. There are a handful of great cards like the Intel B580 and Radeon 9070 XT that are absolutely worth buying. The problem is finding any GPU at prices approaching those set by AMD, Intel or NVIDIA is really tough. To make things worse, uncertainty around President Trump's tariff policies is likely to push prices even higher. If you own a relatively recent GPU, you're probably best off trying to hold onto your current card until things settle down. However, if your GPU isn't cutting it anymore, you face a difficult decision: overpay now, or wait and potentially pay even more later. As much as I'm reluctant to recommend a prebuilt PC, if you're already planning to build a new computer, it's worth exploring your options there since you might end up saving money on a video card when it's bundled together with all the other components you need. Entry-level (1080p) GPUs As we mentioned above, if you're only aiming to play basic competitive shooters like Valorant and Overwatch 2 in 1080p, an entry-level GPU may be all you need. While 1080p isn't an ideal resolution when it comes to sharpness, many gamers prefer it since it's easier to reach higher framerates. And it also helps that 1080p gaming monitors, like the AOC 24G15N 24-inch we recommend, tend to offer speedy refresh rates for between $100 and $200. When you're zipping through matches, you likely won't have time to take a breath and appreciate the detail from higher resolutions. Here are our recommendations for entry-level video cards. Surprisingly enough, you can actually find this modern NVIDIA GPU for $300. While you'll have to live with 8GB of RAM, that's more than enough for 1080p gaming, and it also has the benefit of DLSS 4 upscaling. $300 at Amazon Explore More Buying Options $300 at Best Buy With a $250 list price and 12GB of RAM, it's hard to go wrong with the B580 on paper. Unfortunately, its price has shot up significantly, and it's often hard to find it in stock. Still, it delivers excellent 1080p performance, and it can also play some games in 1440p well. (Check out our Intel Arc B580 review.) $348 at Amazon While it's a last-gen card, the RX 7600 is still powerful enough to handle basic shooters. $280 at Newegg While entry-level cards can dabble with 1440p gaming, it's worth stepping up to something a bit more powerful if you actually want to achieve higher refresh rates. For most gamers, 1440p is the best balance between sharpness and high framerates. It looks noticeably better than 1080p, and doesn't require the horsepower overhead of 4K. (And there's a good chance you won't really see a visual difference with the jump to 4K.) Here are our recommendations for midrange GPUs. AMD surprised us all with the Radeon RX 9070 and 9070 XT, two midrange cards that offered similar power to and more VRAM than NVIDIA's more expensive cards. While you won't see the RX 9070 for its $550 launch price today, you can still snag one for a slight premium. (Check out our AMD Radeon RX 9070 and 9070 XT review.) $700 at Newegg If you want the most of what modern PC games have to offer, including 4K and all of the benefits of ray tracing, then be ready to spend big bucks on a high-end GPU. If you're going this route, though, be sure you're also gaming on a high-end monitor that befits these powerful GPUs. Here are our recommendations for premium GPUs. The RTX 5070 Ti surprised me with excellent 4K gaming performance for a launch price that was well below the RTX 5080. While its price has jumped significantly since then, it's still the best overall NVIDIA card if you want to play in 4K at 120Hz or beyond. (Check out our NVIDIA RTX 5070 Ti review.) $1,030 at Amazon If the RTX 5070 Ti isn't enough for you, the RTX 5080's additional power and 24GB of VRAM should suit your fancy. Just be prepared to pay around $1,500 for it, a 50 percent jump from its $999 launch price. $1,495 at Amazon Listen, there's only one choice here and it's NVIDIA's enormously powerful and fantastically expensive RTX 5090. It's an absolute beast, with 32GB of VRAM and the most hardware NVIDIA has ever stuffed into a consumer GeForce GPU. The RTX 5090 doesn't make sense for 99 percent of gamers — especially since it's now going for $3,000, up from its $2,000 launch price — but if you have the cash to spare, it'll certainly earn you bragging rights. (Check out our NVIDIA RTX 5090 review.)
Fox News
5 days ago
- Fox News
5.4 million patient records exposed in healthcare data breach
Over the past decade, software companies have built solutions for nearly every industry, including healthcare. One term you might be familiar with is software as a service (SaaS), a model by which software is accessed online through a subscription rather than installed on individual machines. In healthcare, SaaS providers are now a common part of the ecosystem. But, recently, many of them have made headlines for the wrong reasons. Several data breaches have been traced back to vulnerabilities at these third-party service providers. The latest incident comes from one such firm, which has now confirmed that hackers stole the health information of over 5 million people in the United States during a cyberattack in January. Sign up for my FREE CyberGuy ReportGet my best tech tips, urgent security alerts and exclusive deals delivered straight to your inbox. Plus, you'll get instant access to my Ultimate Scam Survival Guide — free when you join. Episource, a big name in healthcare data analytics and coding services, has confirmed a major cybersecurity incident (via Bleeping Computer). The breach involved sensitive health information belonging to over 5 million people in the United States. The company first noticed suspicious system activity Feb. 6, 2025, but the actual compromise began ten days earlier. An internal investigation revealed that hackers accessed and copied private data between Jan. 27 and Feb. 6. The company insists that no financial information was taken, but the stolen records do include names, contact details, Social Security numbers, Medicaid IDs and full medical histories. Episource claims there's no evidence the information has been misused, but because they haven't seen the fallout yet doesn't mean it isn't happening. Once data like this is out, it spreads fast, and the consequences don't wait for official confirmation. The healthcare industry has embraced cloud-based services to improve efficiency, scale operations and reduce overhead. Companies like Episource enable healthcare payers to manage coding and risk adjustment at a much larger scale. But this shift has also introduced new risks. When third-party vendors handle patient data, the security of that data becomes dependent on their infrastructure. Healthcare data is among the most valuable types of personal information for hackers. Unlike payment card data, which can be changed quickly, medical and identity records are long-term assets on the dark web. These breaches can lead to insurance fraud, identity theft and even blackmail. Episource is not alone in facing this kind of attack. In the past few years, several healthcare SaaS providers have faced breaches, including Accellion and Blackbaud. These incidents have affected millions of patients and have led to class-action lawsuits and stricter government scrutiny. If your information was part of the healthcare breach or any similar one, it's worth taking a few steps to protect yourself. 1. Consider identity theft protection services: Since the healthcare data breach exposed personal and financial information, it's crucial to stay proactive against identity theft. Identity theft protection services offer continuous monitoring of your credit reports, Social Security number and even the dark web to detect if your information is being misused. These services send you real-time alerts about suspicious activity, such as new credit inquiries or attempts to open accounts in your name, helping you act quickly before serious damage occurs. Beyond monitoring, many identity theft protection companies provide dedicated recovery specialists who assist you in resolving fraud issues, disputing unauthorized charges and restoring your identity if it's compromised. See my tips and best picks on how to protect yourself from identity theft. 2. Use personal data removal services: The healthcare data breach leaks loads of information about you, and all this could end up in the public domain, which essentially gives anyone an opportunity to scam you. One proactive step is to consider personal data removal services, which specialize in continuously monitoring and removing your information from various online databases and websites. While no service promises to remove all your data from the internet, having a removal service is great if you want to constantly monitor and automate the process of removing your information from hundreds of sites continuously over a longer period of time. Check out my top picks for data removal services here. Get a free scan to find out if your personal information is already out on the web. 3. Have strong antivirus software: Hackers have people's email addresses and full names, which makes it easy for them to send you a phishing link that installs malware and steals all your data. These messages are socially engineered to catch them, and catching them is nearly impossible if you're not careful. However, you're not without defenses. The best way to safeguard yourself from malicious links is to have strong antivirus software installed on all your devices. This protection can also alert you to phishing emails and ransomware scams, keeping your personal information and digital assets safe. Get my picks for the best 2025 antivirus protection winners for your Windows, Mac, Android and iOS devices. 4. Enable two-factor authentication: While passwords weren't part of the data breach, you still need to enable two-factor authentication (2FA). It gives you an extra layer of security on all your important accounts, including email, banking and social media. 2FA requires you to provide a second piece of information, such as a code sent to your phone, in addition to your password when logging in. This makes it significantly harder for hackers to access your accounts, even if they have your password. Enabling 2FA can greatly reduce the risk of unauthorized access and protect your sensitive data. 5. Be wary of mailbox communications: Bad actors may also try to scam you through snail mail. The data leak gives them access to your address. They may impersonate people or brands you know and use themes that require urgent attention, such as missed deliveries, account suspensions and security alerts. What makes this breach especially alarming is that many of the affected patients may have never even heard of Episource. As a business-to-business vendor, Episource operates in the background, working with insurers and healthcare providers, not with patients directly. The people affected were customers of those companies, yet it's their most sensitive data now at risk because of a third party they never chose or trusted. This kind of indirect relationship muddies the waters when it comes to responsibility and makes it even harder to demand transparency or hold anyone accountable. Do you think healthcare companies are investing enough in their cybersecurity infrastructure? Let us know by writing us at For more of my tech tips and security alerts, subscribe to my free CyberGuy Report Newsletter by heading to Follow Kurt on his social channels Answers to the most asked CyberGuy questions: New from Kurt: Copyright 2025 All rights reserved.
Business Journals
25-06-2025
- Business Journals
CarMax embraces AI to boost sales and efficiency, with focus on 'generative engine optimization'
For the quarter that ended May 31, CarMax reported $7.55 billion in revenue, up 6.1% from the same quarter a year ago. Goochland-based used car giant CarMax Inc. says it is increasingly focused on rolling out AI technology across its operations to boost sales, marketing and efficiencies. On an earnings call last week, CarMax CEO Bill Nash said his company is putting a particular emphasis on 'generative engine optimization,' or how it makes its content and listings easily understood and leveraged by AI-powered search engines. Companies have long focused on search engine optimization, which determines how high up web content appears in search results on sites like Google. 'I think the big new buzzword is GEO instead of SEO,' Nash said. 'That's what it's all about. It's like how do you show up well. It's critical. I think if you're only focused on SEO, you're going to miss the boat.' He said GEO will play a big role in CarMax's future marketing campaigns — including one launching this summer — and he said when it comes to marketing in general, he sees a lot of potential with generative AI. CarMax recently parted ways with Richmond's Martin Agency as its advertising agency of record, opting instead for L.A.-based 72andSunny. CarMax execs also said the company is seeing gains in efficiency and user experience through its deployment of AI technology across its operations. The company said it has recently seen a 30% improvement in its containment rate — or how much of a total task is successfully managed without needing to escalate to a higher level or require further intervention — through the use of Skye, its AI-power virtual assistant. AI tools have also improved the productivity of its customer experience teams and its phone and web response times, the execs said. 'We see tremendous opportunity to continue expanding AI applications across our business to drive both the top line growth and operational excellence,' CFO Enrique Mayor-Mora said on the earnings call. For the quarter that ended May 31, CarMax reported $7.55 billion in revenue, up 6.1% from the same quarter a year ago. It posted $210.4 million in net income, up 38% year over year.
