Watching, collecting, and belonging in a quasi-religious fandom

Valorant fandom is not only built on excitement for the game. It also depends on repeated rituals, sacred symbols, and shared ways of feeling together. This handbook treats fandom as a quasi-religious structure: a community organised through watching, repeating, collecting, and believing.

Relics of the Community

Sacred Skins

Within the fan culture of Valorant, certain skins are referred to by players as “sacred artefacts.” They earn this status not merely because of their outstanding visual design or their association with a specific player or competitive era. Sometimes, a skin is deemed “god-tier” because many players feel it offers a better “feel”—smoother, cleaner, or with excellent kill feedback. As more and more people purchase, use, and discuss it, the skin gradually attains an almost sacred status within the community. Over time, it ceases to be merely a cosmetic accessory and becomes an almost untouchable symbol of prestige. In community slang, these highly revered skins are sometimes referred to as “god-tier.” Among them, the Champions 2022 Collection embodies the glory of top-tier tournaments, while Gaia’s Vengeance has developed a nearly mythical aura thanks to its aesthetic style and strong community reputation.

Relic status — recognised through memory and rarity

Community aura — sustained by repetition, admiration, and circulation

Symbolic devotion — skins as objects of attachment rather than simple decoration

Watching as Worship

The Match as Ritual Gathering

Major matches are not simply watched; they are collectively attended. Fans gather in streams, live chats, watch parties, and comment sections, where reaction becomes synchronised. Watching turns into participation, and participation turns into belonging. In this sense, the match functions like a ritual gathering.

anticipation, preparation, entry into the shared mood.

Ritual Entry

01 — Warming Up in the Training Grounds

Before ranked matches begin, many players head to the training grounds to warm up, fine-tune their aim, and mentally prepare.

02 — Graffiti After a Kill

After eliminating an opponent, some players leave graffiti on walls or the ground to show off their skills.

03 — Switching to Melee Weapons While Running

Switching to melee weapons while on the move has become an instinctive reaction for virtually all players in the game.

04 — Checking Melee Weapons While Moving

While running, many players habitually check their melee weapons to admire their animation effects.

This game environment, which borders on a religious ritual, helps retain players. Highly sought-after skins, the default pre-match warm-up sessions, and daily routines all deepen players’ emotional attachment, making them feel not only that they belong to a game, but also that they are part of a meaningful, symbolic community.

xuanhan Shen

This artefact focuses on the religious atmosphere of Valorant’s fan culture. The “religious sense” I am talking about does not mean that players believe this game is religion, but players provide a structure similar to a religious community， in terms of expressions of feelings and interaction. Via the text and the graphic, videos, and page layout, I want to convey that Valorant is not just a competing game, but a cultural community that can resonate and share the same belief system.

In terms of form, I decided to make this artefact into the handbook-style, as the handbook is like an "internal manual" or "guidelines." Not just for showing the information, but sorting out the consensus, idioms, and customs existing in a community. It may also attract attention of the viewers to present the "Valorant" fan culture.

In this artefact, the section of "Watching as Worship" primarily illustrates the player's backing and sustaining of the team. There are stable fans for different teams in Valorant's fan culture. To these fans, supporting a team is not to appreciate the team's performance and playing style, but rather, like a long-term position, identification. The fans will continue to pay attention to the team's performance and maintain the team they support during the discussion, and then continue to strengthen this identification. This accumulation will make the team gradually surpass the existence of "competitive team" in the hearts of the fans, almost as if a belief exists.

The segment of "Relics of the Community" exemplifies the players’ religion of skin. Some skins are referred to as "religious skins" by players. This is not just because of their scarcity, but also because they have received the long-term, stable and consistent praise from vast number of players. Therefore, these skins are increasingly an object that cannot easily be denied. If anyone publicly says that a certain "religious skin" is not good, they will usually receive a fierce retort. In other words, the status of these skins is maintained by players’ continuous reputation, protection and argumentation.

Finally, the portion of "Ritual Entry" illustrates that the feeling of religion of "Valorant" is also present in the daily habits of players,including warm-up drills in the range, painting after a kill, knife-throwing while running, and checking weapon animations. Although these acts may not have much use, they will be conducted repeatedly, and eventually they will become a tacit bubble shared by communities, making people feel like they are entering a "those in the know will understand it" kind of state.

Reference

Anderson, B. (2006) Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism. London: Verso.

Jenkins, H. (2012) Textual Poachers: Television Fans and Participatory Culture. New York: Routledge.

Taylor, T. L. (2012) Raising the Stakes: E-Sports and the Professionalization of Computer Gaming. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.

Durkheim, E. (2008) The Elementary Forms of Religious Life. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Bell, C. (1997) Ritual: Perspectives and Dimensions. New York: Oxford University Press.