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Hardstuck Gold Valorant: find what your aim does wrong

Hardstuck Gold or Silver in Valorant? The Novice benchmark scores 6 aim subcategories and the routine attacks the weakest one. Aim is only part of your rank.

You are stuck in Gold or Silver, you play a lot, and you cannot tell what holds you back. On vlr.gg, one player says it plainly: he needs someone to tell him what he is doing wrong.[1] This page offers a precise diagnosis for the mechanical part: 6 aim subcategories scored one by one.[2] It also says where that diagnosis ends.

Who this page is for

For the player who plays ranked, warms up, and still hits a ceiling. You have tried playlists and deathmatches, maybe both. The problem is not volume, it is the lack of an answer to "where is my weak spot?".

An Immortal 3 player describes how aiming at heads while moving side to side made him more consistent.[3] That is a precise drill answering a precise flaw. Yours still has to be found.

What it asks of you, in numbers

  • One full benchmark: 12 scenarios, 2 per subcategory, entered by hand.[2][4]
  • KovaaK's on PC, paid on Steam.[4]
  • One intensity: Elite is a fair start when you already know how to train, with 2 sessions of 20 minutes per routine day.[5]
  • A weekly re-read: the benchmark is redone on Monday in UTC.[6]

No rank promise: aim is only part of what moves you up.[7]

The three blockers, and what changes

1. You do not know what you do wrong. The benchmark scores each subcategory separately instead of handing you one global number. The lowest subcategory becomes your first target, rather than a feeling.[8][9]

2. Aim alone is not enough. A vlr.gg player writes that movement, gun control and crosshair placement matter as much as aim, or more.[10] We agree: the product handles mechanical aim only, and rank depends on everything else too.[7] What you gain is knowing whether aim is part of the problem, or not.

3. No routine you stick to. The recurring advice is to stay consistent and train every day you play.[11] The daily routine hands you the exercises and playlist codes, so you stop choosing at every session.[9]

A sample diagnosis

A Silver ranked player enters 12 Novice scores.[2] Here is the result, with scores sitting exactly on the thresholds so the math reads easily.

Subcategory Scores Energy
precise Smoothbot 3500 (Gold), PreciseOrb 1900 (Silver) 315 [12][13]
reactive Plaza 2150 (Iron), Air 2200 (Bronze) 135 [12][13]
evasive evaTS 560 (Silver), bounceTS 550 (Bronze) 225 [12][13]

The other three subcategories, dynamic, static and speed, all sit at Silver, 270 each.[13] Overall energy is a harmonic mean: about 230 here, so below Silver despite a Gold precise.[8]

The diagnosis is clear: reactive at 135 is the weak spot, ahead of evasive at 225.[8] The routine starts there. On Elite, a 5 day week is 10 sessions of 20 minutes, so 200 minutes of KovaaK's, and 75 deathmatches.[5] At next Monday's benchmark, you check whether reactive moved.[6]

Watch your play time too: a vlr.gg player proposes 1 hour of aim training for 4 hours of play, and judges that gains shrink beyond that.[14]

What fits you, and what does not

It fits if you want a numbered diagnosis by subcategory and a work order that follows from it. The coach applies fixed rules to your scores: same input, same output.[15]

It does not fit if your problem lies elsewhere: reading the game, utility, communication, crosshair placement. The product does not touch those, and it promises no rank.[7] You also have to accept KovaaK's, paid on Steam.[4]

How to start

  1. Sign in with your Google account.
  2. Play the 12 Novice scenarios in KovaaK's and enter your scores.[2]
  3. Look at the lowest subcategory: that is your target for the week.[8]
  4. Pick Elite if you have the time, Challenger if not, and start the daily routine.[5]

Before the benchmark, check your sensitivity with the Sensitivity Finder or the converter. The full frame is in the routine and the benchmark. Other profiles: beginner, short on time, coming from another FPS. One skill in particular? See training.

Frequently asked questions

Is aim the reason I am hardstuck in Gold?

Possibly in part. Rank also depends on game sense, utility and your team.[7] A vlr.gg player cites movement, gun control and crosshair placement as equally important as aim.[10]

What does the benchmark measure to diagnose my aim?

The 6 subcategories of the Novice level: dynamic, static, precise, reactive, speed and evasive.[2] Each gets an energy score, the average of its scenarios.[8]

How long should I train each day when I am stuck?

Elite plans 2 sessions of 20 minutes and 15 deathmatches per routine day.[5] One player suggests 1 hour of aim training for 4 hours of play.[14]

Does EsportManager make you rank up?

No rank is promised. The product measures aim and picks the exercises; reading the game stays on you.[7]

How does the coach pick my exercises?

With fixed rules on the scores you enter, with no randomness.[15] The daily exercises start from your weakest subcategories.[9]

Read next

Ready to measure your aim?

Diagnose my aim

Sources

  1. On vlr.gg, a player writes that he needs someone to tell him what he is doing wrong so he can improve. · vlr.gg (opens in a new tab) · checked on October 3, 2026↩︎
  2. The Novice level covers Iron to Gold: 12 scenarios, 2 per subcategory, in 6 subcategories (dynamic, static, precise, reactive, speed, evasive). · EsportManager data · checked on October 3, 2026↩︎↩︎↩︎↩︎↩︎
  3. On another thread, an Immortal 3 player says aiming at heads while moving side to side made him more consistent, and that crosshair placement is key. · vlr.gg (opens in a new tab) · checked on October 3, 2026↩︎
  4. The benchmark and the routine are played in KovaaK's, on PC, paid on Steam; scores are typed in by hand. · EsportManager data · checked on October 3, 2026↩︎↩︎↩︎
  5. Elite plans 2 sessions of 20 minutes and 15 deathmatches per routine day; Challenger is 1 session and 10 deathmatches; Hardcore is 3 sessions and 20 deathmatches. · EsportManager data · checked on October 3, 2026↩︎↩︎↩︎↩︎
  6. The benchmark is redone every week, the week starting on Monday in UTC. · EsportManager data · checked on October 3, 2026↩︎↩︎
  7. Your Valorant rank also depends on game sense, utility and your team, and does not tell you whether your aim is improving. · EsportManager data · checked on October 3, 2026↩︎↩︎↩︎↩︎↩︎
  8. A subcategory's energy is the average of its scenarios, and overall energy is the harmonic mean of the subcategories, provisional until the benchmark is complete. · EsportManager data · checked on October 3, 2026↩︎↩︎↩︎↩︎↩︎
  9. The daily exercises target the weakest subcategories first, with KovaaK's playlist codes. · EsportManager data · checked on October 3, 2026↩︎↩︎↩︎
  10. On a KovaaK's routines thread, jsoef writes that movement, gun control and crosshair placement matter as much as aim in duels, if not more. · vlr.gg (opens in a new tab) · checked on October 3, 2026↩︎↩︎
  11. On that thread, a player advises consistency: not one day of aim training a week, but every day you play. · vlr.gg (opens in a new tab) · checked on October 3, 2026↩︎
  12. Novice thresholds: VT Smoothbot Novice is Silver at 3100 and Gold at 3500; VT PreciseOrb Novice Silver at 1900; VT Plaza Novice Iron at 2150; VT Air Novice Bronze at 2200; VT evaTS Novice Silver at 560; VT bounceTS Novice Bronze at 550. · EsportManager data · checked on October 3, 2026↩︎↩︎↩︎
  13. Energy rises by 90 per rank: Iron 90, Bronze 180, Silver 270, Gold 360. · EsportManager data · checked on October 3, 2026↩︎↩︎↩︎↩︎
  14. On the same thread, a player proposes 1 hour of aim training for 4 hours of game time, and judges that more than that brings diminishing returns. · vlr.gg (opens in a new tab) · checked on October 3, 2026↩︎↩︎
  15. The coach is deterministic: each rule is a pure function that depends only on the data you enter. · EsportManager data · checked on October 3, 2026↩︎↩︎