Why Are You Not Abusing This Gun in 2026?

[00:02] like a worse Vandal and throw away free kills because of it. After coaching to my coaching program, I've seen the same Phantom mistakes over and over again. And so for that reason, in this video, I'm going to show you five

[00:16] practical, simple to more advanced tips, and I'll teach you some interesting might have never heard before. Before we jump in, quick heads up, I'm bringing in more top coaches onto the channel this year. So today's video is hosted by

[00:29] Coach Raven from my Immortal Valorant program. He's a Radiant player, here to coach, and a TF2 world champion. So you're going to be in great hands. Now, smoke with a Vandal at some point and died right after from an enemy spamming

[00:42] the problem was the gun you were using and that the Phantom is the solution? When you spam a smoke with a Vandal, the gun's bullet tracers show exactly where enemies to spam you back. Unlike the Vandal, the Phantom doesn't create

[00:55] bullet tracers, which allows us to spam through smokes without giving info about our position. A great example is when you're in defense and multiple enemies are waiting main behind the smoke. Spraying through the smoke allows you to

[01:07] get some important chip damage or even one kill during every site push. The is when your enemy shouldn't know that anyone is on that site at all. For example, if you're anchoring and you start spamming through a smoke, they

[01:20] overwhelm you with players advantage. One interesting fact about making noise sound of the Phantom can't be heard distances of 40 meters plus except in the direction of fire. I've never heard any other coach mention this and it's

[01:35] this gun. However, it is still important to know and you might actually use this long range will be worth it. To actually get kills through smokes like the pros, it's important not to spam in the same spot all the time. Change where you

[01:49] spray or shoot a few bursts in different spots. And if you have any info on the map and shoot in the general direction of the agent icons or question marks. you see them getting kills through smokes every game. Spamming through

[02:04] smokes with a Phantom works really well on the attack side, too. If you're attacking and a Vandal was trying to spray you down through a smoke, you can focus on the tracers and spray back in that direction with the Phantom without

[02:16] keep in mind is that spraying through smokes with a Phantom is [music] very strong. The five extra bullets in the mag also make your life much easier. mechanics are actually decent, but you're still stuck in your rank, our

[02:30] team of Radiants and VCT coaches can give you personalized feedback inside our premium 10-week Immortal Roadmap program. Our average student gains 500 RR in 10 weeks and these are some of the things that our students have to say

[02:43] about us. We offer 100 hours plus of personalized coaching with one-on-ones, private scrims. We're so confident in our coaching that if you don't rank up 500 RR in 10 weeks, we'll give you a full refund. We only have a few spots

[02:57] left for the next season of the program, so use the link in the description to tracker and see if we'd be a good fit. Since patch 9.10 last year, the Phantom received key buffs that make it a solid pick at mid-to-long range fights. The

[03:11] body damage was increased from 31 to 35 beyond 20 m and the long-range [music] headshot rose from 124 to 140, extending its one-shot range out to 20 m. This life-changing buff. But, if your team is

[03:25] landing utility damage or killjoy mollies, a single 140 headshot plus some damage from these utilities are enough to finish any full shielded enemy at 150 HP. And while it still might feel like the Vandal was better at long range, the

[03:38] range when enemies have light shields or regen shields. For example, the 140 Phantom damage is perfect for eco rounds or post plants when enemies are light Phantom shoots faster and has an easier recoil control. Therefore, if we don't

[03:54] need the 151 tap, it will always perform better than the Vandal. Sentinels and Controllers benefit most from the Phantom since their utility often does enemy off with the Phantom. And as we'll see more in detail in the next point,

[04:07] when standing still, meaning that your first shot will land more often where Phantom compared to the Vandal. Now, that's long range covered, but where the Phantom really shines is close quarters. Let me explain. From 0 to 20 m, the

[04:22] Phantom can one-tap headshot any opponent no matter what armor they have. Vandal does the same thing." Well, both yes and no. depending on the close-range scenario, the Phantom can excel more. Here's why.

[04:36] At mid to close range, fights get messy. You're both moving, peeking tight angles, and duels are decided in fractions of a second. The Phantom has three mechanical advantages here that the Vandal doesn't. First, it has a

[04:48] higher fire rate, 11 bullets per second compared to the Vandal's 9.75, which bullets come out faster and you'll get more shots off in the same amount of time. Second, [music] the recoil is easier to control on the first five to

[05:02] placement is slightly off, the Phantom forgives that better than the Vandal does. And third, no one mentions [music] this, but the Phantom is more accurate when standing still. The Phantom spread values are lower in all instances,

[05:15] your crosshair and is slightly less affected by the gun's bloom while that many players have is that the Phantom is more accurate when moving. That's not actually true. As you can see from the movement penalties, both guns

[05:29] punish you the same way for shooting while moving. Given this, [music] if you're in garage on Haven at close range, the Phantom is at its best. At fire rate and accuracy allow you to get more bullets out when spraying and

[05:42] gunfight. I know playing a shotgun at short range is probably better, but the Phantom is still great and has much higher chances of winning gunfights at mid to long range. I see the Phantom as a more versatile Vandal. With [music]

[05:55] close corners and destroy people who swing you, but if they don't peek, you can still help in a retake scenario at longer ranges. Map choice also matters way more than most low elo players realize. On a map like Breeze, where

[06:08] you're constantly taking 30 plus meter duels, [music] the Vandal's one tap at But on maps like Split and Bind, where most fights happen in tight chokes and narrow corridors, the Phantom's faster fire rate and spray control let you win

[06:21] more of those fights. The Phantom dominates messy close-range duels, but sometimes even that isn't enough. You still get outnumbered. That's where most players lose the site. [music] Spray transferring with the Vandal, especially

[06:33] onto more than one target, is extremely hard to pull off consistently compared as we mentioned before, the Phantom spray is slightly more manageable. Plus, the Vandal has 25 bullets in the mag compared to the [music] Phantom's 30.

[06:46] That's five extra bullets, which may sound small, but when you're in longer gunfights and you try spray transferring onto two to three enemies, you'll thank earlier, the Vandal spray gets really random after seven to eight bullets

[06:59] because the horizontal kick is harder to predict and control. The Phantom's recoil stays tighter for slightly longer, which is exactly what you need want to feel the difference, load into the range, spawn a few bots close

[07:12] together, and spray transfer between them with both guns. Hold left click the entire time and drag your mouse from one to the next. [music] You'll immediately Phantom is. Now, those five extra bullets, combined with the faster fire

[07:25] rate and the more manageable spray, make the Phantom clearly better at close that the agent you play can actually dictate which gun is better for you. Let me explain. If you're playing a smoker or sentinel, which gun you use is

[07:38] to stay alive. If you're playing sentinels like Cypher, you're [music] cages and smokes to do chip damage or secure kills. With a Phantom, you can spam freely without giving away your position, which means more kills and

[07:52] staying alive longer to control the site, especially in defense. Many top the Phantom on agents like Cypher and Viper because they constantly play around cages, smokes, and walls where they need to spam and chip [music]

[08:06] traded. It's the same story for other controllers, too. If you're playing Omen or Brim on a big site, you're often smoking a choke or site entrance, then spraying through it to slow the hit. Not only that, extra smokes allow you to

[08:19] distances where your Phantom is stronger. On the other hand, if you're a duelist or Chamber taking a lot of dry, long-range peaks and instantly dashing more sense because you're committing to a single bullet and then leaving. So,

[08:34] I'm not saying that you should never buy the Vandal again. It just depends on the kind of fights you'll take, and the enemy economy. That's all for now. If you enjoyed the video and learned something new, don't forget to like and

[08:47] >> [music] >> and we'll see you in the next one.