How can I practice less telegraphed smokes and post-plant setups in Valorant?

[BrandonM]

I’ve been trying to get better at my agent pool for the upcoming season, but I feel like I’m hitting a wall with my controller play. My smokes feel predictable and my post-plant setups are getting read too easily. How do you guys practice to make your utility usage less telegraphed?

[AvaVH]

I used to run the same smokes every round too, until I started recording my games and looking at the timing. I’d throw after I peeked, and the moment was readable. Now I practice in a custom with five different lineups for each spot and I randomize the timing a bit so I don’t lock into one rhythm.

[EvelynW]

In practice I do a drill where I execute five rounds with different post plant setups and I switch the smoke timing between fast, slow, and delayed. The goal isn’t perfect lineups but breaking the pattern so teammates don’t know what’s coming.

[KevinSJ]

Tried fake flashes and delayed smokes, but most of the reads came from pace and where I stand on the approach, not the smoke itself. Drills helped a bit, but the reads still catch me.

[Chloe50]

I once realized the problem might be our comms more than the actual smoke. We overcall rotations and it makes the same setup look obvious. We cut chatter and kept it simple and I still feel like it helps sometimes, other days not.

[Aurora75]

Do you think the real barrier is the plays or the calls we make around them?