Planting

Planting is the act of arming the spike on a designated bombsite, which is the attackers' core objective each round. The carrier holds the use key for four seconds inside the site, and once planted the spike begins a forty-five-second countdown to detonation.

Smart planting matters as much as winning the fight: players plant in spots that are hard for defenders to clear safely (a safe plant) or where teammates hold the angle (a default plant). A successful detonation wins the round even if every attacker dies, which is why planting under pressure, often during a retake, is a defining skill in tactical Valorant play.