Valorant offers a diverse pool of characters that players can choose from. Each of these characters, also called as Agents or Radiants in the game, have unique set of skills to assist gamers in their matches.
Currently, there are a total of 21 Agents divided into 4 categories,
- Controllers – The main smoke agents who are capable of controlling the map being played.
- Initiators – A Flash/Recon agents who excel in creating space and providing any team with valuable information.
- Duelists – The agents who are good at taking duels and escaping from risky scenarios.
- Sentinels – Silent Protectors and anchors of any site they decide to play on.
Among all the available options, we have shortlisted few of the best agents who perform well in any match.
Table of Contents
Jett
Jett is a Duelist agent who relies upon her agile set of skills to quickly deal with multiple opponents.
Her dashing ability called Tailwind helps her to reposition against enemies and take better angles for a gun-fight advantage.
Jett represents her home country of South Korea and is very light on her feet.
Jett has been considered the most overpowered agent from the beginning of Valorant’s launch. Since the start, she has gone through many nerfs and changes to help balance her potential in the game.
Believe it or not, she was a pain to go against when she had instant dash along with 3 cheaply purchasable smokes.
Even after many changes, Jett is still one of the highest-picked agents in Valorant.
Let’s discuss her skills which makes her so versatile.
TAILWIND – E
Tailwind is the main reason why Jett is so strong as a duelist. It is a two part activation skill where you need to activate it first, then you have a set amount of time to use it again which when used makes Jett dash a short distance.
The direction of these dashes is forward by default but it can be manipulated according to the user input. You can use movement key-binds to dash towards your preferred direction.
Note: Jett does not face toward the direction of her dash.
This ability is really powerful when using an Operator since you can take wide angles to shoot and get out before being overwhelmed by enemy numbers.
If the activated skill is not used before its duration ends, tailwind simply expires and cannot be used unless Jett gets 2 kills. Getting these kills will make tailwind available to use again.
As a Jett, it is important to decide the right time for activating tailwind. Most of the time, we recommend you to prepare it in advance when you start hearing enemy noise closing in.
UPDRAFT – Q
This ability makes Jett jump super high very quickly. She can make use of Updraft against enemies by gaining an elevation advantage.
Since Updraft can be used even while the Buy Phase is active, Jett can position with an Operator in very weird angles to catch enemies off guard.
We have the option to buy two charges for this ability on every round.
Note: The skill cannot be purchased within the buy phase once activated. So if you lose a charge, intentionally or by misclick, it cannot be re-bought within the same round.
Updraft can also be considered a panic button to press when being surprised by enemies.
This ability is also very strong when coupled with her ultimate ability, Bladestorm, which we will talk about shortly.
CLOUDBURST – C
Cloudburst is a simple yet very effective smoke that lasts for a very short time. However, the duration is nothing to be ignored as it can create valuable space for yourself and your team.
You can use your smoke and dash into it using Tailwind to occupy space while entering a site. This smoke makes it harder for your enemies to shoot at you directly.
This also distracts enemies holding the site for long enough which lets your teammates capitalize on the info provided by Jett. In this case, your team mates can get easy kills of enemies who are firing at Jett.
Each smoke can be manipulated and curved to your liking which makes it particularly effective in disrupting enemies who are already holding an angle.
Another use of this ability is to cover off the Spike planting ally or while defusing it. One charge is enough to cover the duration of a spike plant.
When defusing though, it takes both charges as each smoke only covers the spike to get it done halfway.
BLADESTORM – X
Bladestorm is a very powerful ability for players possessing a versatile aim. Activating this skill gives Jett a powerful set of 5 knives.
One of the reasons why these knives are very powerful is because of its 1-shot ability of hitting the enemy heads at any range. Additionally, these knives also do not suffer from any recoil or shooting error, even when running and jumping at full speed.
This ultimate is considered a very deadly and precise tool when you are not able to purchase any rifles in a round.
These knives can be used individually by left-clicking andthe knife count is reset after each kill.
You could also right-click with it which makes all remaining knifes fly out at the pointed target.
This however removes your ultimate for the rest of the round and is very imprecise at long distances. So it is recommended to do this only at close encounters when you do not have a chance to aim at the enemy’s head.
Bladestorm is deployed very quickly and, as such, can provide a very powerful clutch tool when being overwhelmed by enemies who are making it tough to reload your weapon.
For example, when using an Operator if you miss or kill the target and you see more enemies closing the gap quickly, this is when Bladestorm can be devastating.
Raze
Representing the country of Brazil, Raze is another most picked agent of the game. She specializes in explosions and deals very high damage with her skills if used appropriately.
This Duelist can deal with enemies who prefer to play together as she gets a strong grenade for free every round.
The nade can kill anyone caught right in its blast zone, even when they have full armor. More on this in the skill section.
Also, with satchels, she can quickly cross short distances or disrupt/damage enemies when used aggressively.
PAINT SHELLS – E
This is the default grenade ability we talked about earlier. Paint Shells can be thrown long distances with left-click and underhand with a right-click.
The skill deals huge damage to all enemies caught in the middle of it.
There is a preliminary explosion of the nade that splits it into 4 parts; all of which, again, detonates for even more damage. This secondary explosion is the main damage dealer of the ability.
Since this ability is available without buying, you can use it to block off enemies trying to enter a site by nading the choke point.
Another way to utilize Paint Shells is to throw it in site corners where enemies are holding.
BLAST PACK – Q
These are satchels which causes mini explosions where allies and Raze herself are propelled a small distance radially from the blast point.
Since you can have two of these in a single round, using both of them together, one after the other, is what is known in the community as flying in/satchelling in.
Here, let me give you a small detail on how it works. The first Blast Pack creates lift and, while in the air, using the second Blast Pack creates momentum.
This way, it is possible for Raze to cross very long distance at full speed. And as the momentum is very high in the air during this period, it’s very difficult to target this agent.
When used correctly, this ability can cause mayhem to enemies holding a site.
I mean wouldn’t you be scared for your life if you see an enemy raze, flying towards you at super speed with a Judge? I would.
BOOM BOT – C
Boombot is a super strong ability that is used to clear various angles in most maps. There are numerous areas where this skill is absolutely perfect to use in.
This bot follows a path it is sent on and changes direction whenever it hits an obstacle. When it detects an enemy, oohh boiii, the bot speeds up and chases them only to explode in their faces while dealing massive damage.
In previous patches, Boombot used to 1 shot enemies when hit. Now it only kills an enemy when they are already low in health or when they have no armor.
SHOWSTOPPER -X
Just as the name sounds, this is the ultimate ability in which Raze packs a Bazooka with a powerful missile.
Showstopper has an initial cast animation which when completed, launches a rocket towards a direction that devastates all enemies within its blast zone.
This ability works really well with Blast Packs, since the missile loading animation can be canceled when timed correctly with her satchels.
So Raze can use this ability, while flying in with Blast Packs, and deal with numerous enemies at once when hearing them rush onto a site.
Cypher
This cyber boi is the perfect example of its role as a Sentinel. Cypher provides valuable information and surveillance to his team with his kit.
There are many players who regard Cypher as an S-tier agent in Valorant if you prefer to play solo in competitive matches.
This is because of his abilities which helps you get easy kills as well as helps you set-up traps to deter enemies entering a site freely.
Be careful with trolling in a match since you never know where Cypher is looking at you from. And yes, he is always watching.
It is possible to roleplay this agent by only using silent weapons like Spectre and Ghost. Furthermore, it is also recommended to place your cam inside Showers to completely indulge in his fan-fiction.
SPYCAM – E
As the name, Spycam allows Cypher to set up a camera which can be used globally. This cam lets Cypher keep an eye out in a 180 degrees cone around that location.
The ability goes further with a dart which can be shot with a left-click. If this dart hits an enemy, they are revealed globally every 2 seconds until the effect is manually removed by the victim pressing F’s in the chat.
Since the camera makes a noise when it is activated/deactivated or when a dart is shot, it is usually not preferred to dart enemies unless absolutely necessary.
You might have placed the cam in places where nobody would expect it to be while you yourself get to enjoy a complete vision and information.
In most games, Spycam is actually very distracting to locate and shoot at. Cypher can use this distraction by deactivating the cam (which creates noise), coming out of cover and shooting at enemies while they are distracted to find the cam.
It is possible to retrieve this Spycam at any point of the round but it goes into a long cooldown. You need to be within the skill’s line-of-sight and hold your interact button (F) to get it back. You can reuse the cam without its penalty if it’s done in the buy round.
CYBER CAGE – Q
Cyber Cage is a smoke-like obstacle that lasts similar duration like Jett’s smoke. But unlike it, this cage makes noise every time an enemy player makes contact with it.
This skill is also very strong for a Sentinel since enemies cannot see beyond the cage while you yourself can shoot at a point whenever the noise takes place.
Note: It is easy to know which side of the screen the noise is coming from since Valorant has clean sound cues.
This ability is so powerful as a tool for Cypher that it helps him survive in dangerous situations. You can also use the cage to hide inside while awaiting enemies running into your traps.
TRAP WIRE – C
This ability is what makes me enjoy playing Cypher myself.
Trap Wire is placed attached to two solid obstacles. You can orient the wire to go from wall to wall, wall to boxes, or ground to wall, all of which gives Cypher a very strong site control.
When enemies run into your trip, they are instantly slowed and revealed to your whole team. This reveal is very powerful as you are also able to kill enemies through wallbanging. Enemies caught in the trap are easy prey for Cypher even when he is in the cover.
The trap wire also causes a stun effect to the enemy caught after a short delay unless the trap is destroyed asap.
These traps works really well in combination with Cyber Cage, since the enemy caught in the wire is highlighted, and the cage allows you to safely come out of cover and shoot the enemy.
Remember? Enemies cannot see past your cage?
NEURAL THEFT – X
Aha!! Cypher’s ultimate ability that allows him to target an enemy corpse and download their information twice within a short duration.
A true hackerman indeed.
The ability lets Cypher and his team locate the remaining enemy players in the map after a 1 second delay, then, after 2 more seconds, it once again reveals the enemy location.
Since Cypher does not need a lot of Ultimate Points to unlock this ability, Neural Theft can be applied more than a few times within the same game.
And also, since the outcome of your rounds are determined by how well informed you are of enemy positions and their tactics, this skill becomes really useful in high ELO games.
Sova
Coming from the Arctic regions of our world, Sova fulfills his Initiator role with perfection in any match. This agent is available for free from the very beginning and has always been an S-tier ever since Valorant has come out.
You bring a bow and arrow to a gunfight?
Being an Initiator is to be able to provide entry for your Duelists. This goes without saying that Sova has super powerful kits that allow him to hunt for enemy info with ease.
It is important to understand Geometry as each of his arrow skills can be assigned with 2 optional bounces. You can also charge each arrow for extra range and travel speed which makes it possible to hit enemies defending a site by different darts on every round.
RECON BOLT – E
Sova’s bread and butter skill, Recon Bolt shoots a dart towards a pointed direction which, when lands, creates a scanning effect around a large area for 2-3 seconds.
This ability however does not scan enemies hiding behind obstacles such as boxes or walls.
Having a relatively low cooldown and free to use, this ability should be used as soon as the round starts. In most cases, the instant use of this dart makes it ready to use again while defending the spike or retaking a site.
Here are the conditions to help you judge on when the skill can have a maximum effect.
- If the enemy team is making no noise and are playing contact explode tactic. Using your Recon Bolt gives valuable information since enemies must get rid of the dart to eliminate any risk of their revelation. On the other hand, if no enemies are present on that side of the map, then your recon has helped your team to hastily strengthen the other site.
- When the enemies are fully rushing to your site while playing defensive side. It is obviously better and recommended to hold your recon arrow than to use it on already known information. Instead, we can use it on the upper wall near the entry point of the site. This forces the incoming enemies to forcefully go through the scan or get eliminated with smoked/wallbang attacks
- When playing attacking. It is absolutely necessary for your recon bolt to hit the site your team wants to attack for precious info regarding enemies hiding in that site. Even if the enemy destroys your dart before it begins its scan, the raw information of someone’s presence and the gunshot sound should be enough for your duelist to be aware of the threat.
SHOCK BOLT – Q
Sova gets two charges for using Shock Bolt which behaves in the similar way to a Recon Bolt but, instead of the scan, it damages agents and can also destroy traps, bots, or prepared mollies.
In recent patches, Shock bolts have been nerfed by giving them a maximum of 90 damage each when a perfect hit occurs.
However, this damage number can be amplified by agents who provide vulnerable status effects. Examples of abilities that make enemies vulnerable are Viper’s molly and Killjoy’s Alarm Bot.
The most useful way to use this skill, as a Sova main myself, is to release it on where your enemies are suspected to be. Since these bolts can have bounces, it is possible to attack enemies using Geometry without leaving cover.
It is also never absolutely required to hit enemies with these bolts perfectly. It’s because of the damage given by the bolt being reduced due to shields.
The only reason this can be a plus point is because you deal more damage to enemies with lesser shields. So, in conclusion, this ability is really powerful in save rounds or half-buy rounds.
Imagine shooting a smoked site entrance with a Phantom when you have info on enemy presence. Enemies damaged by your shocks die faster when they get hit randomly.
Most players like to walk into smoke and then prepare to enter a site or wait for the smokes’ dissipation. Shock darting those smoked entrances might provide huge advantage to your team.
I have had plenty of games where my shock darts have dealt more than 200-300 damage divided amongst 5 enemies when thrown in smoked entrances of a site while playing defense.
Even when I lose my life, my teammates can capitalize on those low health enemies to win the round. Remember to notify your teammates of the damage given though.
OWL DRONE – C
This overpowered and expensive drone has a huge impact on every game.
Not only can Sova clear close corners with this ability but it can also tag any enemy by releasing a dart.
This tag constantly reveals the enemy location for two whole seconds helping your duelist take an entry frag in an easier way.
You can use your jump keybind and hold it to gain elevation with your Owl Drone and crouch to bring it closer to ground level. It can also move in any direction just like your movement.
Note: Owl Drone has a maximum elevation height. But this height is calculated by the obstacle present right underneath it. So, if you can get this drone on top of a crate, its maximum elevation also increases. This is also why most Sova players prefer to jump right before using the drone to get a height advantage from its release.
HUNTER’S FURY – X
This is the Ultimate ability where Sova loads 3 energized arrows that can cover a huge distance and go through any obstacles. Each charge has a minimum damage of 80, which is why you need to hit an enemy at least twice to kill them.
Hunter’s Fury works really well with the drone. Since the drone can be used to tag enemy players, it is recommended to cancel the duration once you have darted. This can be followed up with the ultimate by following enemy movement and eliminating them.
Note: Each hit of Hunter’s Fury also reveals the enemy for 1 second.
Kayo
Kayo, or Kay-0 (pronounced kay oh), is the machine agent of Valorant. Coming loaded with suppresses and flashes, the agent works really well as an Initiator.
You mostly see Kayo in action when teams are playing with double initiator comp (combination). However, even alone, he has the best abilities to shut-down a single enemy or their whole team.
Metal body seems to have no effect on this agent’s versatility since you will regularly see him working out and stretching between matches.
Here are what his skills do.
ZERO/POINT – E
Kayo’s default ability, Zero/Point is a strong skill which suppresses any enemy after getting scanned by it. Kayo throws a charged knife at a target which, when it lands, has a radius around it that looks like a mini-EMP explosion.
The skill gathers information for the whole team about the enemies who are caught within its effect (even through walls). It makes the suppressed enemy incapable of using their skills for a short duration.
When enemies are hit by the knife’s radius, they are shown as tiny portraits to Kayo’s teammates. So it helps you find out enemies and their exact position.
This ability works really well for an experienced player who can anticipate enemies to disrupt their site entry. For example, Raze trying to use Showstopper or Jett with Bladestorm.
The suppress is very strong against enemy duelists who have their ults activated, since it can suppress them and leave them wide open for elimination.
FLASH/DRIVE – Q
Flash/Drive simply is the second best flash in the entire game, the first place goes to Phoenixs’ flashes. Kayo can buy two charges of this skill every round.
One of the two ways Kayo can use this flash is using the left-click button. This launches the gadget a long distance making it explode into a bright beam of light after traveling for a short duration.
The other method is by using the underhand method. It is also known as a pop flash, as it explodes quicker than the counterpart and blinds any player hit by it. This is a very reliable way of swinging at enemies and killing them.
FRAG/MENT – C
Frag/Ment is the grenade or molly that pulses with damage between intervals. The longer a player is trapped in this molly, higher damage is accumulated after each tick.
Unlike other mollies that rapidly brings down the HP, this grenade deals chunk damage by removing a set amount of health according to their status effects.
This ability is a really powerful tool while clearing corners as it prevents enemies from pushing through it.
Since the molly can travel a long distance before resting on the ground, it’s possible to use lineups and deny Spike defuses too.
NULL/CMD – X
It is Kayo’s Ultimate ability which produces multiple pulses of suppressing effect from his core in a massive radius around him. It also provides Kayo with the Overloaded status effect which makes him fire weapons at a faster rate.
With overloaded status active after getting killed, Kayo actually gets in a downed state and can be revived by his allies. However, Kayo will not be invulnerable to damage but gets 1000 HP while downed.
This ability is a great way for providing site entry since it prevents enemy ability from being used for a long duration (yes, even already placed traps; unless the agent has setup on 1 site and plays on the other).
Viper
Viper is the chemistry specialist who primarily deals with poison and its effects. After having a lot of experiments under her belt, she now brings her expertise to Valorant maps.
She is one of the best Controllers because of her kit and is also a top pick in lots of professional matches.
The way she can control a site with her skills is overpowered to say the least.
All of her skills can bring an enemy down until it reaches 1 Hp along with temporarily removing their armor value. The enemy, however, must be seated inside her abilities for long enough for these effects to take place.
You might get to personally experience and see how effective every Viper’s skills are for holding a site. Her skills make it so much easier to eliminate enemies who dare and try to test those defenses.
On another note, except for mollies, all of Viper’s skills rely on fuel. This fuel meter automatically regenerates when those corresponding skills are not active. So keep an eye out on her skills display before executing a strat.
TOXIC SCREEN – E
This ability lets Viper set a string of dispensers in a long straight line which when activated shoots out poison vertically. These poison sprinklers when combined together will look like a green wall of deadly toxins.
Enemies who pass through this wall will have their Armor value reduced instantly because of decay status effect. This armor however restores back to its value after a short duration.
Opponents without any armor will take straight HP reduction instead, which too will restore to their original value once the decay status wears off.
Please note that enemies who are stuck in the wall will continuously drop armor and health until it reaches 1 HP.
Viper can set up this ability before a round begins and since it covers a very long distance, can be a powerful tool for team games.
POISON CLOUD – Q
Viper sets up a reusable gadget which when activated creates a poisonous smoke in its radius. The enemies who walk into this smoke will have the same Decay effect.
This cloud is really strong when placed into the chokepoints of a site. There are numerous places where it is possible to create One-way smokes which allows teammates to see enemy legs while enemies will have their vision blocked.
Many foolish enemies have tried to rush into a site ignoring this cloud only to get melted down by a solo Viper.
SNAKE BITE – C
Viper’s molly, or spit as fans like to call it, Snake Bite is yet another powerful tool which creates a pool of toxins when it lands on the ground.
This toxic pool deals damage over time and also inflicts all agents (yes, including teammates) in the map with vulnerable status effects. This means that anyone having this effect takes additional weapon and ability damage.
The damage is further boosted when teamed up with Toxic Cloud, since the toxic combo rips through enemy health when affected by decay.
VIPER’S PIT – X
In this ultimate skill, Viper creates a pool of toxic gas. It creates a massive smoke-like area of toxins, inside which enemies lose their armor and HP.
Viper and her allies are able to see a bit further inside the pit than their enemies. This makes it easier to detect enemies first. And, since the HP drops down to 1, even a single bullet or a blow of air can kill them instantly.
The emphasis here is on “site” as it is preferably better to use this skill inside a spike plant site.
While players are free to choose where and how they use the majority of their skills, there are also plays you can make with this skill outside of a plant site.
Let’s say a Viper played in Bind map as an example who chooses to use Viper’s Pit in the B-site Hookah.
This will completely shut down any entrances from Hookah when playing defense. The same applies to A-site Showers or A-site Short where this skill can shut down any enemy push.
Brimstone
Brimstone is considered the Captain Commander of all Radiant forces who is responsible for leading his team’s operation to success.
His mission as the lore states is to locate and recover all Radianite cores scattered all over the world. For this, Brimstone utilizes his Satellite station to provide a strong backup while playing in any matches.
Brimstone is one of the best controllers who is available for free to all players. The simple reason for him being on this list is because of his long lasting smokes and his team supporting utilities.
While it can be argued that Astra might be a better agent because of her ability to smoke globally, she has a particularly high skill cap to master and is picked in most professional matches.
Also, take Harbor for instance, who is really strong in Pearl or in the hands of an experienced player (me for instance, >.<).
Brimstone can be your most easy to learn/easy to master agent and works well for any map or scenarios.
However, please also note that this bulky unit creates a heavier footstep noise so it is easy to know who made such a sound. This could give out info on how a strat is going to play out.
As for the skills of Brimstone, here is why he is one of the best agents.
SKY SMOKES – E
This skill is one of the strongest smoking utilities in the game that also has the longest duration.
Brimstone opens his arm-attached tablet which brings up a panel that replicates the map being played. He can then mark locations of the map in his tablet where his smokes will be deployed using left-clicks. Finally, with a right-click, the marked location will be smoked off.
I think it is the satellite station under his command that deploys the smoke, at least visually. This begs the question, how is it possible that some underground locations can also be smoked? Please let me know if you solve this mystery.
Continuing on, the inside of the smoke is disturbed which is what makes it really strong against enemy pushes. Unlike the smokes of Astra’s and Omen’s that are hollow on the inside, Brim’s smokes are vastly different.
Brimstone can have 3 total smokes per round which do not refresh at all, but being the longest duration smokes, it is actually never required for any Controller to use more than 3 smokes in any match.
Brimstone gets 1 free Sky Smoke every round.
INCENDIARY – Q
Incendiary is the molly skill which creates a pit of fire after bouncing twice. Brimstone loads a molotov in his grenade launcher and can fire it towards a targeted point with left-click.
There is no alternative way to launch this single charge molly that is available for purchase.
This ability does huge damage to all enemies which is why it is a strong site controlling tool.
It is possible to block-off some entrances to a site with this molly while your team can get situated properly. This skill also damages allies so it is necessary to communicate your molly usage.
It is also possible to play post plant lineups with this skill since you can launch the Molotov very high in the air.
A molly thrown in the spike after planting it can deter any defuse attempts for a long duration which might be the edge you need to win a round.
You could learn a few molly lineups which are thrown from safe spots to assist your team.
STIM BEACON – C
Commonly called as Stim, this is a gadget Brimstone thrown on the ground by a single press of a button.
This ability provides all allies that walk/run on top of it with a movement and firing speed bonus.
It is a really great utility skill that allows fast site controlling ability. The extra bullet fire speed can also provide huge potential with machine gun spam to prevent enemies from pushing through one of your smokes.
You only get 1 usage of this ability on any given round and it should be used situationally since a speed bonus also means harder to control recoil.
ORBITAL STRIKE – X
This ultimate ability called Orbital Strike deploys a satellite weapon onto a marked location.
The way to use this skill is similar to how a smoke is deployed; by marking a spot on his tablet with a left-click. There is however no need to confirm the deployment as the left-click already does the job.
It has a greater radius than his smokes so can be used for clearing a site or also using it post-plant to remove spike defusing attempts.
Some of the other uses of this ability is in combination with stun effects given by Breach or the info provided by Sova or even when an enemy is being chased by Yoru’s ult.
However, the most seen usage of this ultimate is to get rid of Killjoy’s Lockdown.
Sage
Sage is considered a fan mascot of Valorant along with Jett and is a very strong Sentinel. Sage is a powerful healer in this game and is capable of holding a site on her own as well.
She is of Chinese background and is a spiritually awakened agent.
With skills that can bring enemies to a halt, Sage, who is attained freely, is one of the top picked agents in many competitive matches. Although not highly picked in professional matches, her value to your games are nothing to be scoffed upon.
Sage is also one of the first agents with whom many players start their Valorant journey. She is very easy to learn and has the capability to revive a fallen ally with her ultimate ability. This can greatly swing the advantage towards your team.
Her skills are quite simple to understand and implement in a match. So here is a short description on each of these abilities.
HEALING ORB – E
As mentioned before, Healing Orb is a unit healing ability. Sage brings forth an orb which is able to heal her teammates with a targeted left-click and herself with a right-click.
Allies, however far or near, can be healed for 60 HP but they have to be within her line-of-sight. This heal, however, can be disrupted with damage so it is necessary to be in a safe stop to utilize this ability’s efficiency.
This ability also self-recharges which means that it can be used a maximum of 3 times within a single round.
SLOW ORB – Q
Sage gets the option to buy two Slow Orbs which when thrown in a target point, creates a pool of shattered ice on the ground. This has a large radius which is almost similar in size to Controller smokes.
As simple as the name of this skill is, agents who are trying to run on top of this ability are all slowed down and there are sound cues of glass breaking.
BARRIER ORB – C
Barrier Orb is one of the most important skills with which Sage creates an Ice wall in front of her.
This wall can be rotated to fit the orientation of the place to block off. There are places in each map where this ability is really strong and can prevent enemy rushes.
Not only this, but this wall is also very helpful in preventing lurking enemies who are trying to backstab your team.
This ability has an initial animation time where the ice wall protrudes from the ground up. It takes time to form properly which means that it can also be easily broken with fewer bullets.
But once the wall has set itself up, it will take a significantly large chunk of bullets to breakthrough.
Note: Enemies like Jett, Omen and Raze are able to bypass this wall without breaking it if they are sneaky enough. Also, when playing too far away to hear any enemy noise around the wall, your Minimap will show any broken segment to let you know if any enemy has pushed through.
It is also possible to break this wall with Melee weapons.
It is important for Sage players to know the duration of the wall since it also breaks itself after a set amount of time.
On many occasions, there are players hiding behind a wall, waiting, so that they can backstab. Players who are distracted when engaging enemies on a site might not notice the breaking of Sage’s wall and will often be caught off guard.
Another important thing to note about this wall is that any agent standing on top of the place where this wall is about to form, will get lifted too.
Many Sage players are known to take advantage of this height to fight enemies who are trying to instantly get rid of this wall while forming. While they are distracted and trying to shoot your Ice wall, it is possible to swing and kill that foe.
One last advantage of this wall is, it is used to provide cover. Either planting or defusing the spike, it is possible to use this ability to be safe from enemy abilities or gunfire.
RESURRECTION – X
Finally, Sage’s ultimate ability called Resurrection restores the life of a fallen teammate in the battlefield.
The ability brings back an ally who is dead in the round by reviving them on top of where their body lies.
This ultimate is very advantageous to your team so it is important that you, as a Sage player, play behind your allies and not die early in a round when the skill is available.
Author’s Opinions
Please understand that these are some of the best Agents not just in personal opinion but also in what they can achieve in every match. There are justification which might make you wonder why a certain Agent is not present in this list.
Like for example, Reyna, who is a strong contender for being the single best agent of the game, has abilities that can flash/distract enemies as well as skills which heals herself back to full HP with an Overhealing bonus.
Do note that apart from her Leer, all of her abilities rely on being able to kill enemies first to get an advantage.
If you cannot kill enemies, you cannot make use of her awesome abilities to retake another fight like it was your first. So in short, Reyna excels in 1-to-1 combat and she shines when being able to isolate such fights.
Similarly, Gecko is also considered a very strong agent. He has a whole toolkit of skills that can flash, reveal, plant/defuse spike, molly, and his ultimate that sends forth a fast moving creature which detains any enemies it launches into.
However, having so many different utilities can greatly affect a player’s performance and decision making.
Personally, while playing Gecko, it felt like most of my time was being spent only on using his skills. While it is great to have multiple options, it was equally distracting at the release of this agent.
Such points can be made regarding every single agent. While there are certain abilities that provide great value on a single objective, there are agents who have skills that require better understanding of how it works and the possibilities.
If you are looking for a quick video to learn how the skills of the agents listed in this article looks and feels, you can watch it below.
In the end, Valorant is an FPS game. No matter which agent you pick, it ultimately boils down to how good you are at aiming.
What each agent provides is only an edge in your battles but remember that your enemies have their own skills to play with too.
So after all is said and done, if you cannot kill your opponents in Valorant, none of your ability usage matters.
What use is of a Killjoy who has properly set up all her skills on a site, but the player still decides to peek an enemy Reyna, who is already 32 kills in a match, and then dies to a single bullet.
Does this mean that Killjoy is not a good agent against Reyna? No, Just git gud boi.
Good Game!! And Good Luck!!
