Are you wondering why agents have a role assigned to them and how these roles affect the gameplay and team composition? Wonder no more, this guide will cover all you should know about the roles in Valorant.
Unlike other FPS games, Valorant is more focused on abilities, agents, team composition, and strategy. That is why Valorant has assigned roles to all agents. They have also designed agent abilities around their role to suit their utility.
Roles in Valorant
There are twenty-one Agents in Valorant that are grouped into four different roles based on their abilities that control and affect the game flow. Players can select their roles based on their aim accuracy, mechanical skills, and playing style.
Sentinels
These are passive agents, perfect for defending the back lines or choke points. Due to their high defensive and map-controlling abilities, they can manipulate and reshape the battlefield in their favor by locking down sites and denying access to enemies.
As they are defense masters, sentinels are best at blocking enemy movements and locking down enemy flankers. However, it’s different during the attack phase, sentinels can shift their play-style to lurkers or flankers to attack enemy back lines. Another way of playing in attack is to wait for an opening to plant and lock down the site.
Currently, Valorant offers four sentinel agents, Chamber, Cypher, Killjoy, and Sage. Where Sage is the only one available from the start and you have to unlock others by activating their contract one at a time.
Initiators
Initiators as the name suggests are the ones who open up the battlefield and initiate. They are the most Vital agents on the battlefield as they have a perfect combination of attacking and defending skills. The longer Initiators are alive the higher their impact is in the game.
Their main job is to gather information on the enemies and control enemy movements while leading their allies into enemy areas. Breach and KAY/O’s abilities have an AOE effect and they are perfect to disrupt enemies in the area. The most recent addition to initiators is Geko. It has abilities that are self-sufficient and it acts more like a combination of initiator, duelist, and sentinel.
Currently, Valorant offers six Initiators: Breach, Skye, Sova, KAY/O, Fade, and Gekko. Only Sova is available from the start and the rest of the Initiators need to be unlocked.
Controllers
Just by the name you can guess that controllers are best at controlling the battlefield to their advantage. They are equipped with abilities like smoke screens which can prevent enemies from peaking and provide cover for their team.
Controllers are good at setting the pace of the game, as they can take enemy sight away and narrow down their options to push forward. They are the ones who are supposed to live till the end of the round and enter every battle as a secondary fragger.
At the moment Valorant offers five controllers: Brimstone, Astra, Viper, Harbor, and Omen. If you are starting new only Brimstone will be available to you and you will need to unlock others by activating contracts and playing games
Duelists
Duelists are the most aggressive agents and they are perfect to rush in and deal high amounts of damage with their abilities. They are the masters of offense and own the flashiest moves in Valorant. In fights, they are self-sufficient and can create their own opportunities with flashes, sight blocks, and stuns.
They are considered the primary fraggers and they start the fights by rushing into the enemies. Playing duelist requires high-aim precision and maneuverability. As you have to push into enemy ranks to open up a path for your team.
They play a high-risk role in Valorant. Currently, there are six dualists available: Jett, Neon, Phoenix, Reyna, Raze, and Yoru. Where Jett and Phoenix are available from the start and do not require activation.
Unlock Your Agents Wisely
Unlocking an agent is the most important task if you are new to Valorant. The most common mistake is to unlock a fancy agent you were defeated by in your previous game. Remember that not all agents suit your gaming style so it is better to play all roles before deciding to unlock new agents.
You can unlock new agents by activating their contracts and completing the missions to gain experience points. As soon as you hit tier 5, your agent will be unlocked and available to play in games. Unlocking all agents will consume a lot of time so it is better to unlock the agents based on priority.
Know Your Agents and Their Strengths
After knowing the roles and agents associated with them, now you are ready to understand more about their abilities. When starting Valorant you will have five Agents unlocked to start your game, Sage, Phoenix, Sova, BrimStone, and Jett. Here we will cover one agent from each role with their unique abilities. Starting with Sentinel: Sage, Initiator: Sova, Controller: BrimStone, and Duelist Jett.
Sage
- Healing Orb is Sage’s signature ability and she can cast it to heal herself and her allies. In self heal it gives 30 health and in allies heal she can heal 100 health.
- Slow Orb slow downs the enemy movement speed in an area. It’s the perfect ability to slow down enemies peeking from a cover.
- Barrier Orb creates a wall barrier that can seal off an area.
- Resurrection is the ultimate ability of Sage which can bring one ally back to life, it is one of the most important abilities to hold onto.
Sova
- The Recon bolt is the Sova’s signature ability. You can use right-click to set the number of bounces of the arrow before hitting and revealing enemies in the area. This ability will return in 40 seconds.
- Owl Drone is another ability you can use to reveal enemies. Any enemy hit by the dart will be revealed on the map. This ability is perfect to use before going for Sova’s ultimate ability.
- Sova’s ultimate is lethal if it hits the targets. Hunters Fury can pierce through walls and have a long range, it can be used for two shots.
- Shock Bolt is another ability of Sova good to clear corners and peak enemies. You can add two bounces to hit enemies hiding behind covers.
BrimStone
- Its signature ability is Sky Smoke which is perfect for blinding enemy peaking areas. There are three charges from which only one is free and you can buy two more.
- Incendiary is another area of control ability and it does damage to those who walk over it. It can block an area for a few seconds or you can use it on Spike so enemies can’t defuse.
- Stim Beacon is one of the most useful but stationary abilities of Brimstone. It provides a lot of buffs to allies standing in the area of effect. These buffs are Rapide fire, Fast reload, and recovery speed.
- Orbital Strike is the ultimate ability of Brim, which does a high AOE damage in a selected area neutralizing all enemies.
Jett
- TailWind is the signature ability of Jett, which propels her in any direction once activated and triggered.
- Updraft propels Jett high in the air over any obstacle and it’s good to peak enemies.
- Cloud Burst is the sight-blocking ability of Jett to blind enemies.
- Blade Storm is the ultimate of Jett that inflicts maximum damage and with high aim accuracy. Her blades recharge after every kill.
Wrap Up
Knowing the roles and agents in Valorant will help you in understanding how you are supposed to play in your team. It also helps in creating a well-balanced team complimenting each other’s strengths and weaknesses.
