First-person shooters have always been an intriguing case-study within the PC gaming space. The extremely precise mouse and high refresh rate monitor combo ensures that players can be as accurate and agile as humanly possible. While a lot of games come and go every year, very few of them manage to grab the attention of the masses. However, the new first-person tactical shooter from Riot Games, Valorant, hopes to stay up at the top next to other behemoths of the space like CS:GO, Call of Duty, and Fortnite.
Also Read: Valorant Review – Subverting Expectations
Announced back in late 2019, Valorant has come a long way. The game received a lot of initial popularity when it started a closed beta with a limited number of players. Most of the people knew about it through popular twitch streamers back then. People watching these streams would get a drop in the beta, so the players in the beta testing kept increasing.
Now that the game is fully released for all players, there are a lot of players hopping in to play the title for the first time. Naturally, the new players do not stand a chance against those playing the game for months. However, that is about to change since we have a list of the best agents in Valorant.
These agents have to be mastered if you plan on dominating the enemy side in the game. Be mindful that each operator favors specific playstyles, and at the end of the day, you’ll play better with the one that suits you the best.
Valorant is a team-based game, and there isn’t much that you can do on your own in-game. With that being said, there are some scenarios where you might have to fight alone. And for those times, we have the best players that you can opt for to carry your team. These Valorant agents ensure that if their abilities are executed right, you will win every gunfight with the enemies you encounter.
5. Cypher:
You might think at first that Cypher is a team-centric character and saying that would not be wrong. Cypher performs well in a team setting, but this does not in any way mean that this agent does not have some of the best solo playing capabilities.
The kit featured with this agent packs enough power that using Cypher, you can single-handedly defend a site. This allows your team to set up guards at multiple locations while you can take advantage of this player.
Cypher excels in eco-rounds because you can easily trap enemies. This allows players to get easy kills and even flank enemies in other places on the map. Another thing that you can use this operator for is lurking. In eco rounds, if you keep on close-range trapping the enemies, eventually, they will stop pushing.
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Cipher is a powerful lurker as it allows you to keep setting up traps as you follow and the enemy so that when they decide to rotate, they walk right into it. Cypher also features a spycam so you can keep an eye on multiple places and quickly cycle between play strategies. Combining all these abilities, a well-disciplined Cypher can be a nightmare for the enemy team.
4. Raze:
Raze is another operator in the game that you should learn to use right away. Raze’s paint shells are a great way to counter joint pushes by the enemy team, which is a lot common in pistol as well was pressure rounds. When the enemy team rushes in, raze can put a stop to it right away.
These shells don’t necessarily kill any of the enemy players, but they do put some damage. With the enemies primed, you will have the upper hand and can sweep in even on pistol rounds to get a flawless victory.
This agent features blast packs which recently got nerfed but remain very powerful. The best way to use this ability is in duels. Throw these at an angle then grab a peak. If there is an enemy there, you can then fight them and blast these when they follow. You get two of those so they will come handy in gunfights.
Another one of her abilities is the Roomba, this comes in handy during 1v1s, and let’s be honest to dominate the game you have got to win single fights. Roomba will force enemies in cover to panic and run because if they are tagged, it will kill them.
You can even push with the robot to confuse the enemy. Therefore it is better to save this ability and not use it too soon in the round. The included rocket is a bonus also for picking up some free kills.
3. Omen:
At number three, Omen is the playmaking Valorant agent. The new blind ability is compelling. It blinds your enemies and puts them in a situation that is extremely difficult to outplay. In addition to that, the teleporter comes in use in a lot of places. You can take the high ground in fights teleport to different locations in LOD and setup tactical flank positions.
The ultimate ability of this role is also handy. You can use it trick enemies into attacking you and go looking for you while you teleport to the spike and diffuse it. This is also handy in wasting enemy team time.
You can trigger the ultimate and not go anywhere to stall the opponents as your teammate do the rest. One thing to keep in mind though is the proper cover position after hitting enemies with paranoia as they can still take a hit and kill you.
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2. Phoenix:
Now people might find this choice controversial as to why Phoneix and why not Breach. Breach is a suitable initiator with excellent abilities that help him make space in a team-based scenario. Phoneix, on the other hand, has a combination of unique characteristics that allow him to make space by himself.
For starters, Phoneix can self-heal. This means that Phoneix can go on a duel kill the enemy and then go on another fight after healing with higher health than before.
Another great ability is Flashes, but players need to make sure they use them wisely and not too soon in-game. Try using hot hands and cubby for flushing out enemies and save flashes for latter in the round. So throwing flashes around the corners is not a wise choice if you do not have a reliable indicator of enemies.
1. Reyna:
Reyna is a GOD when it comes to 1v1 fights in Valorant. She can take up a fight, heal, and then go on to fight another opponent. The ability of this character to heal herself means that she is never at a disadvantage when fighting an enemy with lower health. If you know how to combine the abilities of this player, then it makes you a real nightmare for the opposing side.
The fact that Reyna goes invisible when ultimately makes her impossible to spot and pain for whoever comes in front of her. The fade and heal abilities do need some time to master their utilization and decision to use, which one of the two. A general rule can be not to waste fade and use heal whenever you are not in immediate threat and then anticipate enemy retaliation.
Leer is another great ability to use when crowded with enemies who can’t see you yet. Now just like Flashing leer is extremely strong, so don’t just throw it blindly around the corners; instead, use it with proper thought.
These are all the characters that we think dominate the playing field. The thing about valorant though, is that each character has a crafted set of abilities. These abilities, when used right, can make any Valorant agent powerful. Feel free to let us know which characters you think work best.
Valorant is a free-to-play first-person tactical shooter from Epic Games. You can download it right here.