The Best Valorant Agents for Every Role – Learn the Meta!

Riot’s new first-person shooter has yet to be available for open beta. However, information about the initial batch of Agents has already been released. Just like with any other character-based game, there are bound to be certain agents for certain roles in the game. Today, we’re taking a look at the best Valorant agents for each role.

The Best Valorant Agents – Rundown

If you want a quick reference for the best agents for each role, here’s a quick rundown to help you out!

  • Fragger – Razer, Phoenix
  • Support – Sage, Viper
  • Sniper – Sova, Cypher
  • Leader – Brimstone, Breach
  • Lurker – Jett, Omen

Do you want to know why we picked these agents for their respective roles? Let’s take a look at each role and how our agents’ kits make them (theoretically) the best at their job.

The Best Valorant Agents – Fragger

Also known as “Entry Fragger”, the fragger acts as the team’s front line unit. In CSGO, a fragger goes in, preferably after the team deploys a flashbang or a smoke grenade. A fragger’s main job is to gain ground for his teammates to control.

Our Best Pick – Raze

Abilities:

  • Boom Bot (200 credits) – Deploy an explosive ground drown that bounces of walls and homes in on nearby targets.
  • Blast Pack (100 credits, can be purchased twice) – Throw a sticky charge that explodes after a set amount of time or activated manually. Other agents are pushed back by the explosion and can be used to launch Raze.
  • Paint Shells (200 credits) – Throw a grenade that explodes into smaller bomblets.
  • Showstopper (6 ultimate orbs) – Fire a rocket that deals heavy damage in a large blast radius.

The newest agent in the game also happens to be one of the best Valorant agents for the entry fragger role. Her Boom Bot makes it safe to turn around corners and flush out any would-be ambushers. Paint Shells and Showstopper will mainly be used to lead a push, while her Blast Pack will be mostly used for its ability to let Raze attack from weird angles. She’s a well-rounded agent that can also work as a support, but we believe she works best as an entry fragger. In fact, players find her so strong that we’re kind of expecting her to get nerfs before the official launch.

Secondary pick – Phoenix

Abilities:

  • Hot Hands (refreshes after 2 kills) – Throw a fireball that covers an area in flames that damage enemies and heals teammates.
  • Blaze (200 credits) – Summon a firewall that blocks vision and damages enemies.
  • Curveball (100 credits) – Throw a flashbang that curves left or right.
  • Run It Back (6 ultimate orbs) – Place a mark on your current location. When the skill timer runs out or you die, you respawn at the mark with full health.

If there’s one agent who best fits the fragger role, that would be Phoenix. Hot Hands is basically a HE grenade in CSGO, except it only deals damage to enemies. Blaze will be mostly a utility spell to help him advance without being too exposed to enemy fire. Curveball can be cast right after Blaze dissipates or before making an entry. Last but not least, Run It Back allows Phoenix to entry frag safely whenever the ability is up because it’s basically a free respawn. The only reason he’s one notch lower than Raze is because his abilities largely benefit himself, while Raze’s abilities give her more flexibility.

The Best Valorant Agents – Support

Fraggers lead the charge, but support players are the ones who make the charge possible. A support player lays down suppressive fire, provides cover or acquires intel necessary to make sure the other teammates can do their jobs. The best Valorant agents for this role may lack the speed, but makes up for that thru the sheer amount of utility they provide.

Our best pick – Sage

Abilities:

  • Slow Orb (100 credits) – Fire an orb that creates a dome. The dome slows enemies and prevents them from jumping while also emitting a distinct noise.
  • Barrier Orb (300 credits) – Fire an orb that turns into an impassable wall.
  • Healing Orb (35-second cooldown) – Fire an orb that heals nearby allies.
  • Resurrection (7 ultimate orbs) – Revive an ally.

The game’s resident medic, Sage has a skillset focused on keeping people alive. Slow Orb prevents enemies from advancing safely, while barrier orb can be used to block off enemy paths or obscure their sightlines. Healing Orb works very similar to Moira’s healing orb in Overwatch. Resurrection is a major game-changer, especially in a game where respawning is not normally possible. With Phoenix as a fragger, you can basically push three times if both Run It Back and Resurrection are available.

Secondary pick – Viper

Abilities:

  • Fuel (passive) – Some of Viper’s abilities use up fuel and cause decay damage. Decay damage damages hp and armor, but leaves the target above 1 hp. Decay damage also regenerates when the target is out of her abilities’ effective area.
  • Snakebite (100 credits) – Fire a projectile that creates a pool of acid on the ground. Snakebite consumes a small portion of fuel.
  • Poison Cloud (200 credits) – Throw a gas canister. When activated, the canister continuously emits a toxic cloud that gradually consumes fuel. The canister can also be picked up and reused after a short delay.
  • Toxic Screen – Set down a row of gas emitters. When activated, the emitters form a toxic wall that gradually consumes fuel.
  • Viper’s Pit (7 ultimate orbs) – Create a large AOE that obscures vision from outside and damages enemies in it.
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You might be surprised that we put Viper here in this role considering her mostly damage-oriented kit. However, all of her abilities either lack range or require considerable cast time to make her a fragger. Most of her abilities will be valued for their ability to flush out corners, disrupt enemy vision and area denial. When defending an objective, a good Viper player can hold off an entire team with efficient use of her abilities’ fuel consumption. Viper is undoubtedly one of the best Valorant agents when it comes to protecting a spike or defusing one.

The Best Valorant Agents – Sniper

Also known as the AWPer for CSGO players, the sniper’s job changes depending on what’s happening in a round. A good sniper can deny entire sections of the map, turning it into a kill zone. On the offense, a sniper can provide support fire for the rest of the team.

Our best pick – Sova

Abilities:

  • Owl Drone (300 credits) – Launch a manually-operated aerial drone. The drone can fire darts at enemies to temporarily reveal their location.
  • Shock Bolt (100 credits) – Charge to fire an arrow that can explodes and damages nearby targets. The arrow can bounce of walls up to two times before exploding.
  • Recon Bolt (35-second cooldown) – Charge to fire an arrow that reveals enemies that it has a direct line of sight to. While active, the arrow is visible to enemies and can be destroyed.
  • Hunter’s Fury (7 ultimate orbs) – Fire an arrow that has global range and ignores terrain. Enemies near or in the arrow’s trajectory take massive damage. Sova can fire up to three shots.

A sniper with plenty of intel is a force to be reckoned with. This is especially true for Sova, whose kit focuses on locating potential targets. His Owl Drone and Recon bolt allows him to see enemies hiding behind cover, while Hunter’s Fury allows him to hit a target anywhere on the map. In fact, his near-guaranteed damage potential and once his ult is up will likely put him at the top of the tier list.

Secondary pick – Cypher

Abilities:

  • Trapwire (200 credits) – Set a tripwire between two walls that thethers on an enemy that triggers it, slowing and revealing them. After a short moment, the trap detonates, dazing the target unless they destroy the wire before activation. Can be remotely retrieved by Cypher if the trap is in his line of sight..
  • Cybercage (100 credits) – Set a trap that can be manually activated. When activated, the trap slows enemies passing within its range while also blocking vision with a ring of smoke.
  • Spycam (can be recalled) – Place a remote camera that can be accessed manually. The camera can fire a dart that reveals an enemy until they manually remove it.
  • Neural Theft (7 ultimate orbs) – Interact with an enemy’s dead body to reveal the location of all surviving enemy agents.

Okay, we’re putting Cypher here, but only because he’s good at pretty much any role other than fragger and everybody else is better off in other roles. Cypher can use his Trapwire to prevent opponents from flanking his spot. Cybercage requires setup time but it helps a lot when holding an area with multiple entry points. Spycam and Neural Theft are essential for mostly for support or lurker Cyphers. He’s actually more of a jack-of-all-trades, leaning a bit towards defense so expect him to be outperformed by more specialized agents when put on a tier list.

The Best Valorant Agents – Leader

The leader’s job is to call the shots. They’re in charge of coming up with strategies. They decide where his other teammates should be. That being said, a leader tends to spend time at the backline, where they can safely assess the situation while still being taking part in the fight.

Our best pick – Brimstone

Abilities:

  • Incendiary (200 credits) – Throw an incendiary grenade that covers an area in flames.
  • Stim Beacon (100 credits, can be purchased twice) – deploys a beacon that emits an AoE buff called “RapidFire”. Buffed teammates get 10% extra fire rate, reload speed, swap speed, and recoil spread recovery.
  • Sky Smoke (100 credits) – Using the map, deploy multiple smoke screens to obscure enemy vision.
  • Orbital Strike (6 ultimate orbs) – Using the map, bombard a specific area for several seconds.
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Brimstone is hands-down one of the best Valorant agents for team leaders because of his ability to control the battlefield from anywhere on the map. Sky smoke can be used both offensively and defensively while Orbital strike can be used as a powerful area denial tool. His other two skills, Incendiary and Stim Beacon, are mostly used to allow more effective plays but are mostly there as secondary support abilities. Other agents may work for leaders, but if you need someone that will always have a presence during key moments of a round, few can compare to Brimstone.

Secondary pick – Breach

Abilities:

  • Aftershock (100 credits) – Fire an explosive that attaches to a wall. After a short delay, the explosive detonates, creating an explosion on the opposite side of the wall. Targets closer to the explosion receive more damage.
  • Flashpoint (200 credits) – Works similar to Aftershock, but blinds the enemies instead of causing a damaging explosion.
  • Fault Line (35-second cooldown) – Put away your weapon and charge to launch a shock wave in a straight line. Other players in the area of effect are briefly disoriented.
  • Rolling Thunder (7 ultimate orbs) – Works similar to Fault Line, except with a wider area of effect and affected targets are also launched up. Enemies launched by Rolling Thunder won’t be able to move while in midair.

Most of Breach’s abilities have a delay of some sort, so letting him lead a push is far from optimal. However, his ability to dictate the flow of the match from behind the safety of his teammates make him a great choice for players for those who prefer coordinating attacks. Timing his Aftershock and Flashpoint will prevent defenders from getting the jump on your entry fraggers. If you prefer to be a team leader while working closer to the front line, consider picking Breach.

The Best Valorant Agents – Lurker

Also known as the flanker or recon, the Lurker has two important roles. First, it’s the lurker’s job to scout ahead and provide intel for the bulk of their team, calling out enemy positions and possible routes. Second, a lurker also disrupts the enemy team, either by creating a distraction or outright taking down targets from behind.

Our best pick – Jett

Abilities:

  • Glide (passive) – Hold the jump button while in midair to slow Jett’s fall.
  • Cloudburst (100 credits) – Throw a smoke grenade.
  • Updraft (200 credits) – After a brief channeling time, launch yourself upwards.
  • Tailwind (refreshes after 2 kills) – Dash towards the direction you are currently moving towards.
  • Blade Storm (6 ultimate orbs) – Summon several throwing knives that can be thrown on at a time or in a single burst. Each knife can deal heavy damage and kills on headshots. Kills replenish your throwing knives.

Jett’s skill set is focused on mobility and skirmishing ability. However, they also happen to be the best tools for a player working mostly away from the rest of the team. Updraft and Tailwind can be used not just to gain ground, but also as escape tools for a lurker caught alone by the enemy team. Cloudburst can be used to delay enemy pushes, or used in tandem with Bladestorm to join a team skirmish when the enemy is focused on fighting your teammates.

Secondary pick – Omen

Abilities:

  • Paranoia (200 credits) – Launch a projectile that passes through walls. Anyone touched by the clone is temporarily blinded.
  • Shrouded Step (100 credits) – Short-ranged teleport with a small channeling time.
  • Dark Cover (30-second cooldown) – Throw an invisible orb that passes through walls. The orb then expands and creates a cloud of smoke that obscures vision.
  • From the Shadows (7 ultimate orbs) – Using the minimap, teleport to any location. Omen channels his ability and distorts all enemy player’s minimaps. If Omen gets killed during the channeling duration, he respawns back to his original location.

Lurkers put a high emphasis on mobility and solo survival in order to provide intel away from the main group. Omen’s Shadow Walk and From the Shadows allows him to get to any point of the map faster than anything bar Jett. However, the utility provided by Paranoia and Dark Cover also makes him a good secondary support. Cypher is good at getting info, but his lack of mobility puts him a notch below Jett and Cypher.

The Best Valorant Agents per Role – Conclusion

This wraps up our discussion on the best valorant agents for each role. Skill will still trump counter-pick knowledge. Still, having an idea of which agents excel in certain roles could make your preferred playstyle a lot easier (and fun!). Care to share your insights on each agent? Leave us a comment below!

Also, there are ways to get better at Valorant before the release so you are prepared once you can start playing it.

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