Agent Abilities is what sets VALORANT apart from other conventional tactical shooting games. There are currently seventeen unique Agents in VALORANT; each Agent has its unique combination or variation of tactical shooting game utilities such as Smokes, Mollys, and Flashes. Because of how abilities differ from one Agent to another, some Agents are expected to perform better than others in certain situations.
Like the Agents themselves, each of the seven playable maps in VALORANT also features their unique Dynamic Element, which sets them apart from other maps regardless of the differences in layout.
Today we take a look at the most effective Agent + Map combos your team should take advantage of to increase your chances of winning a match. Let’s go!
VALORANT Protocol Agents
Currently, a total of 17 unique Agents are playable in VALORANT. These Agents are classified into four roles/classes: Duelists, Initiators, Controllers, and Sentinels.
Duelists
Duelists are the heavy hitters of every team. Their role is to seek out engagements and get early picks to make site entry easier for the rest of the team.
Duelists are usually equipped with abilities that help them tackle risky engagements, escape tight situations, and deal a ton of early damage.
There are five unique Duelists in VALORANT: Jett, Phoenix, Reyna, Raze, and Yoru.
Initiators
An Initiator’s primary role is to clear out and drive away enemy players from cheeky spots around the map. Initiators help their teammates by securing entryways into the bomb sites.
Initiators are equipped with some recon ability (Sova and Skye) which helps them scout out common holding spots within the map. The two other Initiators in VALORANT have abilities that drive away enemy team players from certain spots within the map.
There are four unique Initiators in VALORANT: Sova, Breach, Skye, and KAY/O.
Controllers
Controllers are in charge of blocking certain spots on the map so their team can tread safely into enemy territory.
Controllers can take control of any chosen area of a map through their smokes, walls, and molly. Controllers will have some smoke ability in their arsenal, which they can use to block off vision in certain areas of the map.
There are four Controllers in VALORANT: Omen, Viper, Astra, and Brimstone.
Sentinels
Sentinels are powerful support Agents that can juggle two important objectives simultaneously: provide support to their teammates and hold down bombsites on their own.
Sentinels are counted upon to hold down bombsites on their own so their teammates can worry less about one area on-site and focus more on the other lanes in the map. In case of multiple Attackers rushing into their site, Sentinels are well equipped to hold down the site and buy their teammates enough time to rotate.
Four powerful Sentinels are part of the VALORANT roster: Sage, Killjoy, Cypher, and Chamber.
VALORANT Maps and Best Agents To Play
As mentioned, VALORANT Maps each have a defining feature that sets them apart. Other than the obvious layout changes, of course.
There are currently seven different maps in VALORANT: Ascent, Bind, Split, Haven, Icebox, Breeze, and Fracture.
Ascent
Ascent is a traditional two bombsite with one middle lane layout fairly common in the tactical shooting game genre. Being the first-ever map to be released in VALORANT, Ascent is a safe attempt at a new unique map for this new and unique tactical shooting game.
Ascent is set in Venice, Italy, which explains all of the French brandings on the in-map shops.
Ascent’s unique Dynamic Elements are the Mechanical Doors on both A and B sites. These doors can be opened and closed via a remote switch. However, these Mechanical Doors can be broken by shooting at them or by knifing them until they collapse.
Best Agent For Ascent: Sova
If you have not read about our Sova Recon Bolt Lineups For Ascent, we recommend you check that out right now. You might learn a lineup or two that could help you elevate your Sova gameplay to the next level.
Sova is at his most powerful on Ascent. The map layout compliments his gameplay and his Recon Bolt perfectly.
The open skybox layout and spacious bomb sites allow our Russian Initiator to line up and land Recon Bolt arrows in places not possible on any other map. Sova’s double shock dart lineups are also some of the cheekiest plays you can execute on Ascent.
Split
Split is a traditional 3-lane map with two bombsites flanking a middle lane like Ascent before it. Split is one of the tightest maps in-game regarding angles and corners. Split also features a ton of verticality, which is uncommon for tactical shooting games that focus more on horizontal aim.
Split is located in Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan. The tight angles and narrow alleyways might be a hark back to the tight alleyways and narrow streets around the Shinjuku district in Japan.
Split’s Dynamic Elements are the in-map “Ascenders” or ropes that transport players to higher areas around the map. There are three sets of Ascenders in Split, one set that connects Sewers to A-Lobby, a single rope that helps players ascend from B-Hell/Drop to B-Tower/Heaven, and four ropes that connect Top Middle – Vents – A-Tower/Heaven.
Best Agent For Split: Omen
Omen’s Paranoia is a powerful blind/flash ability covering a huge area.
In a tight and claustrophobic map like Split, Omen can take full advantage of the wide area that Paranoia can cover. Omen can also take full advantage of the elevation changes within Split to gain a high-ground advantage against his foes.
Bind
Bind is where Riot started to play around with the map layouts in tactical shooting games. Bind is VALORANT’s first map with no middle lane. The two bomb sites practically have their backs against one another. Players only have A-site and B-site to choose from.
Bind is VALORANT’S dry and sandy ruins set in Rabat, Morocco – Cypher’s Hometown.
Bind’s in-map Dynamic Elements are the double Teleporters that can transport players from across the map. Defenders can use these Teleporters to flank the attackers easily. On the other hand, Attackers can use these Teleporters to rotate and reposition to whichever bombsite they decide to attack.
Best Agent For Bind: Raze
Double Satchels are Raze’s bread and butter. Raze can fly into any bombsite with relative ease, thanks to her double Satchels.
Raze is one of the fastest Duelists in terms of entry time. Not even Jett can cover the same area with the same distance and speed.
Bind is Raze’s best map as most of the entryways into bomb sites in Bind are ever so slightly elevated. The slight elevation change might be tiny, but it is enough to give Raze the boost she needs to fly even higher and farther.
Haven
If the Devs decided to remove the middle lane from Bind’s layout, they went full ham with Haven and featured a triple bomb site layout.
Haven is VALORANT’s first and only triple bombsite map. The additional bomb site called for interesting gameplay strategies that were fresh and different from the traditional two bombsite map layout.
Haven is located in beautiful Thimphu, Bhutan. The location serves as a Kingdom Corporation Radianite Storage Facility.
Aside from adding a third bomb site, another unique feature or Dynamic Element of Haven is the set of destructible doors that cover the “Garage.”
Best Agent For Haven: Cypher
With an additional bombsite comes additional strategic advantages and disadvantages:
Firstly, a disadvantage for Defenders is the number of bombsites to hold. Defenders will be forced to split up from their allies to hold down the other bombsites on the map.
However, one advantage is the number of open lanes Defenders can use to flank the Attacking team once they have settled into a bomb site.
Cypher can do both regardless of whether he’s Attacking and Defending. On Defense, Cypher’s camera can help him check for flanks, while his traps allow him to lock down the other lanes, which the enemies could use to flank.
On Attack, Cypher can use his Camera and Smoke to safely enter contested land and initiate a flank on the enemy team.
Either way, Cypher’s skill set makes him an amazing pick for Haven.
Icebox
A ton of players hated VALORANT’s then-new map, Icebox. Everybody found it difficult to play in the new map because of its VALORANT-unusual long sightlines and the insane number of vertical angles.
Tactical shooting games often feature minimal elevation changes throughout a map since the horizontal aim is the theme of these shooting games.
Players have to deal with more vertical angles than they are used to if they came from CSGO.
Icebox is located in Bennett Island, Sakha, Russia.
Icebox’s Dynamic Elements are the horizontal Ascenders connecting the Attacker-side nest and the Defender-side nest in A-site. Horizontal ascenders are also present for each nest in A-site and a single rope ascender for B-site’s singular nest.
Best Agent For Icebox: Sage
The VALORANT Meta calls for a Sage Wall shoved vertically into B-Kitchen’s Tube. This is the single most powerful deterrent for Attackers attempting to push out the middle.
It is game over when Attackers gain control of Kitchen and Orange, as the rotating Defenders can not safely rotate to B-site when retaking.
Sage’s wall on B-Default is also the only safe way to plant on B-site as her wall covers a crucial angle at Middle and Orange, which will allow your team to plant the spike.
Breeze
Breeze is VALORANT’s largest map in terms of both width and sightlines. Because of the sheer size of the bombsites present in Breeze, many Agent abilities are unable to cover angles as they normally could in smaller maps.
Breeze is located on an island somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean.
The Dynamic Elements found in Breeze are Rope Ascenders, Non-destructible Mechanical Doors, and a one-way chute. All of Breeze’s Dynamic Elements can be found in A-Halls.
Best Agent For Breeze: Viper
Viper is by far the best Agent for Breeze for a couple of reasons:
- Her Toxic Wall can cover a huge area within a map to block off vision towards a certain part of a bombsite.
- The open skybox allows her Snake Bite to be “lined up” for post-plant situations.
- Her ultimate ability covers a large area.
With this in mind, Viper’s ability to cover a large area within a map and lineup post-plant Mollys is a great way to ensure victory when playing on Breeze.
Fracture
Fracture is VALORANT’S newest lore-filled map. Fracture is probably the most creative layout we have seen from Riot so far. New information and hints regarding VALORANT’S lore are present around the Fracture and naturally involve the newest Agent, Chamber, as well.
VALORANT’S new map is set in Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA. The entire map is split into the Alpha Sector and the Omega Sector.
Fracture’s Dynamic Elements are the double ziplines that run across the map, which transports Attackers to and from either side of the map. This layout allows attackers to flank a bombsite from the round start instantly. On the other hand, Defenders can also counter-flank the attackers by using the Ziplines.
Best Agent For Fracture: Breach
Fracture’s bombsites are pretty small. Here, we can take full advantage of Breach’s abilities to cover an area that’s almost as large as the bombsites themselves. His flash ability is a great tool for attacking in Fracture as well.
With his ultimate ability ready, Breach is a force to be reckoned with on retakes as his ultimate ability can cover the whole bomb site and stun enemies along the way.
Breach seems like he is made for Fracture. Try him out whenever you end up queuing into Fracture.
The Best of the Best in Every Situation
Because of how purpose-built most of the Agents are in VALORANT, it is expected some of them will excel in some maps but not in others. Some Agents have that little extra oomph when played in their best maps.
There is a lot more to VALORANT than just map-Agent synergy. Teamwork, communication, and skill will all be more important than the advantages players can get from playing the ideal Agent on their ideal maps.
However, playing these Agents on these maps might make life a little easier for you and your team. Try them out for yourself. Who knows? You might experience the easiest game of VALORANT you have ever played.
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