Learn how to play Controller Agents in Valorant!
Controller Agents are equipped with abilities that can help them secure various areas around maps with relative ease. These agents work best when they can stay alive and use their abilities to help their team and limit the enemies’ options.
Having a decent Smoker Agent on your team can simplify site entry and defense, making Controllers a must-have pick in any team composition. In addition, learning to utilize a Controller Agent’s smoke abilities will add a ton of value to these utilities in-game.
In this guide, we have outlined the best ways to play each Controller Agent in VALORANT so you can use them to their full potential.
Controller Agents and How to Play Them in Valorant
Omen
Omen is quite similar to Chamber if you think about it. Both Agents break the stereotypes associated with their classes – Chamber is a Sentinel with an offense-oriented kit, while Omen’s abilities allow him to be an offensive-minded Controller.
Sure, Omen packs two charges of smokes as part of his utility. Still, the rest of his abilities allow him to impose himself on various parts of the map with his superior positioning ability.
Omen’s Shrouded Step allows him to take unorthodox offensive positions around maps (like Jett) to catch enemies off guard. His Paranoia flash is arguably one of the most powerful flash abilities in-game, which allows him to clear huge chunks of bombsites so he and his teammates can enter safely.
With this in mind, Omen is played best as a Controller/Initiator hybrid who can pave the way for his team on the Attacking side. On Defense, Omen can play aggressively with his Shrouded Step and Paranoia or passively with his Dark Cover, depending on how his team wants to play the round.
Omen Tips
- Use the high ground whenever you can.
- Play more like an Initiator/Duelist on Attack. Use your Paranoia to clear a path.
- Omen’s Dark Cover is cooldown-based. Use it early in the round to take advantage of the cooldown.
- If you have your Ultimate Ability, ask for the Spike. Teleport as needed to the opposite bombsite when things get too spicy.
- Use One-way Smokes.
Astra
Before the nerfs that ultimately bogged Astra down for good, the Cosmic Controller was one of the most fearsome Agents in VALORANT and the third most picked Agent, just behind Sova and Jett.
Astra’s amount of control and reach around maps was borderline broken – she could be anywhere on the map and still provide powerful assistance to her teammates through her abilities. Oh, and this is on top of being able to control and set up traps and smokes on multiple map areas simultaneously.
These days, Astra does not have the same reach she enjoyed before, limiting her ability to control space to smaller map sections.
So, to use her effectively, Astra fans must pick and choose a specific area to set up and focus most of her abilities and traps for the best efficiency. Make sure you communicate with your teammates so they can play around with your trap setups.
Astra Tips
- Play more like a Sentinel. Use your abilities to lock down a bombsite.
- Stay back and out of enemy sight (both Attacking and Defending), as you will be vulnerable each time you enter Astral State.
- On Defense, focus on locking down entryways toward bomb sites.
- On Attack, save your Gravity Well for post-plant situations.
Brimstone
Brimstone used to sit comfortably (or uncomfortably, depending on how you look) at the bottom of Agent Tier lists for a long time. Controller Agents such as Omen and Brimstone were overlooked in favor of value-filled Controllers in Astra and Viper.
Fortunately, Riot Games gave the VALORANT Protocol Commander some much-needed loving back in Patch 4.04.
The buffs included a reworked Stim Beacon (which now significantly increases ally movement speed) and a much faster Sky Smoke deploy time. Minor changes on paper, no doubt, but in practice, spawned a terrifying Attacker rush strategy, which forced Riot Games to take away a Stim Beacon charge to balance the Agent out.
Brimstone Tips
- Like a true commander, call the shots and lead the charge. Stim Beacon and Sky Smoke will easily take you to your team’s bombsite of choice.
- Learn Smoke Setups and Molly Lineups.
- Do not use all three Sky Smokes in one go. Save at least one for post-plant situations. (Attacking)
- When Defending, do not use your smoke immediately at the start of the round. Wait for call-outs and visual confirmation before you smoke off key areas on the map.
Viper
Viper and Astra were the undisputed queens of the Controller class for a few patches before Riot Games ended their reign in Patch 4.04.
The American Chemist has one of the most powerful smoke/wall abilities in the game in her Toxic Screen. Toxic Screen can cover much space and can be reactivated or deactivated depending on Viper’s team’s game plan. In addition, setting up Viper’s Poison Cloud ability as one-way smoke is pretty easy and can make Viper’s enemies think twice about pushing into her bombsite.
Viper’s gameplay will usually revolve around site entry and post-plant, so it might be a good idea to go and learn the most valuable Toxic Wall Setups and Snake Bite Lineups to aid in Attacking, Defending, and Post-plant situations.
Viper Tips
- Set up Toxic Wall to split up bombsites along entryways and rotational lanes.
- Learn Snake Bite Lineups for Post-plant.
- Play around with your abilities. Don’t engage in unnecessary gunfights. (Defending & Post-plant)
Control the Map
Controllers are underrated Agents that most players in the lower elo do not play much, which is such a shame, as Controllers can bring so much value to just about any team composition in VALORANT.
Learning proper smoke setups, some molly lineups, and communicating with your team are essential in playing Controllers to their maximum potential.
So, there we have it! We hope you have learned something in this How to Play Controller Agents Guide.
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