VALORANT: How to Play Sentinel Agents

One-person stalling and defending machines. Here’s how to play Sentinel Agents in VALORANT.

Beginners to any game will tend to pick up a character that requires the least amount of APM or actions per minute. Generally, these characters play a more supportive rather than active role in-game, and in VALORANT, these Agents are usually the Sentinels.

Take Sage, for example. Sage is often the Agent of choice for many beginners in VALORANT, thanks to her straightforward and easy-to-use kit. However, Sentinel Agents such as Sage are more than just a walking power bank or support Agent for you hyper-aggressive Duelist players.

The Sentinel role is very underrated and misunderstood in VALORANT. Sentinels play a huge role in controlling bomb sites and securing heavily contested areas around the map. The amount of control these Agents provide can give their teammates the confidence they need to move freely around the map.

Sentinel Agents and How to Play Them

Sage

Sage is the quintessential Sentinel Agent. She can provide heals, block off entryways, slow down an Attacker rush, and give any one of her teammates a second chance at life through her Ultimate Ability.

Sage is more than just a walking power bank, and a good Sage will be able to hold an entire bombsite on her own with little problems with the help of her Wall Orb and Slow Orb Abilities. While Sage’s Wall Orb is up, Sage can even opt to rotate toward other areas around the map to provide support to her teammates.d

Sage Tips

• Use Wall Orb to block off a bombsite’s entryway only when you start to hear the enemies’ footsteps.
• If your Wall Orb gets destroyed, follow up with a Slow Orb along the entryways of the bomb site.
• Save your heal for your teammates. If none of them are hurt, feel free to use the heal on yourself.
• Do not stay on-site while Wall Orb is up; use the time to rotate and hold other areas on the map.
• Get those Ultimate Orbs.

Cypher

A good Cypher is a scary Cypher, especially on Defense.

Cypher is a powerful Sentinel Agent who can solo-hold any bombsite in VALORANT. Cipher has to set up his Trap Wires and wait for an enemy team player to get caught in his traps before he ultimately reaps the rewards.

The best part? He does not have to be at the bombsite himself, as he can use his Spycam to watch the area from somewhere safe.

Cypher can easily secure his team’s flank when Attacking, thanks to his Spycam and Trap Wire combo.

Cypher Tips

• Set up Cypher’s Spycam early in the round. Choose an elevated spot to maximize the camera’s POV.
• Be creative! Cypher’s Trap Wires do not always have to be set up at knee height. A simple foot-level Trap Wire will catch enemies off guard as well.
• Mix up your Trap Wire, Cyber Cage, and Spycam setups every round to keep the enemies guessing.
• Use a Phantom or any silenced weapon to maximize your stealthiness.

Killjoy

Like Sage and Cypher, Killjoy is a powerful anchor Agent who can easily hold an entire bomb site.

Killjoy has many abilities that allow her to slow down, deter, or punish an entire enemy team on Defense. Her double-Nanoswarm and Alarm Bot setups are a popular and effective way of catching daring Attackers off guard if they decide to enter Killjoy’s bomb site.

When Attacking, Killjoy’s teammates can rely on her to set up post-plant Nanoswarm traps to secure the team’s Spike plant.

Killjoy Tips

• On Defense, take advantage of Killjoy’s Nanoswarm + Alarm Bot setups to punish rushers.
• Set up your Turret to cover as much space as possible – the Turret serves as an alarm for you and your teammates and deters the enemy team from entering your bomb site.
• Take advantage of the confusion when you activate your Nanoswarm traps to pick off a few enemy team players.
• Play around your utility and avoid taking unnecessary engagements, especially on Defense.

Chamber

One quick look at Chamber’s abilities will have players thinking: “Isn’t this dude supposed to be a Sentinel?”

“The best offense is a great defense” can not be more accurate with Chamber. While the rest of his Sentinel peers defend bombsites through traditional defensive means, Chamber turns the whole Sentinel stereotype on its head and utilizes an offensive-minded kit to defend key areas around the map.

With this in mind, Chamber players should play aggressively on Defense. Playing aggressive can help Chamber get early information on the enemies’ whereabouts or even a quick pick early in the round. Just remember to set up your Rendezvous ability beforehand.

When Attacking, Chamber can play like a Jett since he can quickly teleport out of sticky situations with a snap of his fingers (literally).

Chamber Tips

• Take advantage of Rendezvous and make aggressive peeks early in the round to gather information.
• Place Trademark along entryways, so enemy players have to turn hard left or right to destroy it.
• Teleport to uncommon high spots around the map by using Rendezvous.
• Headhunter has ADS. Use it for long-distance engagements.

Holding the Fort

Sentinels are a must-have in any team composition in VALORANT. Without any of these reliable anchor Agents on your team, playing Defense will be a nightmare on most maps in the game.

Any of the four Sentinel Agents above will serve your team well for site defense, flank watching, and post-plant defense. Just follow the tips we have outlined for every Sentinel Agent so you can play any one of these Defensive Juggernauts to their full potential.

That is about it! We hope you better understand the Sentinel role in VALORANT through this guide.

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