Valorant is the first-person shooter game from the Creators of League of Legends — Riot. It took the world by storm when it was released in 2020 and has been one of the most-played FPS games since. What makes Valorant unique is the roster of their Agents with their own set of skills.
The agents are divided into four types: Duelist, Sentinel, Initiator, and Controller. Mastering the agents is one of the keys to fully mastering and enjoying the game. This will prove difficult because unlocking agents in Valorant isn’t easy — or cheap. We’ve got you covered if you want to learn more about Sentinels.
Sentinels are agents that play defense and are often in the back lines to utilize their abilities fully. The description in the game reads :
“Sentinels are defensive experts who can lock down areas and watch flanks, both on the attacker and defender rounds.”
This is how Riot describes Sentinels. They are the backbone of any team fight and are relied on heavily for healing and tactical zone defense. They have slow-paced abilities that often decide between the victory and defeat of a tactic. The game has three Sentinels, each with game-changing abilities: Sage, Cypher, and Killjoy. Each has very different skills and, therefore, their specialty and playstyle.
Let’s check one of these Sentinels out and help you figure out if she will suit your playstyle.
Valorant Sentinel – Sage
A wonderful agent from China — Sage is a sentinel in Valorant. Her skills impede enemy attack flows and provide health regeneration to her team. She can block entire passageways and significantly slow her enemies. Her ultimate skill is one of the most sought-after skills in the game.
Sage doesn’t have abilities that do damage, so playing her requires you to have good aim and use powerful weapons. She can, however, change the entire flow of the battle to benefit her allies greatly.
That doesn’t mean to say she will just stand by and wait to heal wounded Duelists. If you’re thinking about raining bullets down on enemies while still being core support in your team, then read on. We’ll convince you to pick Sage in your next match.
Valorant Sentinel Sage’s Skills
Barrier – 400 credits
When you press C, Sage erects an ice wall from the ground covering a wide-enough area to cover most passageways and corridors after pressing the Fire Button. This solid wall hinders everyone on the battlefield from passing through or seeing the other side.
Pressing the Alternate Fire Button will enable you to rotate by pivoting the wall with your mouse for those more delicate angles. Pressing the skill again will rotate the wall by 90 degrees for a fast rotation. Barrier Orb lasts 40 seconds, so if you wall an ally or yourself in the wrong spot, it will be to your demise. Use your wall effectively by learning where the proper placement is for every situation.
The ice wall has 400 hitpoints while erecting and 800 hitpoints when fortified. Sage uses this skill to block certain passageways that can otherwise provide the enemy team with great pushing opportunities. Wall boosting is where Sage players deploy the wall in a position that enables allies to jump up the wall for high-angle peeks and assaults. You can also deploy the wall beneath you and your teammates to elevate. This strategy is a gamble. But it gives your team a better vantage point than the enemy team.
There is no fixed or guaranteed way to use the wall, so be smart in using it during the fight. If the map or situation finds little to no need for it, then you don’t need to push through in using the skill.
Remember that when used effectively, you can give your team a great defensive position, reduce enemies’ entry options, and limit their pursuit. Unless your enemies are willing to spend time and bullets destroying the wall (and being open to ambush), the ice wall is a guaranteed way to clip your enemies’ offensive advantage in the game.
Slow Orb – 200 credits
When you press Q, Sage equips a Slow Orb. Point in your intended direction, and throw using the Fire Button. When the orb lands, it creates an ice sheet over the ground, slows speed by 50%, and lasts 7 seconds. You can have the orb bounce on walls and ceilings to deploy it on hard-to-reach angles.
This skill slows players indiscriminately and slows even Sage herself. There is a crunchy sound when you or your allies cross the area, while enemies can remain relatively silent when stepping over the slow. Be mindful of this.
Read: How To Get Gekko in Valorant
Throw this ability where enemies are expected to pass through. This is a sure kill at best and would greatly prevent enemies in their thought-out advance. You can have a maximum of two Slow Orbs per match, so this skill is a good purchase choice for most rounds. The slow is potent enough to use other agents’ skills, like Phoenix’s fireball and Brimstone’s molly.
It’s good practice to spend some time memorizing the different maps in the game so you will know the high-traffic zones to utilize your skills. Slow Orbs have no damage on their own, so getting value for your credits will be difficult to see, but if used effectively, this skill will get your team the advantage you need.
Healing Orb – Free
This is the signature skill of Sage. Pressing E equips Sage with a healing orb that can be used to heal herself or her allies. Point it at an allied agent needing healing and press the Fire Button. Pressing the Alternate Fire Button will heal Sage.
Healing Orb is free with a 45-second cooldown after use. When used on allies, it heals 60 hitpoints over five seconds. Healing yourself will heal the same amount of hitpoints for 10 seconds. The cooldown time is significant, so don’t hesitate to use this skill early on in the game.
Since Duelists and Initiators normally take the brunt of the damage early in the game, healing them and keeping your numbers will decide whether you win that round. The challenge is choosing who to heal and getting close enough to heal. If your teammate is behind a wall or too far away, you can’t send the Healing Orb to them.
If you received critical damage, heal yourself first. You won’t be able to heal anyone else if you’re the first fatality of the round. This is why Sage and the other sentinels should refrain from initiating an attack and stay behind to heal and provide assistance through their abilities.
Look at the top of the screen to monitor your teammates’ health. You can see your allies and their health bar here, so you won’t need to point your crosshair to each of your teammates to decide which one to heal. If you choose to heal yourself over your ally, make sure you can make good trades in the clash so the skill doesn’t go to waste.
Resurrection – 8 Ultimate Orbs
This is the Ultimate Skill of Sage. Pressing X will enable Sage to resurrect any fallen ally in battle. This skill is one of the most sought-after skills in the game. Using this skill properly and reviving your team’s carry can flip the situation instantly. When you find the teammate you want to revive, press the Fire Button.
The resurrected agent will hover above the ground briefly with an audio and info cue. In the short few seconds that an agent is being resurrected, it makes them vulnerable to attacks and will be very easy to spot. Make sure to revive an ally in a safe spot. Otherwise, you will mess up their KDAs and give the enemies more frags.
Resurrection makes Sage a mainstay in most games, especially in pro gaming. This skill’s spectacular, high-risk nature will attract enemies, but successfully reviving an ally can give your team a victory in an otherwise disadvantageous scenario. It would help to have a teammate like Brimstone or Jett to provide smoke for cover while you rez a teammate in a tight spot. If you haven’t used your ice wall yet, erect the wall to provide cover before attempting to revive a teammate in a dangerous location.
Valorant Sentinel Sage Bonus Tips
- Coordinate with your team when using the Slow Orb. Use this to prevent enemies from escaping or making fast entries. You may lead your teammates to their demise when you slow them during an assault or escape.
- You can use Resurrection more often if you get a lot of frags or obtain enough orbs on the map. Having the ability to revive a fallen comrade can often diminish enemy morale on the battlefield.
- The Barrier Orb can be used on many surfaces for various purposes. This includes boxes and small pillars to make an elevated wall. You can use the walls to give you and your teammates a vantage point enemies would be unexpecting. When attacking, you can use the ice wall to cover the spike and give the diffusers a harder time.
- When an enemy Sage puts up an ice wall, you can deploy it beside it and carry your team over it. It’s like an elevator for a surprise attack. Be creative with the wall; the possibilities are endless.
Do you think the Valorant sentinel Sage is for you? She’s an integral part of the team. Sage is the cornerstone of the team. A team has a great weight of responsibility if you use this agent in a match. You must have good game sense and be thoroughly familiar with the map for proper skill placement. Sage users need to be aware of the status of their teammates and make the best decision on who to heal and revive.
It’s a common struggle to choose healing either yourself or your teammates. Do you think you can handle taking on this responsibility? Do you like to change the game’s tide with your great aim and even greater support decision-making? If you do, then Sage is probably the agent for you.
