Gaming
esports
How to put on a tour de force with Chamber in VALORANT
Chamber is a sentinel like no other. Their kit is built to totally blow the enemy away. Chamber lets you handle a Sentinel’s responsibilities, but with sharper teeth.
Chamber burst on to the VALORANT scene, offering a high octane way to play the typically reserved Sentinel role. With a special revolver as his tactical and an operator-esque sniper rifle (with the fire rate of a marshal for his ultimate), Chamber combines good shooting mechanics with some tried and true abilities that allow him to play his position with a little more pop.
Trademark (C ability)
Chamber places a trap on the ground that triggers when an enemy comes into view, giving them a slow effect as long as they’re in the radius of the trap. One of the more traditional abilities Chamber has access to, it’s nothing special when compared to some of the other Sentinels, but it still allows for Chamber to watch over an area without the need to be hardscoping down every line of sight there is.
Trademark is the type of ability you will use every round on defense and if you take a bomb site and need to defend on offense. Perfect for covering the one angle you, or a teammate, can't watch themselves, it will give you a heads up that company is on the way and it will slow so that you can catch them off guard and in the open. Place this ability around corners and choke points that you can swivel your aim to in a pinch to capitalize on catching 5he enemy in the slow effect.
Headhunter (Q ability)
Chamber summons a revolver stronger than the Sheriff to fight the enemies. While it is a free weapon, ‘stronger than the sheriff’ makes it sound a little broken. Unlike most agent abilities, you don’t buy the right to use headhunter with Chamber, instead, you have to pay to load the weapon with bullets. Costing 100 credits per round, it can hold up to eight shots. It’s expensive to drop credits on this every round but, fortunately, you will probably have some leftovers that carry over between rounds.
Head hunter is a great option to swap to in a gunfight. Its quick equip time and powerful shots can easily end your opponents’ round and 800 credits to fully stock it is not so bad if you are in need of a save/economy round when credits are low. Offering 159 damage on a headshot, this revolver is a beast if you can hit your targets. At 55 and 46 damage to the body and legs respectively, Headhunter still packs a wallop but you will want to aim for headshots to maximise the ability’s value.
Clicking Alt-fire pulls up the revolver's reticle to help you aim at farther targets and, with no damage drop off from range, there is never a bad time to try.
Rendezvous (Signature ability)
Chamber places down two anchors on the map. While inside the radius of his anchor, he has the option to instantaneously teleport from one anchor to the other. This gives him all kinds of aggressive opportunities to earn a quick kill and get out of trouble without facing consequences or getting traded as a result. In some ways, Chamber has a better escape than Jett’s dash.
Chamber can perform the same aggressive peek angles as Jett when she’s using an Operator. While Jett can still take damage as she dashes away, Chamber is gone the second you trigger Rendezvous, making it an incredibly safe option to try and outmaneuver the enemy.
This is a great ability to use at the start of a game on defense. Place one Anchor in a safe place, like near a bomb site you plan on defending. Maybe even place a Trademark to cover another entry way as well, then take an aggressive angle and place your second Rendezvous anchor down where you plan to peek. Try your best to earn a quick kill and teleport out of there if more pressure is coming your way. As long as you are in the AOE, you’ll be able to teleport instantly when needed. If no one ends up coming your way, you can also use Rendezvous as a quick repositioning tool.
On offense you can use it in a similar way. Set up near a bomb site you have planted and look for an area the enemy should come through. Take your shot to earn a quick surprise kill and then skidaddle on out of there before the consequences of your actions catch up to you. You can pick up and redeploy through anchors as needed so don't be afraid to put them down every round as a back up.
Tour de Force (Ultimate ability)
Chamber summons a sniper rifle that can one shot anything you land a shot on. No, seriously, it’s an operator but better and, instead of costing you 5000 credits, it costs you seven ultimate points to earn the privilege to fire this beast.
More forgiving than the Operator, although the Operator can still end anyone not using heavy armor. The Tour de Force is exactly what its name implies. Along with granting Chamber access to a powerful sniper rifle, the agent gets an extra sidearm, giving Chamber a lot of flexibility with how he can spend his economy and utilise weapon purchases alongside his abilities to optimise his playstyle. The Tour de Force is a sniper and meant to be used like one, so know your spots on defense and combine it with your Rendezvous ability to ensure you live long enough to use all the bullets in your rifle. Your teammates won’t be able to pick this one up off the ground after you choke two easy "lay up" shots and start wondering if that Twitch career you plan on starting might do better as a comedy channel.
With only five shots, the Tour de Force gives you a chance to play the hero but you will need to be confident enough in your mechanics to pull off those plays. Five shots may not seem like a lot, but when a headshot comes in at 259 damage and a shot to the body and legs comes in at 150, well… five shots sounds like enough.
Playstyle
Chamber is a Duelist with a Sentinel’s toolbox. Lock down an area with Trademark and then use Rendezvous and your powerful ability weapons to take quick kills and push the enemy while taking as little risk as possible so you can still be around for the next phase of the fight.
Since you will get a free, slightly better operator every few rounds, economy with Chamber will play out a little differently than other Agents. Save yourself a round of weapon purchases and use your Tour de Force and a shotty, or maybe run a Vandal and use your headhunter instead of a pistol if you are in a pinch. Look for all kinds of opportunities to get creative with your weapon kits.
Since his ultimate takes some time to charge up, look to spend your time between saving up your points and playing to your skillset as outlined earlier. Since Chamber requires some good mechanics, maybe designate yourself as the person who will run Operators and provide sniper support. Buy an Op and use it until you lose it then, to offset the cost and save money for next round, forego buying a weapon altogether, or buy a secondary if you have to, and just use your ultimate instead. It won't have as many rounds as a regular sniper, but it’s stronger and can make a difference all the same. During those save rounds, buying your head hunter could be a good alternative, only spending enough points to fully stock it.
Since Chamber has two abilities that give him additional weapons, always look to use that to your advantage in the economy. Not needing to buy a nice pistol or primary weapon every now and then will stabilise you after losing a bad round or allow you to save up enough to buy an operator every other round.
If you don't happen to die often, you can always support the team and buy for your squad, and if the situation demands it, drop them one of your weapons and use your ability alternatives to level the playing field.
For more gaming and gaming culture coverage, follow @redbullgaming on Twitter and Instagram and like us on Facebook.
