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VALORANT agents ranked: the easiest and hardest characters to play
Find out which of the agents is the easiest to pick up and which is the hardest to master in Riot Games' shooter smash-hit.
Since its release, VALORANT has introduced new agents, game modes, maps and a brand-new weapon. With so many new choices to make and new abilities to use, it's time for another deep dive into all of VALORANT's agents. Which agents are easiest to play or hardest to master in the game today?
We can't just assign Easy, Medium and Hard without establishing what criteria will be considered for the list and what rules the agents must follow. After all, what makes an agent easy to play? Is it the simplicity of their abilities or there effectiveness?
Agents fall into four unique roles – Duelist, Initiator, Controller and Sentinel – which makes the weight of their abilities measured differently. However, all agents require three specific traits from players and we'll use those three traits to measure if an agent is Easy, Medium or Hard.
01
How our VALORANT Agent tier list is decided
The first criteria we're examining are the 'Utilities' of the agent: the abilities and ultimate that each agent has at their disposal. Some abilities are straight-forward, while others have mechanics that synergise with other abilities or require a little more work before you can make use of them. While we won't go deeply in-depth with every single detail of each agent's toolkit, we recommend reading up on the agent guides that have been made for each one to learn more about the agents that interest you the most.
The second criteria is 'Game Knowledge'. Some abilities require you to know the map, how your team-mates' agents might play and what your opponent's agents can do to hinder or counter you. Plenty of strategies are out there that can make use of your agent's toolkit and being aware of them can make them easier or difficult to play. If you ever find yourself confused on what certain terms or strategies could mean in this article, you can read up on our glossary guide, which will help you familiarise yourself more.
The third and final criteria is 'Game/ Aim skill'. Abilities are only a part of the battle in Valorant, your personal skill also has dramatic weight in determining which agents are right for you or easier to play for your style. Game/ aim skill also includes your reaction speed, decision-making and aiming ability skills. Agents such as Chamber, Iso and Breach weigh your personal skill a little more heavily than an agent such as Gekko or Cypher, where their abilities are more passive or don't need to be aimed to be effective.
02
Duelists
Raze – Easy
Valorant Agent Raze
© Riot Games
Raze's explosive utilities are the quickest to grasp and, while they can be used in an honest way, they can also encourage creative uses for them. Her boom-bot and cluster grenade are simple, but effective. Send them where they need to go and they'll do the rest – which is explode. A nice bonus to the cluster grenade is that it recharges after getting a few eliminations as well.
Raze's Blast Pack is also a pretty simple tool: an explosive that can stick to surfaces and be detonated remotely. What makes it unique is that it can be used as a movement ability as well, since Raze doesn't take damage from the explosion and the knockback sends her flying. It's tricky to master at first, but the unconventional use of this ability can put Raze in unique positions. Keep in mind however that Raze can still receive fall damage despite being immune to the explosion damage. Raze's ultimate is a rocket launcher that deals incredible damage in large AoE.
Anywhere you go, on any map you play, Raze is always effective. Her boom-bot doesn't require any manipulation like throwing a wall or smoke. You just send it down any path and, if an enemy comes across it, the bot locks on to them and explodes. Raze's cluster grenade and blast pack can be used any time any position and she shoots a rocket launcher. Game knowledge with Raze isn't necessary to make use of her abilities and get the most out of here to the best of your ability.
In terms of the third criteria of personal skill, Raze doesn't demand too much from the player to use her abilities. Even aiming the rocket launcher ultimate comes with a little bit of forgiveness, given its large AoE. All-in-all, Raze is a perfect agent for a newcomer to VALORANT and even a newcomer to using a mouse and keyboard in fps games.
Reyna – Easy
Reyna's abilities are central to her playing style and shape the way you play with her, more so than some other agents. This comes from her passive ability, which spawns a soul orb when she achieves partial or complete eliminations. From there, Reyna can choose between two of her special abilities to either heal from the soul orb or become intangible from it. Her ultimate also feeds into this ability synergy by boosting her stats and amplifying the capabilities of the soul orb mechanics. Alongside these abilities is a nearsight ability that Reyna can cast to limit the vision of her opponents that see it. All of Reyna’s abilities on their own are fairly simple, synergistic and don't require much deliberation, planning or positioning to use.
Your definitive guide to playing Reyna in Valorant
© Riot Games
The only ability that could technically rely on game knowledge would be Reyna's nearsight ability. Knowing strategies or positions in the map to best make use of them can allow Reyna to have an easier time to tap into the synergy of her passive and other abilities, as well as limit any aggressive or offensive attempts the opposing team could make. However, it’s important to be aware of which agents could potentially lock down or even suppress Reyna from activating her skills. Without her skills, Reyna can't take advantage of the flow and benefits that are generated from them. This doesn't make her useless, but she won’t have any other abilities to use in the meantime.
Reyna's passive and special abilities only truly come online when she gets an elimination or an assist. Without the personal skill needed to kickstart her ability flow, only one ability can be utilised. This doesn't necessarily make Reyna a hard agent to play, since her skills are easy to use, but you do need to be able to position yourself well and get eliminations to use her to the fullest.
Neon – Easy
Neon is an easy agent to grasp. While she draws parts of her playstyle from Jett or Phoenix, she excels at playing fast and aggressive. Her abilities aren't lethal, but they are great at stimulating and improving the landscape for someone who prefers to play fast. Her high-gear passive encourages this gameplay loop and her concussive blast and electrifying walls give her more flexibility for approaching or escaping a position and not letting the enemy follow in their footsteps. Her ultimate ability also dips into the mechanics of her passive and enables her to eliminate her opponents with ease.
Neon - Duelist in Valorant
© Riot Games
It's great to have map knowledge when it comes to playing Neon, as it can further enhance her effectiveness in a given match. However, what’s more important is knowing which agents are good at locking down sites, alerting enemy presences and disabling skills. Agents such as Sage, Cypher and Astra are good at slowing down Neon and even preventing her from reaching the objective altogether. Having the knowledge of which agents you’re up against makes Neon’s engagements more focused and precise.
Lastly, like most Duelists we've been rating, Neon does need an injection of personal skill to get the best possible results from her kit. Just like Jett, it won't matter too much how you use those skills if you’re unable to score eliminations without them. With Neon’s abilities being more varied and her passive regenerating over time without the need of eliminations, players can still eke out effective utility with Neon.
Phoenix – Medium
Phoenix
© Riot Games
Phoenix's abilities can be used similarly in both offensive and defensive play. His walls and fireball can be used to shutdown access to spikes and corridors or to prevent flankers and anchors from rotating behind him. His curveball is a great binding ability that can catch opponents by surprise, leaving them with little room to react. It may take some time to master, but overall the utility is more of a positive than negative. His Ultimate grants the player a second chance if he's killed during its duration. It's a powerful ability for a solo player and a duelist, but comes with the caveat that your opponents can find where you respawn or even eliminate you during the ultimate's lengthy animations.
Phoenix doesn't demand a mastery of game knowledge either. While it does help to know where your walls, fireball and blind orb go, Phoenix can ultimately use his abilities in a selfish manner to protect and heal himself as a response to an enemy push or while pushing an enemy's objective. There isn't much that agents can do to stop Phoenix's utility either, unless they want to risk getting burned by his walls or fireballs. You still get the most out of Phoenix's utility even if you don’t know the full extent of the game’s mechanics.
While Phoenix's abilities do have an alternate fire to precisely determine their direction or range, it doesn't demand much personal skill at all. However, the blinding flare orb does require understanding of how it works, otherwise you’ll find yourself also getting blinded.
Jett – Medium
Jett has fairly straight forward abilities: a simple smoke that can be manipulated with alternate fire, a passive glide, two movement abilities and a devastating roaming ultimate. The flexibility of Jett's utility can favor any playstyle, whether it's on offense or defense. They require little to no preparation and her dash ability can be recharged if she eliminates enough opponents.
Jett is probably the most mobile agent in Valorant
© Riot Games
Despite Jett’s abilities being uncomplicated, knowing where to use them on the map, as well as your timing, is critical to success. Using the dash or Updraft ability in parts of the map can leave you heavily exposed to your enemies and not knowing where to move can get you into a sticky situation rather than out of one. Positioning is key for agents with movement abilities to make sure you get into a great position for a flank, maneuver aggressively or stealthily across the map.
The proper use of her smoke ability also requires some map knowledge as both opponents and team-mates are affected by it and denying your team-mates space in the map isn't good. Overall, while map and game knowledge isn't imperative, knowing what other agents can do to stop you, where you are on the map and what tools you can use determines the difference between a good Jett and an even better Jett.
Now for the hard truth. None of Jett’s abilities are inherently lethal and won’t equate to easy eliminations. Personal skill is necessary for success, ranging from reaction speed with dashing and movement, to landing the perfect spot for a smoke and using her Ultimate to its fullest potential. Each knife counts and you don't want to waste them with bad aim. Using Jett to get to the best position in the map doesn’t matter if you end up missing your shots the moment you get there.
Iso – Medium
Iso from VALORANT
© Riot Games
Iso provides a unique approach to playing a duelist. He requires both personal skill and game knowledge where the others lean towards just one. For example, Iso's wall and bolt ability do require him to learn the maps he plays on (and where the opponent could position themselves) to make use of their effects. His wall is bulletproof and moves, but, unlike phoenix or Yoru, it can't be manipulated once sent out. The same goes for the bolt. Its effectiveness is only as good as an Iso player's knowledge of where to send it, either by knowing popular positions or anticipating enemy locations.
Conversely, Iso's double tap ability is only as good as the player’s aiming skill. Compared to Reyna, Iso not only has to get an elimination, but must also shoot a small target that spawns above the opponent's position fairly quickly or they won’t be able to generate their shield. The same applies to Iso's ultimate. If anything, Iso can not only lose the battle their ultimate creates, but could also end up helping the enemy, because they replenish health.
Iso is the latest agent to join the VALORANT roster so it makes sense that their kit evolved with the game and what the player base was already accustomed to. His abilities are still simplistic, but draw from all of the criteria used to make this tier list, so if a player is lacking on one end, they can still make use of Iso. However, it might be better to try some older duelists before moving on to Iso.
Yoru – Hard
Out of all the Duelists in VALORANT, Yoru is a tricky agent to just play, let alone master. His abilities not only require really good personal skills, but also decent game and map knowledge. Whether it's bouncing his flash to the right spot, sending his teleport tether to a precarious position or trying to send a decoy without getting pushed on, precision is required. Yoru's ultimate does take him out of the map, but without proper knowledge or good decision-making, you might end up somewhere dangerous.
Having knowledge of maps and what other agents can do to disable or hinder Yoru is key. It might be beneficial to make coordinated plays with team-mates for proper flanks, distractions and pushes because, alone, Yoru's abilities rely on the enemy team falling for his deceptions.
Yoru
© Riot Games
Yoru excels at misdirection and distraction, which means he still needs a player to make the tough decisions and have the personal skill to engage with those gunfights. Yoru's skills can certainly aid in the beginning of a fight, but they don’t carry weight for too long and can get you in worse trouble if you end up teleporting to, or come out of, your ultimate in a bad spot. It’s encouraged to learn a bit more about the game to better understand what Yoru can bring to the table.
03
Controllers
Brimstone – Easy
Brimstone's utility kit covers different aspects, giving him a multifaceted approach to playing as a Controller. One of his abilities grants a bonus to multiple stats and a slight speed boost. He can launch a fire grenade that spreads, orbital smokes and, for his ultimate, a laser strike. Not only does he dip into a hybrid of offense and defense as a Controller, but his abilities can be used alongside the team or by himself in any kind of playstyle.
VALORANT agent Brimstone
© Riot Games
His smoke and ultimate ability require you to know the map as you call them down. They’re highly dependent on your knowledge and application, so it’s best to communicate with your team to coordinate and position well to generate the best outcome. Be careful, unlike Phoenix he won't heal if he stands on his own fire.
Brimstone's utility is completely isolated from most facets of personal skill, so while it’s good to have great reaction speed, aim, awareness and decision making, for a new player it’s not an automatic loss to try your hand at Brimstone.
Viper – Easy
Viper in action in Valorant
© Riot Games
Viper's abilities all center around her toxins. They act as smoke, deterrents and can make opponents that enter them vulnerable or susceptible to taking more damage. The main danger around Viper’s abilities is the Decay (essentially poison damage) and she can distribute them across the map as smokes, pools, walls and, for her ultimate, a large cloud. Her abilities regenerate on their own over time and can be reused anytime you don’t die.
Having more knowledge of the game and maps will certainly help a Viper player but, ultimately, you can still make the most out of her kit regardless of map. Ability regeneration allows new players to make mistakes and learn from them as the rounds go on.
Decision-making and awareness contribute towards being a better Viper player, but it's not the be-all and end-all for anyone trying her for the first time. Viper is an agent that doesn’t require too much investment in the game or the genre to play.
Harbor – Medium
Harbor’s tools all surround his ability to control and manipulate water. Whether it's creating fluent walls, strong shields or concussive geysers, he's making a splash. His wall abilities are the most flexible, able to be created or sent out in coordinated or reactionary methods. Additionally, his Cove ability allows him to hunker down and protect himself and allies from most sources of damage, while keeping them hidden from his opponents.
Valorant agent Harbor
© Riot Games
Because Harbor's walls have lots of versatility, they allow players to quickly adapt to a match's moving parts easily. Where other controllers require some setup or planning, Harbor makes use of his abilities in a more impromptu manner. This means that map knowledge, while always useful for Controllers, isn't the most important tool to have. Teamwork and really good personal skills are more necessary to get the best out of Harbor.
When it comes to personal skill, Harbor does need good awareness to make use of his walls and decent decision-making to take advantage of his cove, ultimate and changes to pouches or rotates affected by his walls. As a Controller, Harbor shines in negating or engaging pushes with his team or solo if you’re confident in your skills.
Clove – Medium
With a character as atypical as Clove, who, despite their role as a controller, possesses an unparalleled utility kit, they can single-handedly do the work of several roles at once. However, mastering Clove's kit might require more practice compared to other Controllers.
Clove brings a disruptive and dynamic presence to the battlefield. Her abilities can hinder enemies with temporary health reduction and vision-blocking smoke grenades. Even after elimination, Clove can strategically deploy smokes to support her team, making her a constant threat. Additionally, she can bolster her own survival by regaining health and a speed boost after eliminating, or assisting in eliminating, an enemy.
Clove en acción
© ©Riot Games
Clove's signature ability, Ruse, allows her to deploy smokes from a mini-map, even while spectating after elimination. This unique feature grants her unmatched influence on the battlefield, even in death. Meddle, her grenade, inflicts the decay debuff on enemies, weakening them in combat. Finally, Clove's ultimate ability, Not Dead Yet, offers a second chance. Upon elimination, she has a brief window to activate a self-revive. However, to truly stay alive she must secure a kill or assist within a limited time frame.
Omen – Hard
Omen is one of the few agents that takes full advantage of the map and the more you know it, the more utility you can squeeze out. Omen's abilities are all about shrouding the perceptions of your opponent, but it’s a double-edged sword in that if you're new or unaware, you can also hinder your team-mates. Omen's shrouded step is easy to grasp and it’s great for getting into tricky spots. His other abilities, while easy to use, won't be effective if you don’t know how to apply them or where to place them.
Game knowledge is paramount when playing Omen. Without it, you’ll end up hurting your team more than helping, whether it’s by blocking their vision, putting them in bad locations or shrouding the position of opponents. Fortunately, this is also where Omen shines, as this is his method of acting as a Controller. By determining where the enemy can and can't see, you can direct them to stay at a point longer or take risks, before getting punished by your team.
Omen has many tricks that need to be mastered
© Riot Games
Being able to read and make use of the minimap is also imperative for Omen. It's how you’ll know the best places to blind and to move to. With Omen's teleportation working both vertically and horizontally, creating vision blockers and finding the best position all depends on teamwork and game knowledge.
For Omen, personal skill comes to play not with aim and reaction, but with awareness and decision-making. Making last-second choices, creating plays and having a creative mind that can take advantage of his abilities to mask, flank or rotate against an enemy are important skills to have.
Astra – Hard
VALORANT Agent Astra
© Riot Games
There’s no sugar coating this one: Astra is a challenging agent to play. While this doesn’t make her a bad agent by any means, the complexity of her abilities and the knowledge required to use them creates a difficult combination. Her astral form allows Astra to open the map and place stars that can then be activated to concuss, smoke or make anyone who enters the area vulnerable. These star setups require extensive map knowledge to know where to place them and precise timing to activate, and entering astral form leaves Astra vulnerable to attack as you can't control her physical body.
Her ultimate ability functions in a similar way, while blocking vision. While it may be easier to use, it still needs to be activated in astral form. Regardless of her utility or your personal VALORANT skill, Astra requires team coordination, knowledge of map positioning and effective timing and accuracy to use her kit to its fullest. It's not recommended for new players to play Astra.
04
Initiators
Sova – Easy
Sova
© Riot Games
Sova is all about information gathering and using his abilities to discern the location of opponents. He can be played passively, actively, solo or with a team. Using his drone and recon bolt you can make engagements and rotations easier for you and your team when you can isolate opponents, find the best point to plant the spike, or flank, defend and push. Sova’s abilities are a great mix between recon, utility and damage.
Sova is a great agent to use to learn the maps and mechanics of the game. His playstyle reinforces the premise of gathering information through reconnaissance and hunting down opponents.
While Sova eventually becomes hard to play, given the amount of lineups needed to learn, that level of knowledge only becomes a requirement at higher skill ranks. Since Sova is one of the free agents new players can access and has been in the game from the beginning, it’s highly recommended to try him out.
Gekko – Medium
Gekko can be considered easy to play given that everything offered in his arsenal is not only fire and forget, but also recyclable. What makes him medium difficulty is that as an Initiator he's a jack of all trades, but master of none. For most things Gekko is capable of, there's an initiator who excels at it.
Gekko can use his buddies to gather information, blind opponents and even damage enemies, but Breach can deal more damage, KAY/O can offer more disruption and Sova is better at gathering information. Gekko having the ability to do a little bit of everything makes him valuable, but also makes it difficult for him to shine.
Gekko and his companions stay stylish
© Riot Games
That doesn't mean you should just play someone else. Gekko's versatility means he can be used on any map, regardless of a player’s knowledge. Granted, using all of Gekko’s abilities still requires understanding how they work despite their automatic dispensation of utility.
With Gekko, you'll have to work harder in some situations, but have an easier time in others. For one, Gekko can reuse his buddies as long as he can recollect them in the same round. He's a little easier on economy. He’s a great character for a beginner to grow into once they’ve learned more about the game.
Skye – Medium
Skye
© Riot Games
As an Initiator, Skye has easy to understand abilities that concuss, blind and lessen an opponent's vision or heal her team-mates. Such a versatile approach to initiating engagements makes her a popular pick and sets her apart from similar agents.
Map and game knowledge aren’t completely necessary, but still good to have. The debuffs Skye inflicts can be controlled remotely as she sends them out so, even if you're unaware of what’s around the corner, you still get the opportunity to guide your abilities where you see fit rather than worrying about over throwing and completely missing it or accidentally putting team-mates in danger.
Skye's execution relies solely on her abilities and capability to initiate with her team, and this does put a little pressure on newer players to get good. While her skills are incredible to use, without teamwork and personal skills, Skye's potential and utility diminishes. It’s imperative to do a little learning before locking in a character that can do so much in so many ways.
KAY/O – Medium
KAY/O is unlike the other initiators thanks to their ultimate and special ability. KAY/O has access to a flash grenade like other initiators and an explosive frag that detonates multiple times in its AoE. What sets them apart is their specialty in suppressing other agents. Suppressed agents are not only unable to use their abilities, but their locations are also revealed. The same applies to KAY/O's ultimate, which leaves them overloaded, but receiving a few buffs plus a chance to be revived if he’s brought down. With suppression, it's important to note that despite the enemy being suppressed and revealed, it doesn’t lessen their inherent damage or lethality. They may not have access to their abilities, but they could still shoot and eliminate you. They're out of abilities, but they’re not out of options.
KAY/O
© Riot Games
Suppression won't stop an agent, but it will stop their tools. That includes any deployables they place on the ground. This makes KAY/O perfect for initiating pushes into spike territory or flanking through a heavily fortified position. You have to know what KAY/O can and cannot suppress, and which tools are affected by it. Some agents are able to get by just fine being suppressed, while others are severely hindered. Knowing who best to target or engage will concentrate KAY/O’s efforts into a more focused path, which is where newer players might falter.
KAY/O’s abilities are better utilised by a player who knows more. While the abilities themselves aren't challenging, having game knowledge and personal skill will elevate any KAY/O player to greater heights.
Breach – Hard
Valorant Breach
© Riot Games
Despite Breach's abilities being quite literally straightforward, they do take a bit of consideration and timing before using them. Breach is great at fulfilling his Initiator role, but his abilities need a little map knowledge before engaging with any of Breach's utility as an opener or response. Breach can utilise several debuffs, such as Concuss, Blind and a lot of damage.
Breach's abilities are simple, but become more potent with a little knowledge. Knowing the range of the abilities, what walls they can affect and where beyond those walls the opponent can run will make Breach fare more effective. This takes a team effort, but even a solo player will at least need to know how to use their minimap to fire his charges in places where the enemy was last spotted or could have gone.
Having the insight and judgment to fire Breach's charges and ultimate at the right locations are some of the personal skills players will need to use him to his fullest potential. Getting the most out of him will not be easy for new players, as Breach demands the combination of many skills, even if you are coordinating with your team.
Fade – Hard
Fade from VALORANT
© Riot Games
Initiators trend towards being some of the hardest agents to master and Fade is no exception. Her terror abilities are great at gathering intel, marking and debuffing her opponents, but will take a little effort. To get the most out of Fade, knowledge of the map, where players can peek from and what strategies teams might try are important to have. After all, you can't get a terror trail if there are no opponents around to trigger her abilities. She can be played in both defensive and offensive play styles, making her initiating capabilities strong at any point in the match.
Alongside game knowledge, personal skill is needed to capitalise on Fade's utility. She can deafen, decay, nearsight and even reveal enemies, but none of that matters if the player or their team can capture the elimination. This means personal skills such as awareness, aim and reaction are key to finding victory with Fade.
05
Sentinels
Sage – Easy
While other Sentinels are geared towards defensive playstyles, Sage leans towards a more supportive style. Her abilities allow her to provide respite and healing to her allies, while restricting and locking down the movements of her enemies. Not to mention, she's equipped with an ultimate that can undo the progress of the enemy team and bring an ally back from elimination – devastating if used at the right time in a round. These abilities are also very accessible and comprehensible for newer players.
Sage goes on basically every team
© Riot Games
Not much, if any, map or game knowledge is needed to bring out the best Sage's abilities. Her utility is omnipresent and can be used in any situation. This also applies to personal skill. A good Sage player can support the team even if they haven't developed the best skills and a great Sage player accomplishes even more.
Killjoy – Easy
Valorant Killjoy
© Riot Games
There's no easier way to enjoy and play a defensive playstyle than with Killjoy. All of her abilities funnel into tools and deployables that aid in locking down positions much easier. Her Alarmbot and Turret make holding angles and hallways simple as they do all the work in alerting, deterring and, potentially, even eliminating opponents when they try to reach the objective. Additionally, for a more active ability on defense is Killjoy’s nanoswarm grenad, which can be remotely activated once opponents get within range. Killjoy’s ultimate is another fantastic tool for defensively locking down a zone and eliminating her opponents.
Killjoy’s passive utility allows her to bypass the general knowledge check that VALORANT asks of players, both new and veteran. With her abilities to hunker down and use her deployables, new players can spend more time learning about the game and practicing without having the pressure of having to play solo or misuse any of their abilities. Not much personal skill is really needed to make Killjoy shine – her skills do all the talking.
Chamber – Medium
Chamber
© Riot Games
Chamber is an aim agent and demands probably more aiming skills than any other agent in the game. Whether you wish to use Chamber because your aim is great or because you want to force yourself to learn how to aim, to get the most out of him you have to hit your shots. For example, one of his abilities and his ultimate are weapons and only work so long as you don’t miss.
While map knowledge isn't a requirement to be a great Chamber, his teleport ability and trap tool are more useful if you know where to place them and where to return to. Having good placement in a map allows Chamber players to be in strong positions to make use of his ultimate and heavy revolver, as well as flexible locations for rotations or objective pushes.
All in all, other Sentinels might provide utility without great skill in aiming, but Chamber comes with massive rewards for a little time on the range
Cypher – Hard
Cypher's Sentinel role is passive and patient. His skills are straightforward, but proper implementation, response and placement is challenging. Cypher's abilities lean more towards laying traps that reveal the opponents position, while also disabling their sensing and debuffing them once they're caught. The utility isn't hard to use and any player can comprehend how they work, but they require more than just basic understanding to be effective.
Cypher is one to include in your team composition
© Riot Games
Cypher comes equipped with a spycam that he can place on any surface. It's invisible when not used, but reveals itself once activated. Cypher can use the spycam to keep an eye on areas of the map and tag enemies within its range. A simple mechanic like this can be controlled by anyone, but good game and map knowledge makes for devastating traps and punishments in conjunction with the tripware ability.
Cypher players need more than just some studying, though, they need personal skills like awareness, shot-calling and decisiveness to truly ascend. This agent's playstyles are slow and patience is required to get the proper jump on the enemy team. New players could be able to use Cypher, but not as effectively as a veteran player can.
Deadlock – Hard
If Chamber swung too far in one direction, then Deadlock swings in the complete opposite. Her utility comes from the placement of her abilities and less so from the player's personal skill. Deadlock places nets, sensors and walls that impede and restrict the opposing team but, ultimately, the effectiveness of these abilities falls short if the player planting them doesn't know where to do so. Deadlock players need information from the game and their team-mates since her abilities can be suppressed or destroyed if detected before use.
Deadlock in VALORANT
© Riot Games
Deadlock can be deployed in both offensive and defensive efforts. Her playstyle largely relies on the enemy and her team to facilitate proper use of her abilities and, as such, it can be hard for newcomers to Deadlock to be able to use her to her fullest potential.
While it can’t be denied that Deadlock has her uses, other sentinels like Cypher or Chamber can be a better-honed edge, while Deadlock is more of a blunt tool. Her abilities slow, stop and concuss, but they can all be destroyed. Use them as a reaction to pressure and not necessarily as the team coordinates and plans beforehand. It's hard to say she’s a difficult character to use, because unlike the other Sentinels she's still lacking in many different ways.
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