Riot's latest game, Valorant, is slowly taking the world by storm with many of the top streamers on Twitch falling in love with the new competitive title. The game, on a surface level, mixes the precise shooting mechanics synonymous with the Counter-Strike series and fuses them with character-specific abilities similar to that of 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Overwatch or Ra🌜inbow Si🧸x: Siege. Initially, Valorant launched with ten agents but has since expanded the roster to a whopping 16.

There are four distinct agent roles: Controller, Duelist, Initiator, and Sentinel. Controllers work well at manipulating the map; Duelists operate as the high-octane offensive threat hunting for kills; Initiators excel at pushing back enemy forces around corners; and, Sentinels are pure defenders and look to possibly offer healing support. Each agent sports one Signature Ability that they're allowed to use for free each round, but also a powerful Ultimate that can change the battlefield in an instance. With that said, let's rank the best overall characters in Valorant.

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Updated August 30, 2021, by Avery Lawrence Feyrer: Since the posting of this article, Riot has added more agents to the game that have impacted the rankings. The developer has also added two maps, which change how certain agents are viewed or others. Each agent's abilities and description have also been added to each section.

10 Viper

Since Valorant's release, Viper has seen considerable growth as a character. Once a laughing stock, the American agent's abilities have been tweaked to cause severe pain for would-be defusers. Viper excels in the Controller role, being able to slice up parts of the map with her Toxic Screen.

While she is a bit more situational than other agents, the majority of agents only work well in certain situations. Viper's more than capable of defending a bomb site herself, and with her fast-acting Snake Bite acid pods, she can delay a potential spike defuser effectively. Her Viper's Pit Ultimate Ability can be⛎ deployed on either offense or defense, making it a handy ability to have.

9 Omen

The mysterious Omen can be quite powerful when controlled by professionals, but can also be difficult to master. He's a defensive specialist who is great at misdirection and causing confusion. His teleporting abilities lend themselves to some impressive highlight plays, but more often than not the average player ends up sending themselves to their own grave.

A good Omen can psychologically damage opponents with his Paranoia and Ultimate From the Shadows. When Omen announces his using his Ultimate, the map gets engulfed in darkness and fear quickly sinks in as to where the agent teleported to. Omen is extremely talented in being able to deploy covers anywhere on the map, and his teleportation abilities allow for p👍ossible flanking maneuvers.

8 Killjoy

Killjoy is one of the best defensive agents in Valorant. As a Sentinel, Killjoy excels in providing defensive support, even on the attacking team. Because of her Alarmbot, the German agent can cover any flanking angles with her device and alert her of unsuspecting enemies. On top of that, her Turret can cause more confusion in a firefight, locking on immediately to the opposing team. Don't underestimate the power of the Turret; it has perfect aim and staggers you if hit, so be sure to eliminate it once you see it.

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Similar to Viper's acid, Killjoy's Nanoswarm is an effective way to push would be spike defusers away. The bonus of her grenades is she can set them up to be detonated at a later time and can activate them from a safe distance, as long as her general viewpoint is in line with the grenade. Lockdown deploys a widespread dome✃ that will detain enemies caught inside of it after 13 seconds; a great way to push off defenders to plant the spike or move onto a site to defuse.

7 Sova

Sova is a unique agent in the sense that he operates well as both an Initiator and Controller. Hailing from Mother Russia, Sova's abilities allow him to safely check corners for hidden enemies and also wider recon capabilities if used properly. For his native Initiator role, Sova's Owl Drone can fly around corners for up to ten seconds and can fire a recon dart into an enemy to pulse their location. Sova's drone can get shot down before the ten seconds, and they can also remove the dart, but even if the enemy shoots down his drone their location will still be revealed.

The reason why Sova can also function as a poor man's Controller is his Recon Bolt. Right when the round begins, it's crucial to use Sova's Recon Bolt almost immediately for several reasons. First, if Sova's bolt lands in an area of the map the enemy team is located, it'll either detect their presence or the bolt will get shot, also revealing their location. The other reason is its cooldown. Sova can reuse his Recon Bolt after 40 seconds, so if the round lasts long enough, having a second use of his Signature Ability might come in handy.

6 Phoenix

Any time a character can heal themselves it makes them a tough out for the opponent. They may not be as valuable as a general team healer, but that doesn't mean any player using Phoenix should be overlooked or dismissed.

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By using either his Blaze firewall or Hot Hands grenade, Phoenix can cause damage or heal himself in the heat of the flames. His flash grenade ability Curveball can be devastating for enemies who enjoy peeking corners. Just make sure you don't blind your teammates in the process.

5 Reyna

For players strictly looking to hunt for kills, Reyna is the ultimate duelist. Her Leer ability blinds the opposing team with a floating eyeball, leaving them vulnerable as they shoot it down. After an enemy agent dies, they leave a purple soul orb behind for three seconds that Reyna can either Devour it to restore lost health and shield or turn invulnerable briefly with Dismiss.

When Reyna activates Empress, she turns into a killing machine. The Mexican queen becomes supercharged with increased firing and reload spe⛄ed, along with the unlimited ability to consume Soul Orbs. Reyna is a tricky agent to play and solely relies on your ability to get kills.

4 Yoru

One of the agents added after Valorant's release, Yoru has a nasty way of causing chaos for the opposing team. Classified as a Duelist, Yoru can push hard onto a bomb site with his Blindside flash ability or sneak around with Gatecrash. He can further create confusion by deploying an echo that m♎imics footsteps.

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Yoru's Ultimate, Dimensional Drift, allows the Japanese agent to slip in between dimensions to travel to another location. This comes extremely handy to either escape a sticky situation or possibly flank the opposing team. Because of his crafty abilities, Yoru can be an absolute pain to play against or a reli🙈able ally.

3 Raze

Raze happens to be the pure damage dealer among the agents. Many players would assume her Boom Bot is useless as it takes little damage to destroy it, but that fire of a gun will reveal the enemy's location. Pairing this with her Paint Shell cluster grenades means the player will either have to relocate or hope they live through the burst of dama👍ge.

Her Blast Pack gives Raze solid mobility, especially with her Showstopper activated. Being able to quickly get in the face of enemies with a rocket launcher equipped is a sure-fire way to deal some series of damage. Her strengths lay in punishing enemy players who are out of position and generally zoning the ene⭕my out of certain areas.

2 Kay/O

The latest agent added to Valorant was the machine Kay/O. Coming from an alternate timeline, this knock-off Terminator can cause opposing teams headaches. Not only does Kay/O's ZERO/point blade suppress enemies and render their abilities useless, but it also identifies their location. If used properly, his suppression blade can be a heavy factor in a team's success.

Kay/O's grenade and flash-bang are fairly comparable to other abilities of that type. His Ultimate NULL/cmd doesn't operate completely as a self-revive but does keep Kay/O from being fully taken out of the game in case an ally can bring him back online.

1 Sage

Most players would consider Sage to be the best and most powerful agent in Valorant. She has a collection of abilities that can turn the tide of battle when controlled by a skilled and confident teammate. The assumption is that🐼 support characters often come second to damage-oriented ones, but Sage proves that whole line of thinking wrong.

She can heal teammates, create barriers, slow opponents, and even resurrect fallen teammates with her ultimate. A skilled Sage player can hold off an entire team given the right circumstances. Most teams can find success without one of the top-rated agents, but not having a Sage on the team can be a missed opportunity. If there's one agent that's as close to a must-have, it's the Sentinel healer Sage.

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