As the year 2020 came to an end, Valorant wrestled away some of the limelight from other popular titles in the same genre. Riot's team-based FPS experiment initially caught our attention earlier in the year, but quickly faded because of Warzone. Now in 2021, Valorant is flourishing.
However, choosing between the 16 different agents can be overwhelming. Each agent possesses unique abilities that can affect the game in many ways. Other than standard abilities, agents have special skills called Ultimates. These skills can cause massive damage, provide impenetrable defensive measures, or reveal ene🦄my locations. Similar to standard abilities, certain Ultimates prove far more beneficial than others and have the potential to be game-changers. Here we take a look at the best choices.
Updated August 31, 2021, by Avery Lawrence Feyrer: Since the posting of this article, Riot has added another agent to Valorant, as well as adjusting certain Ultimates that now prove invaluable compared to before. We have also added more accurate, precise descriptions of each Ultimate ability in the entries below.
10 ⛎ Raze - Showstopper 💫
- Showstopper: Raze equips a rocket launcher and deals massive area damage; she can have the launcher equipped for ten seconds before needing to fire.
Raze keeps things simple and clean with her Ultimate, Showstopper. When activated, Raze brings out a rocket launcher and blasts the enemy into oblivion. On direct impact, the rocket inflicts a maximum of 150 damage🔯, enough to kill instantly. The rocket also causes splash damage, so once she yells, "Fire in the hole!" start running.
Firing the rocket can also act as a defensive desperation play because the rocket propels Raze backward about five meters. Combining her Ultimate with her Blast Pack turns Raze into a high-flying, speedster that can ඣcause incredible destruction.
9 💮 Skye - Seekers
- Seekers: Skye deploys three creatures that can track down the enemy team for 15 seconds; if they come into contact with someone, the enemy's vision will be restricted for three seconds.
In most multiplayer games, it's usually important to know where the enemy's location is. When it comes to Valorant, it's a game-changer. Skye's Ultimate, Seekers, accomplishes exactly that. When activated, the Aussie agent deploys three floating creatures that track down the enemy. If struck, the enemy's vision will become impaired and their location will be revealed on the map.
Even if Skye's Seeker creatures are unable to make contact with an enemy agent, odds are the opposing team will shoot her creatures and still reveal their location. In certain situations, it might be beneficial to deploy her Seekers as soon as the round starts to gain the visible advantage of where the enemy team might be heading.
8 ๊ Jett - Bl♏adestorm
- Bladestorm: Jett equips five throwing knives that recharge after killing any enemy agent; the knives can either be fired one at a time or all at once
Although each Ultimate ability varies among the Valorant agents, one condition remains the same for each of them: when activated, the Ultimate ability must be used immediately. That is, everyone except for Jett. The South Korean's Ultimate ability, Bladestorm, allows her to wield five throwing knives that deal 50 damage to the legs and torso or 150 damage to the head. When Jett activates her Ultimate, she ha꧑s the flexibility to switch between her equipped weapons and throwing knives without penalty.
On top of that, if Jett kills an enemy with her knives, the knives restock to a full five. In other words, Jett could play through an entire round and never lose her Ultimate. Due to its flexibility, damage output, and restocking capabilities, Jett's Bladestorm is one of the best pure offensive Ultimates in Valorant.
7 Viper - Viper's Pit
- Viper's Pit: When activated, Viper sprays a massive toxic cloud that engulfs a large area; the cloud reduces the enemy's vision and health considerably inside the cloud.
Whether players need to defuse the Spike or protect it, there are few better Ultimates to have handy than Viper's Pit. The American agent detonates a chemical sprayer that emits a cloud that extends out around her. Enemy vision inside the cloud is heavily reduced, although enemies are highlighted for Viper and her team to easily locate, and the cloud also inflicts Decay on enemy agents.
Viper's Decay erodes their health and leaves enemies who remain inside the cloud at only one health point. If an enemy is lucky enough to escape the cloud, their health re-gains at a slow rate of but there's an initial delay from the Decay effect when they leave the cloud. Viper can keep the cloud activate as long as she stays alive and inside the cloud; Viper can step out of the cloud momentarily but must return inside so it doesn't deactivate.
6 ꦓ Yoru - Dimensional Drift
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- Dimensional Drift: Yoru can slip in between dimensions and reappear in a different location
A popular tactic in any FPS is flanking. Being able to sneak around behind the opposing team to catch them unaware can be the key to winning many matches. Yoru's Dimensional Drift allows the Japanese agent to enter another dimension to either escape a sticky situation or gꦫain a tactical advantage.
Recently, Yoru's Ultimate cost was updated from seven to six, which allows more frequent use of the ability. If you excel at getting kills or being on spike duty, Yoru's Ultimate will be available quite often. But be warned: if Yoru comes too close to the opposing team in his Ultimate, they will be able to see him.
5 🍷 Omen - From The Shadows
- From the Shadows: Omen can teleport anywhere on the map, causing fear and panic for the opposing team; the agent can cancel the ability before teleporting.
Omen mains know all too well the limitations in his teleporting ability. While generally useful, the lack of distance Omen can travel severely hinders its functionality. Sure, in a pinch, Omen could teleport from one corner to another and temporarily confuse the opposing team, but what if Omen could teleport anywhere on the map? Omen's Ultimate ability From the Shadows allows the agent to teleport anywhere, but with a small added fe🌱ature🤪 for flexibility.
The makes agent can cancel the Ultimate before completing the teleportation if the area he's trying to teleport proves too dangerous. Theoretically, Omen can use the skill as either a means of transportation to flank enemies, plant the Spike at the opposite bombsite, or even use the skill as a recon tool. Also when activated, From the Shadows blinds the mini-map for the enemy team, rendering it useless.
4 Phoenix - Run It Back ꦺ 🌳
- Run It Back: Phoenix creates a flame doppelganger that can scout ahead, kill enemies, or perform spike actions.
In terms of effectiveness, Ultimates can be valued based on their floor and ceiling, similar to how athletes are analyzed. The floor represents the bare minimum value, while the ceiling represents its potential value. If someone's floor is high, then they can have a large impact regardless of any situation. By using those measurements, Phoenix's Ultimate offers one of the highest floors of any Valorant Ultimate ability.
Phoenix's Run It Back ability allows him to create a clone that's able to shoot, kill, and use abilities just like normal Phoenix. The clone is active for either ten seconds or until destroyed, whichever comes first. While controlling the clone, Phoenix cannot take real damage. However, there is a two-second delay when Phoenix returns to his real body, so it could be bad news if the British agent isn't in a good hiding spot. It can be used as a recon device to scout an area or as a first wave to push onto a bombsite. There's endless potential in Phoenix's Ultimate on both defense and offense.
3 💞 Killjoy - Lockdown
- Lockdown: Killjoy deploys a device that emits a large dome that after 13.5 seconds will Detain any enemies caught inside.
Flashy, offensive Ultimates like Raze's tend to catch the attention of most players. It's understandable. In an FPS, who wouldn't want to have an all-powerful Ultimate to bring the pain train. While those types of abilities grab the headlines, it's Ultimates like Killjoy's that truly turn the tide in battle. Killjoy's Lockdown is the apex of defensive Ultimate abilities. When activated, the German agent deploys a device that detains enemies for eight seconds that are caught within the 30-meter wide sphere after 13.5 seconds. Although Lockdown's effectiveness is at its peak defending the Spike from being defused, it can also be used in initially clearing out a bombsite due to its wide radius.
The Lockdown device can be destroyed, but players would be risking being Detained. Other agents can use their Ultimates to destroy Lockdown from afar, like Brimstone's Orbital Strike, but that would also be in Killjoy's favor in forcing the enemy to use an Ultimate ability prematurely.
2 🎃 Kay/O - NULL/cmd
- NULL/cmd: Kay/O becomes overcharged with radianite energy that suppresses enemies within range; if Kay/O is downed during his Ultimate, he can be revived by any teammate.
The newest agent in Valorant happens to be one of the best in the right hands. The machine of destruction, Kay/O offers considerable potential with his ability to suppress enemies and lockout their own abilities. When Kay/O activates his Ultimate, NULL/cmd, the robot becomes polarized with radianite energy that will cause suppression to any enemy within his range for 12 seconds. If affected, the enemy agent will be suppressed for four seconds, unless t🌺hey get hit again by another pulse from Kay/O.
If Kay/O falls during his Ultimate, the robot won't fully die but simply go offline. His team will have 15 seconds to reboot him, meaning, someone other than Sage can revive Kay/O. It's not as valuable as a full self-revive, but it's the next closest thing.
1 ꩲ Sag🉐e - Resurrection
- Resurrection: Sage can revive a fallen teammate back to full health
Whether there's a Sage ally or enemy, it's best to keep tabs on her Resurrection ability. Just as the name entails, Sage's Ultimate revives a fallen teammate to full health, but not full shields. While it's advantageous to bring someone back from the dead, it could lead to a free kill for the enemy team.
Typically a teammate's body will be in the middle of gunfire, so creating cover fire or utilizing Sage's Barrier would work best with Resurrection. Also, if the formerly deceased didn't have the bad luck of someone taking their gun, they should have the items they purchased from the armory. Bringing a fallen teammate back from the dead is the crown jewel of ultimate abilities and can turn the tide of any match, which makes Sage's Resurrection the best Ultimate in Valorant.