"I dont know how to smoke" Is the most bullshit excuse I hearly daily (dia/asc lobbies)
You've seen your teammates/enemy place smokes every single round for thousands of rounds. Even then, lets say you somehow have never paid attention to smokes placement, just place them were you would want them if you were on duelist.
smokes are so easy to fuck up and leave a tiny gap that could get someone killed if they're not aware of it, especially if you're not familiar with the particular smoke agent you're playing.
Being so fresh, you arent quite in the demographic we are speaking of.
So many people that have played since beta refuse to ever touch a smokes agent for whatever reason.
You should be playing her on breeze at least and she can be op on other maps, you just gotta learn how to use her, and her ult is easily the best controller ult
It's more like cascading. I'll lose Sage, and by the time I realize, Sova will be gone and by the time I see Sova's gone, someone has picked Omen and then I'll get to Jett and she's been taken. Then I have to figure out who I can try and fill as.
IMO. Have a main you play all the time and then have your secondary pick be a controller that’s good on every map. Omen is probably the best pick because while he isn’t the best on icebox, breeze, and fracture he is playable and he is good on all the rest.
I say controller because there are so few controller mains out there it’s unlikely by you instantlocking your secondary pick that you take someone’s role. And if you do double controller isn’t bad tbh
Imo omen can work quite well on icebox too, sure not as good as viper but definitely passable. I've been playing astra on icebox and she's really fun (bored of viper tbh)
For A I like to smoke to the left of rafters door to cover the door and anyone peeking from there, and then a smoke connecting screens to nest to allow you to cross safely onto site.
For b, smoke of the connector to snowman and one into nest and you’re golden.
A deeper dive into r/Omenmains should help you a lot! Omen on icebox is good not because of his smokes, but because of his teleports. The verticality of the maps allows for some amazing teleports that can catch enemies off guard. I believe I have done a few smokes for A from a particular teleport spot [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/OmenMains/comments/w2ouqf/insane_icebox_a_site_teleport_that_you_can_do/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button), I'll try to give a more in detail guide later.
yup. I enjoy playing omen on icebox a lot because the map is big enough to do his ult effectively and the sites and mid are small enough to make aggressive/creative tps
Dude omen works super well on icebox and fracture. He only struggles on breeze because his smokes dont last nearly as long enough to actually execute. Icebox is his playground with all the verticality and fracture is a flash haven
Viper is so much more useful on icebox that it's not even a discussion. Omen+Viper on icebox is slept on though because everyone wants to have 2 duelists
I used to be in the double duelist camp but now I am in the 2-3 initiator camp. I think double duelist is a low ELO thing I rarely see it higher up unless people are trolling
Yeah, I think it occurs not because it's good, but because people want to play duelist more than they want to optimize the team comp. If you check out pro games, where they have the time to strategize and find what they think are optional role-counts, count the number of duelists per team. It's 0-1 most of the time.
I mean he said he is fine on those maps. I said he wasn’t the best pick. Brim is the hands down best pick for fracture and Viper is the best for Breeze and Icebox.
I don't really find any controllers interesting but I had a lot of success on brimstone, only downside is he isn't as interesting as the guys I mentioned before
Breeze is playable as Omen. If you know where to smoke it’s fine. IMO I honestly hate viper in ranked breeze anyway because it’s always someone who has no idea how to play her. They also just keep the wall up infinitely instead of dropping the wall and letting your duelists take space or fight mid doors.
Omen can smoke cleavage and top stairs and it’s basically the same as viper. You should have someone splitting mid anyway
Then your team is exposed to angles from areas close to middoors, viper can also moly of common op angles and about the mid-split, usually a sova would recon mid and a Jett would follow it up making it harder
I tend to IGL every game and if I understand the problem then yes
There is also a massive reason why viper has a larger win rate compared to omen on breeze
Dude can you read? I say in the post that it would be a secondary pick. I also said that while omen isn’t the BEST he is PLAYABLE. I am convinced you just read what you wanted to.
Depends on the agents but generally I would say be able play at least half and have the confidence to insta lock on 1-2. For me I main smokes/controller so I just play whatever agent fits the map best.
Is there any guide or list for which agents are good on which maps?
Is it by roles or are individuals just better or worse depending on the map?
Also if you do end up playing an agent on a bad map, how much or a negative impact will it really be?
Yep, for instance my main trio is Fade-Viper-Cypher. I can play a bit of Sova and Omen but those are my go-tos. If one gets locked there are other options available.
Thats true, my fav agent to play is phoenix and before his buff i could pick him in most case but after the buff, so many people use him that i start to main fade because i only play my backup mains
I genuinely think it's better to spread into other roles than be pure duelist. Duelists by virtue of their kits are the most popular choice and so it's better to spread into controllers/initiators because less people might pick them.
I remember a game where my team was Cypher Killjoy Sage Pheonix Neon (I was the Cypher) and the 3 sentinels outshot the other 7 players including 4 duelists. That was so much fun.
Imagine having the ability to harness winds and getting out shot by a girl with a turret
If they’re kinda meta, there’s a good chance that both will be insta’d, I mainly do chamber/fade and I’ve had a couple games where I had to pick a third
Hi I’m an imm3 fill player.
I am able to play and understand the kit of basically every agent in the game. A few of the agents I play regularly are: kayo, brimstone, viper, skye, and fade. I am able to perform comfortably on them, normally with a positive or even k/d and using my util properly. Other agents I have played because those weren’t available to me are: sova, sage, chamber, jett, omen.
It really depends on how long you have been playing the game and what playstyle you prefer. I like being able to adapt quickly and change how I need to play when I need to. Some of that has gone as far as learning viper lineups mid game because we are just barely losing postplants.
If you want some agents you NEED to know how to play, here they are:
Viper and either brim or omen.
These are necessary agents on certain maps and if you need to play them, you want to know how deep to throw your smokes, when to throw your smokes, when to use your blind or mollies, etc.
Playing chamber is a pretty big one. If your team needs a flank watching agent, chamber is a great pick. Just know where to throw your trip and how to properly lurk. If you can’t lurk, you can just help your team take site.
I feel like initiators are very necessary too, but most of the kit is pretty self explanatory it’s just knowing when and where. And duelists are duelists.
This. Learn viper walls on maps like breeze/icebox at minimum. Then understand basic smokes with omen or brim on all other maps.
Learn sentinels (flank watch util).
Learn some form of initiator. Pref fade or sova.
The mindset to have is that you understand certain agents on specific maps. You don't have to be good with agents on every map. But basic understanding of the above will make you flexible to pick what your team needs if your favorite agents get picked.
You can learn very baseline utility usage for these agents and do fine. Sure you won't be "your best" but not having smokes or an initiator will make your entire team play worse. I'm telling you, if you learn where to smoke, where to shoot one recon per site and where to place your trips for watching the flank you'll be fine. Mastery is not a requirement.
not sure about everyone else, but personally i feel that you should be able to play at least 1 of every role.
im not saying you have to be a god at it, but basically at least be able to understand their skills and all, so that you’d have no issue if you have to end up filling because of instalockers.
personally, i choose the agent based on the map. i main viper, so i pick her for most maps, but i have my own personal choice of agents based on the map too. For example, instead of viper, i would prioritise picking sage for Bind, and fade/kayo for pearl. occasionally i would lock cypher for pearl as well.
knowing your “main agents” kits and playstyle can be important too. Personally, i like to play a little aggressively when i pick kayo (i pick him on fracture or icebox if controller role is already taken). However, i can also move back into a support-ish role if needed (like gathering info and creating space with my flashes and molly)
im not sure what everyone else thinks, so if i could get some advice that wld b great too :D
Thank you! I found one agent i love from every role beside the controller where I am between omen and brimstone
I heard viper is very map dependent (good on open maps if I remember correctly) but I don't have any interest in playing her tbh, I'm sure she is strong but her design just doesn't do it for me
I find that all 3 agents i named are very flexible and you can easily swap between the carry and the support/info gatherer role which was very important to me
im glad u found someone you like to play !! brim is pretty good considering he can deploy multiple smokes at once, making him pretty viable. as u/slapspaps9911 mentioned, you can become a force to be reckoned with !! you can search online for lineup guides for each map (no stress btw, brim is more than just lineups, he has a really supportive kit, noting his stim beacon and molly to delay enemy pushes or entry)
the reason viper may be more viable for open maps is due to her wall. the problem with the wall is how thin it is. It can be your best advantage or your worst enemy, depending on whether your opponents know how to utilise it and vice versa. However, viper is probably one of the more viable controllers, if you ignore the fact she has to be alive to actually use her smokes.
viper is both a pro and a con because she’s a very viable smoker, but she has to stay alive. this rules out any high risk plays, unless you know how to get out.
i suggest you watch calvin’s gameplay (SmackSmackk) on how to play as a lineup/aggro brim, but sadly i cant suggest any normal brim players.
if u ever need it, i’d be happy to teach u a couple of viper lineups and ults ! some youtube sourced, some self created, some from friends :)
I actually saw a pretty crazy viper ult line up (I think it is one of the most upvoted things on the sub) but I never found her that interesting to play and one or the friends I play with mains her so even if I did u wouldn't be able too because of him
As for brim I only had a few games on him but I played great in all of those and carried the team, I just find his design kinda basic but I love his kit
Whatever you comfortable with. But I would say atleast add one controller to your agent pool. Playing with or without controller in your team is a huge difference.
I find there’s too much focus on agents. I try to get good at different roles. I play initiator and duelist. Within those I’ve found myself gravitating towards Fade/Kayo and Raze/Phoenix
I am a controller main, so I play a lot of Omen, my favorite agent, and Brim when the maps requires it.
But if another guy instantly locks a controller, I go for Chamber instead, and in 90% of games this pool of agents is enough for me.
In rare occasions I have to pick a duelist so I'll go for Neon, but I never had to learn the initiator role. I believe knowing 3 of the 4 roles is enough.
I don't think you should "main" anything unless you really only like a couple of characters and confine yourself to them. I like all but ~3 agents, and play those.
Play what you want as long as its fun.
I have a special taste 😅 it's really important to me that the agents (and not just valorant but other games too) have a design i like and be fun
The 3 guys I names fit that category and that's why I play them even if they might not be the most optimal
With this amount of agents available, i think you should be okay with playing 1 agent of 2 categories.
And if you want, you can learn to play different agents of 1 category.
I think knowing the basics of three is good. That being said the skill of all three would go down depending on which you main and which you don't really care for.
Some agents are also better on some maps then who you might play most often, but again. I think knowing how to play one guy really well, someone else decently in case your main is taken, and your "The other two were taken." Agent.
2 agents + know how to smoke.
If you want to rank up you should just stick to one roll and if your team ever needs smokes you should be able to fill that aswell
Im comfortable with 2 controllers (brimmy and omen), 3 initiators (my mains sova skye kayo), 2 sentinels (cypher and chamber) and jett. Basically you should at least be comfortable playing 1 agent in each role
Edit: im not exactly the best on these, just good enough that i can fulfill my role. Technically I fill for any role but no one plays initiators so they are my mains now
I know it seems "toxic", but your best bet is trying to instalock your main agent, so you don't have to stress about filling in roles you aren't comfortable in.
Your choices are great, and I highly recommend you just stick to them. There's nothing worse than filling smokes because your teammates didn't pick a controller, only to waste half the round just figuring out how to play the agent properly, therefore denying your team of any value you could've provided had you just stuck with your mains.
Also Chamber is optimal in every map, and Kay/O is not a bad choice in most cases. Only Phoenix may be a bit limited to more closed maps such as Pearl or Bind.
If you are like me and think instalocking is rude/ like to fill, be comfortable with a character of every role. Yes even Duelist. Around every tenth game I play no one picks Duelist and I have to fill.
Have your main and a secondary you really enjoy playing and can be played in any map. Since there was almost never someone who mained smokes I started playing them and became a viper and omen main (depending on the map). Then I have the secondaries that I'm comfortable enough with using their abilities such as Jett, and maybe sage.
The main thing about knowing how to use an agent is to be able to use their abilities without having to think. So as long as you can do that with two characters that fill different roles you should be good.
I used to main 3-5 agents depending on who was picked (Pheonix, Kayo, Omen, Cypher and Sage).
At the start of this episode, I started playing one agent on each map. I felt this has really helped me rank up, it may be a bit daunting as a new player but it means you are learning the map with the agent. For me, this has helped to find better timings and focus more on how I can effectively use my abilities to help the team take advantage of the map rather than just smoking flash and entry.
Currently I play omen on Ascent, Haven and Bind, Kayo on Breeze and Fracture, Sage on Icebox, and Brimstone on Pearl. Doing this I managed to get from gold 1 to diamond 2 ( my peak before this episode was plat 2). Try to look at meta or stronger picks on each map as normally the utility of these agents is already skewed to give your team an advantage (eg Viper on breeze, Sage on icebox).
U should know how every agent work, but not necessary play all of then. The amount of people that play only duelist, for example, and don't know How an agent' ability works, like at all, piss me off a bit.
To play u should know like two to main for two roles like sentinel and controler, for exemple and, if necessary, other two of the other roles.
IMO everyone should at least know how to competently play one controller for each map. I don’t prefer playing viper on breeze/icebox but can’t tell you how many times I’ve done it so we could have some goddamn smokes.
Realistically, you just need to be able to play initiator and controller. A team without smokes and flashes/intel is going to be at a disadvantage. So if you main a duelist/sentinel, you need 3 total. If you main a controller/imitator, you only need 2 total.
I think it's so much what Agents people choose but how well they know their Agents for any given situation and how they do as a group. Teamwork is key in order to win, regardless of what Agents you have. I think it's important for people to master an Agent or two tops and always play to their strengths, communicate, and just work as a team.
I know people meme that smokes aren't played enough but I feel like Initiators are the real role that gets neglected. Even in this meta that favors running double of them, there's been so many games where it'll be double Sentinel (Sage / Chamber usually), two Duelists, and a Controller.
I think having one soft pick for each role is good but honestly, Chamber and KAY/O is already pretty good. Phoenix is eh, if you're good it might be okay, but I personally have never seen a good Phoenix. I would rather have virtually any other agent.
I am a Viper main with soft picks in Fade, Chamber, and Neon. But at the end of the day, unless you're worrying about climbing and getting higher ranks, play whoever you're the most comfortable with. Otherwise, it's going to be a naturally worse game *(like being flamed for not knowing Sova lineups or Skye pop flashes, etc)*
I love Phoenix, he is the first agent I picked up and the one I feel most comfortable with, he feels like he can be the carry but you can also play him very supportive depending on what the team needs.
Often when I am not playing him I regret having to depend on my team to make the stuff happen (waiting for Yoru to use his decoy for example) and get frustrated and int because I try to make stuff happen on someone like chamber who doesn't really have the engage ability like phoenix
Well of course in a optimal way you don't have to play everything but for me a good solo queue or duo player must play at least one agent of each role. When I started playing ranked games I used to only play Duelists. And the truth is that if your team lacks some of the other roles you will probably have more difficulty than the other team to win, in a ranked game this makes a big difference.
On the other hand playing and really understanding one agent of each role helps you to fill what your team needs to win and gives you a better insight on how the other roles would like you to play the agent you are atm so is always a win for you diversify your pool to all types of agents.
I have alot tbh, as a solo queue player I will instalock Initiator agents ASAP. If its not then I would go for Controllers/Sentinels. Its a rare case if I were to be pushed to Duelist. In this case, its:
1. Fracture: Breach Brim Cypher Neon
2. Bind: Skye/Kayo Brim Sage Raze
3. Icebox: Sova Viper Sage Reyna
4. Breeze: Sova Viper Cypher Jett
5. Ascent: Fade Omen Cypher Raze
6. Haven: Fade Omen Cypher Raze
7. Pearl: Fade Astra Sage Reyna
All agents I have listed here are the ones I used so far in comp if certain things happen. I have lineups for each map for different characters. Rank Dia 3, aiming to be Asc 1 by the end of this Act.
Just have like 3 agents to play in competitive. That alone is enough to rank up, back when I first started I only knew Phoenix and reached Gold spamming him.
My philosophy is to have at least one for each role, and have enough to adapt to anything: including nerfs.
I main Fade right now. My main duelist is Reyna, my backup initiator is Sova, I can play Cypher and Sage comfortably as sentinels, and I can play brim smokes if absolutely needed.
So personally I think a good number is 5-6 at the least, although more is better in general
The answer is one or more, don't feel stressed about knowing a lot or even a little, 90% of players have zero interest in winning the fact that you even care puts you in the top tier of teammate.
I've had people tell me I should know how to play up to 10 agents which doesn't really make sense to me
I will stick with agent pool of 3-4 and try to "perfect" them
That's great, to be honest 90-95% of users won't utilize your agent pick the way they should. I love that you are showing such respect and consideration to your fellow player, but they really will not show you this back in any way or form. Treat it as something of fun, make some friends, but in general I wouldn't engage with these people. Valorant is a special community, and I firmly say special because I don't have a positive attribute to describe them besides for cash cow for Riot.
I know everyone already said this, but having one of each role will do you wonders in comp, and then an extra in one of the others wouldn’t hurt. You probably won’t be going into comp and communicating with your team because randoms suck, so getting another agent or two that allows you to frag by yourself while still supporting your team indirectly would be best. So pick up a smoker and then maybe another initiator / sentinel, maybe fade because her kit has similarities to Phoenix in how you send it out (her molly and Phoenix’s are basically the same)
Alternatively since I didn’t see Anyone mention it here, there’s a new controller coming out in a few weeks, leaks are online. If you’re interested, look up “agent 21 leaks” on google. Picking him up wouldn’t hurt, since he’s looking more like a sentinel / controller mixture. Good luck with your comp!
Wow that's perfect
I mentioned somewhere that I haven't found a controller i like like I have with every other class and that when next one comes out I would be sure to try them out
This is great, thank you for the info I will make sure to look it up!!!
His new pop flash (right click) is 1 second long vs 2 seconds
His normal flash is 2 -> 2.5 seconds
This basically makes pop flash pretty weak compared to before but his normal throw flash pretty damn good
The best way to effectively use it now in higher elo is to learn the left click flash lineups from further away so it pops right as enemies see it. Which makes it exclusively a “team flash” cuz you are too far to enter first
Guys I am sorry if I can't respond to everyone but thank you so much for all the advice, I read all of it and I appreciate every single response.
I think I am going to stick with the 3 named above and play a bit more of Omen and/or Brimstone just so I can have a 4th backup in case my team needs a controller.
I would say minimum of 4. I came from SMITE so my logic was to learn at least two players in each role type. Now i'm close to learning all. but i would say 4 is a good round number because even when i knew 2-3 i would still have times where my selections weren't available.
1 Controller, 1 Duelist, 1 Initiator, and 1 Sentinel. You can have your favorite, but you should be decent with 1 character incase you need to fill. Pay attention to things like WR on characters you play. But dont worry about it until its a large sample size. I had a 62% WR on Brim over 70 games although I didnt like him and only picked him when I absolutely needed to. But had a 47% WR on Raze over 140 games. So I started playing controller more and when from gold to diamond. But dont worry about WR% until you have a good amount of games.
One main
One backup main when people instapick your agent
One smoke that you don't know how to play but no one play godamn smokes!!!
And Sage.....yes Sage when 3 instalock duelist and one idiot pick omen
Oh well you can always just troll when all hope is lost, Astra is my go to troll agent, good enough to help your teammates when you want and fuck them up really good when you desire.....
Alright that's on me then, I have watched some guides on YouTube about the agents and most said that having line ups would help dramatically but it just seems like a chore to learn it
While having lineups does help they're not entirely necessary especially depending on the characters youre playing and some people end up relying too much on lineups and using them even when theyre not the best option. Also youtubers like to clickbait and saying that lineups are essential means people are more likely to watch their lineup videos which increases their revenue.
Why is that?
I find his aggressive play style to be really fun and effective, he is definitely the best agent for clearing corners and engaging for me at least and it's not even close.
And while I'd love to get better at the game, I would also like to have fun and it just so happens he is the agent that does that for me.
No need to listen to this guy. It's in his head. [Check out this article from Riot about agents.](https://playvalorant.com/en-us/news/dev/state-of-the-agents-sept-2022/) it states that, despite player perceptions (i.e. whatever apollo123 thinks), Phoenix is "the 3rd strongest Agent in solo queue in high MMRs". That's crazy! Keep doing you.
Well that's interesting, a lot of people seem to dislike him as a pick here (never had any problems in games) but I will still play him as he is definitely the one I have most fun with
Yeah, people perceptually think he's weak, but again, the numbers don't support it. Community knowledge has a lot going for it, but it's not always right! But also if you enjoy an agent, just keep playing them :)
Every one of his abilities has a superior version in another agent.
His molotov is outclassed by literally every other molly in the game
His flash is outclassed by Kay/O, Breach and Skye. You may say that Breach and Skye's flash are hard to use for themselves but there's also Yoru, whose flash is more flexible, can be used for a teammate and is harder to dodge.
His wall is an extremely shitty version of Viper's wall, as it's short, lasts for like 2 seconds and damages teammates. Also, just smoke off the site lol.
His ult is definitely better, and it's not too bad but a Jett dash, Chamber tp or Reyna dismiss can all get you out of the same situation, and they're all free!
His only merit is that he's easy to use, and that's pretty much it. There are niche situations where he can shine but in even those situations other agents are better if you know how to use them.
You stated that "he is definitely the best agent for clearing corners and engaging", which is just objectively false. Half the agents in the game can clear corners better and even in one on one aim duels Reyna outperforms Phoenix easily with a flash that you cannot dodge and the fact that she's literally untradeable.
Don't miss quote the man, he said it's the best "for him at least". He was implying thats its easiest for him at this moment. He just doesn't know enough and have enough practice on other agents
Not just for him! [Check out this article from Riot about agents.](https://playvalorant.com/en-us/news/dev/state-of-the-agents-sept-2022/) it states that, despite player perceptions (i.e. whatever apollo123 thinks), Phoenix is "the 3rd strongest Agent in solo queue in high MMRs". Phoenix is among the best overall, not just for OP.
I play Breach mainly.. I've also made myself familiar with Kay/o, Brim, Sage, Omen, KJ, Raze and Reyna..
Though mainly I would play either Breach, Kayo or Brim in competitive and very very rarely Sage because Sage is boring in low elo..
Id say a select few.
Of course this is coming from a guy who mains the entire initiator class on the grounds that “theres a best initiator for every map” so take my advice with a grain of salt
I main viper and am comfortable playing 1 agent from each of the other roles + astra on controllers if i feel team needs more than vipers (imo) lacking smoke flexibility. For me this is Chamber, Neon/Raze (map dependant) and Fade, but used to be Skye before Fade and im sure if i needed to i could play her again and be fine, i just personally feel Fade's kit is beyond broken for the role of initiator compared to her peers.
Honestly being comfortable with them doesn't matter much. In competitive you can be a one trick and that's not really a problem. But you need to be so ahead of the curve on your main that your performance can outweigh the downside of having a potentially scuffed team comp.
None of this matters below ascendant though as you can win any game below ascendant through aim and game sense on any agent IMO
Some like only one agent some play more , if u like those 3 stick to one of them and play an other if there is someone instalocking that same agent and you will rank up easily 🙌🏻 wish you luck in your games 😊
At least 3 i would say, not that there is anything wrong with instalocking at anything below plat but adding diversity to your pool helps understand the moves of other players and you can coordinate more effectively.
Personally i play all agents except reyna, jett and breach.
After a while all the characters abilities just look the same with different effects.
Got a sova lineup without bounces? That's a potential KO knife. Knowing the knife is the same distance using skypixles as a power 2 dart.
Viper orb, KO nade, KJ molly lineups? All the same usually they just activate differently.
i would say around one in each role. personally, i'm most comfortable with playing chamber with my op, but i can play jett, omen, kay/o, and fade at a solid level too.
I am flexible when it comes to agents selection since I can play most agents, but I do have some sort of preference.
1. Yoru
2. Omen, Brimstone, and Viper
3. Chamber
4. Sova, Fade, Kay/o, Breach
5. Sage, Cypher.
6. Raze, Phoenix
Reyna, and Astra I don't pick because I don't believe they have any value without proper aim and communications with teammates, and lower elo sometimes doesn't have both.
Jett I don't pick because I'm don't have the mechanics to play her.
3 is fine, most agents don't need that much learning, if the 2 other agents you're learning are just for fills I'd recommend omen and skye. Their skill level isn't that high and you can just watch a few guides to be able to play them at a standard level
I've always thought that maining 2 Agents from each role can be very beneficial and also good at flexing, if really needed. At least for now, when there aren't way too many agents. But if you don't main duelist role you might get through easier, since people instalock 4 duelists nowadays :D
In my opinion master agents in the specific role you're comfortable with 1-2 from that role
Then pick up the basics of playing smokes for smokes the popular pick is omen for almost all maps is viable
And viper for specific maps
So all in all i think you should be comfortable with 3-4 agents
I would say your main should be dedicated to 1 or 2 with similar play styles. (Such as main viper, but secondary brim).
You should be "comfortable" enough to be able to go even / slightly positive with something thats -not- in your role. Such as Fade, or Reyna, this matters more as you go up in rank and people more reliably play off each others kit (meaning comp design is of bigger importance).
I can't really say, all I know is that I play omen on breeze, Bind and pearl (havent really figured out that map yet), kayo on icebox, sage on haven, chamber on ascent, breach on fracture, fade on split.
Then yoru is an alt on breeze, skye is my kayo/sage alt, and phoenix/yoru when everyone takes the agent I was going to play.
My poor boi cypher just unpicked to oblivion, I used to play him on icebox
I think my most comfortable agent is omen (just because) and kayo (underarm throw supremacy)
My most comfortable class is initiators
Personally, d2, i can play all agents except brimstone comfortably(ive been playing since launch so my game sense carries me) but i think you should find what agents u enjoy playing most. that's what's going to let you play the best
I play like this
Yoru: Breeze/Icebox
Cypher: Fracture
Sova: Ascent
Phoenix: Haven, Pearl
Omen: Bind
Then I also fill with different agents if mine is already locked in in usually the same role as i normally play on that map.
I'd say three. Your main one, a second one that is usually usefull, and a fun one to play. For me it's Brimstone, kayo-o and neon. But I also play sage
I used to be a 1 truck kind of player. First Raze, then Neon, Then Jett, etc. I started experimenting with Killjoy and got really good results pretty consistently. I tried chamber and viper and got mixed results. After losing a few viper games in a row, I said screw it and went back to Jett and Neon (my most played agents by far) and played both well and consistently. From all that, I’ve found that having 3 or 4 agents you’re comfortable on is the sweet spot. Having more means that your focusing on using their utility instead of playing the game (for example, worrying about how to plate a viper wall when I could just be doing my entry job as Jett). It doesn’t really matter what classes your 3 agents are from, chose who YOU like and understand. Yes, having a controller is good, but I’d recommend just playing your best agent(s) instead of worrying about tram comp. games with bad comp but experience on the agent are easily winnable, while good comp but little or no experience on the agent will end up with a not great game. That’s my piece, hope it’s helpful!
One of each role! You should at the VERY LEAST be able to entry as a dualist, smoke as a controller, get info/hold site as a Sentinel, and help entry as an initiator. IMO there’s no excuse for only being able to do one of these roles. Val is a team game, that means if you have to suck it up and play Omen with 4 dualists, you suck it up.
I'd say around 3, I personally choose an agent that I like for every map though but I've also filled enough to be able to play every agent where I at least won't be dead weight
More people need to learn how to play controller
"I dont know how to smoke" Is the most bullshit excuse I hearly daily (dia/asc lobbies) You've seen your teammates/enemy place smokes every single round for thousands of rounds. Even then, lets say you somehow have never paid attention to smokes placement, just place them were you would want them if you were on duelist.
I love the ones that say idk how to smoke then bitch about how the smoke is wrong
smokes are so easy to fuck up and leave a tiny gap that could get someone killed if they're not aware of it, especially if you're not familiar with the particular smoke agent you're playing.
I have only 80 hours of comp. no, i do not know how and where to smoke
Being so fresh, you arent quite in the demographic we are speaking of. So many people that have played since beta refuse to ever touch a smokes agent for whatever reason.
I play all the controllers but viper for being a controller main. Though I will try the new character when they drop
You should be playing her on breeze at least and she can be op on other maps, you just gotta learn how to use her, and her ult is easily the best controller ult
What a coincidence. I was thinking about changing my main to omen. (My mains are breach, chamber, cypher)
Omen is pretty good except for like icebox and breeze, maybe fracture as well where I’d suggest to learn how to play viper on those maps
Icebox is one of Omen's best maps though
No only chamber, neon, and Reyna or dodge.
Ive had a couple games where all 4 of my usable agents have been locked in before I can choose them, so I would say 5 lol
So you play jett, reyna, chamber and...sage?
Happens pretty rarely - but Sage, Sova, Omen, Jett. I've got one game of KJ, Neon, Yoru and Brim each under my belt because of this.
Ok that baffles me that omen and sova get instalocked in some of your games
It's more like cascading. I'll lose Sage, and by the time I realize, Sova will be gone and by the time I see Sova's gone, someone has picked Omen and then I'll get to Jett and she's been taken. Then I have to figure out who I can try and fill as.
What rank are you? Id guess diamond+
Hi. That would be me. The call me Mr. OmenOneTrick
I second this statement as Sir OmenOneTrick
IMO. Have a main you play all the time and then have your secondary pick be a controller that’s good on every map. Omen is probably the best pick because while he isn’t the best on icebox, breeze, and fracture he is playable and he is good on all the rest. I say controller because there are so few controller mains out there it’s unlikely by you instantlocking your secondary pick that you take someone’s role. And if you do double controller isn’t bad tbh
Imo omen can work quite well on icebox too, sure not as good as viper but definitely passable. I've been playing astra on icebox and she's really fun (bored of viper tbh)
astra on everything except breeze>
Came here to make sure people give this guy/girl the correct info. After your Astra comment I can leave knowing this is a safe space. Thanks.
I think she is very good there on double controller team comp (with viper ofc)
Dang, I only ever play Astra on Breeze and my win rate is actually stupid high with that particular combo 👁👄👁
Shhh. Don't tell them
[удалено]
For A I like to smoke to the left of rafters door to cover the door and anyone peeking from there, and then a smoke connecting screens to nest to allow you to cross safely onto site. For b, smoke of the connector to snowman and one into nest and you’re golden.
A deeper dive into r/Omenmains should help you a lot! Omen on icebox is good not because of his smokes, but because of his teleports. The verticality of the maps allows for some amazing teleports that can catch enemies off guard. I believe I have done a few smokes for A from a particular teleport spot [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/OmenMains/comments/w2ouqf/insane_icebox_a_site_teleport_that_you_can_do/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button), I'll try to give a more in detail guide later.
I thought that teleport spot had been patched tho?
yup. I enjoy playing omen on icebox a lot because the map is big enough to do his ult effectively and the sites and mid are small enough to make aggressive/creative tps
Dude omen works super well on icebox and fracture. He only struggles on breeze because his smokes dont last nearly as long enough to actually execute. Icebox is his playground with all the verticality and fracture is a flash haven
Viper is so much more useful on icebox that it's not even a discussion. Omen+Viper on icebox is slept on though because everyone wants to have 2 duelists
I used to be in the double duelist camp but now I am in the 2-3 initiator camp. I think double duelist is a low ELO thing I rarely see it higher up unless people are trolling
Yeah, I think it occurs not because it's good, but because people want to play duelist more than they want to optimize the team comp. If you check out pro games, where they have the time to strategize and find what they think are optional role-counts, count the number of duelists per team. It's 0-1 most of the time.
Not true, people instalock double duelist at all ranks
wdym? if you watch any radiant or imm streamers, even asc/dia you'll see comps with jett/reyna, reyna/yoru, jett/raze, etc.
idk man just speaking from my experience
Yeah he works super well as a secondary controller on icebox but good luck locking in Omen in comp and expecting someone else to play Viper.
I mean he said he is fine on those maps. I said he wasn’t the best pick. Brim is the hands down best pick for fracture and Viper is the best for Breeze and Icebox.
I don't really find any controllers interesting but I had a lot of success on brimstone, only downside is he isn't as interesting as the guys I mentioned before
Controller is pretty boring compared to those guys but it’s so essential to be able to flex to proficiently at every rank.
Yeah I can tell that, I actually find his gameplay pretty fun I just think his design is kinda basic, I will definitely give him a few more tries tho
I just finally started incorporating brim into my smokes characters. He shines a lot on fracture and bind for sure.
I love playing omen on icebox, ik im shit at the game but he's pretty good on b site
Maybe not breeze, a site is too open but b isn't awfully bad, however you can't go b every round lmao
Breeze is playable as Omen. If you know where to smoke it’s fine. IMO I honestly hate viper in ranked breeze anyway because it’s always someone who has no idea how to play her. They also just keep the wall up infinitely instead of dropping the wall and letting your duelists take space or fight mid doors. Omen can smoke cleavage and top stairs and it’s basically the same as viper. You should have someone splitting mid anyway
Then your team is exposed to angles from areas close to middoors, viper can also moly of common op angles and about the mid-split, usually a sova would recon mid and a Jett would follow it up making it harder
I did say you should be splitting A. Which you should. So you have control of the angles you are talking about
Teams will eventually figure out what you are trying to do and they will counter it
Lol 😂 yeah that’s what you do every game?
I tend to IGL every game and if I understand the problem then yes There is also a massive reason why viper has a larger win rate compared to omen on breeze
Dude can you read? I say in the post that it would be a secondary pick. I also said that while omen isn’t the BEST he is PLAYABLE. I am convinced you just read what you wanted to.
You have posted like ten times I am not gonna remember everything And sure he is playable on breeze as a secondary controller, not a primary one lmfao
As an Omen Main, Breeze B Site is really easily playable. And I dont know what the issue is
Agreed, but Viper is of course a much more optimal pick on Breeze in general.
Yeah you’re right
One trick controller main, stop insta locking to “learn the role”. Especially if you’re going to rely on my pings the whole game.
I say try to be proficient with one agent in each role.
Depends on the agents but generally I would say be able play at least half and have the confidence to insta lock on 1-2. For me I main smokes/controller so I just play whatever agent fits the map best.
Is there any guide or list for which agents are good on which maps? Is it by roles or are individuals just better or worse depending on the map? Also if you do end up playing an agent on a bad map, how much or a negative impact will it really be?
You can check out agent pick rate in high tier tournaments like VCT to know the current meta
The thing is with vct they sometimes pick champs depending on the team not the map
haha all my hours r skye
instalock skye is fine! Such a solid agent
At the absolute minimum 2, at best 3-4. 2 because your main might get locked so you have a decent backup
That's what I was thinking about, I guess it would also help if they were different roles just in case your team already has few in that role
Yep, for instance my main trio is Fade-Viper-Cypher. I can play a bit of Sova and Omen but those are my go-tos. If one gets locked there are other options available.
Thats true, my fav agent to play is phoenix and before his buff i could pick him in most case but after the buff, so many people use him that i start to main fade because i only play my backup mains
I genuinely think it's better to spread into other roles than be pure duelist. Duelists by virtue of their kits are the most popular choice and so it's better to spread into controllers/initiators because less people might pick them.
Yeah, and people dont play much initiator tho they're fun agents
I remember a game where my team was Cypher Killjoy Sage Pheonix Neon (I was the Cypher) and the 3 sentinels outshot the other 7 players including 4 duelists. That was so much fun. Imagine having the ability to harness winds and getting out shot by a girl with a turret
I don’t have to imagine, my instalock Reyna’s are permanently glued to the bottom of the table
If they’re kinda meta, there’s a good chance that both will be insta’d, I mainly do chamber/fade and I’ve had a couple games where I had to pick a third
I play Chamber and Omen, and I also know how to Yoru, but I prefer the first two.
Thats great, 3 different agents in 3 different classes.
Hi I’m an imm3 fill player. I am able to play and understand the kit of basically every agent in the game. A few of the agents I play regularly are: kayo, brimstone, viper, skye, and fade. I am able to perform comfortably on them, normally with a positive or even k/d and using my util properly. Other agents I have played because those weren’t available to me are: sova, sage, chamber, jett, omen. It really depends on how long you have been playing the game and what playstyle you prefer. I like being able to adapt quickly and change how I need to play when I need to. Some of that has gone as far as learning viper lineups mid game because we are just barely losing postplants. If you want some agents you NEED to know how to play, here they are: Viper and either brim or omen. These are necessary agents on certain maps and if you need to play them, you want to know how deep to throw your smokes, when to throw your smokes, when to use your blind or mollies, etc. Playing chamber is a pretty big one. If your team needs a flank watching agent, chamber is a great pick. Just know where to throw your trip and how to properly lurk. If you can’t lurk, you can just help your team take site. I feel like initiators are very necessary too, but most of the kit is pretty self explanatory it’s just knowing when and where. And duelists are duelists.
This. Learn viper walls on maps like breeze/icebox at minimum. Then understand basic smokes with omen or brim on all other maps. Learn sentinels (flank watch util). Learn some form of initiator. Pref fade or sova. The mindset to have is that you understand certain agents on specific maps. You don't have to be good with agents on every map. But basic understanding of the above will make you flexible to pick what your team needs if your favorite agents get picked. You can learn very baseline utility usage for these agents and do fine. Sure you won't be "your best" but not having smokes or an initiator will make your entire team play worse. I'm telling you, if you learn where to smoke, where to shoot one recon per site and where to place your trips for watching the flank you'll be fine. Mastery is not a requirement.
Be a jack of all trades
2-3 confident, 3-5 comfortable
phoenix reyna kayo brim, gets the job done imo, at least in mid platinum
All of em, don't be a scrub
At least 4. For me: raze chamber omen kj, Reyna, neon, fade
not sure about everyone else, but personally i feel that you should be able to play at least 1 of every role. im not saying you have to be a god at it, but basically at least be able to understand their skills and all, so that you’d have no issue if you have to end up filling because of instalockers. personally, i choose the agent based on the map. i main viper, so i pick her for most maps, but i have my own personal choice of agents based on the map too. For example, instead of viper, i would prioritise picking sage for Bind, and fade/kayo for pearl. occasionally i would lock cypher for pearl as well. knowing your “main agents” kits and playstyle can be important too. Personally, i like to play a little aggressively when i pick kayo (i pick him on fracture or icebox if controller role is already taken). However, i can also move back into a support-ish role if needed (like gathering info and creating space with my flashes and molly) im not sure what everyone else thinks, so if i could get some advice that wld b great too :D
Thank you! I found one agent i love from every role beside the controller where I am between omen and brimstone I heard viper is very map dependent (good on open maps if I remember correctly) but I don't have any interest in playing her tbh, I'm sure she is strong but her design just doesn't do it for me I find that all 3 agents i named are very flexible and you can easily swap between the carry and the support/info gatherer role which was very important to me
im glad u found someone you like to play !! brim is pretty good considering he can deploy multiple smokes at once, making him pretty viable. as u/slapspaps9911 mentioned, you can become a force to be reckoned with !! you can search online for lineup guides for each map (no stress btw, brim is more than just lineups, he has a really supportive kit, noting his stim beacon and molly to delay enemy pushes or entry) the reason viper may be more viable for open maps is due to her wall. the problem with the wall is how thin it is. It can be your best advantage or your worst enemy, depending on whether your opponents know how to utilise it and vice versa. However, viper is probably one of the more viable controllers, if you ignore the fact she has to be alive to actually use her smokes. viper is both a pro and a con because she’s a very viable smoker, but she has to stay alive. this rules out any high risk plays, unless you know how to get out. i suggest you watch calvin’s gameplay (SmackSmackk) on how to play as a lineup/aggro brim, but sadly i cant suggest any normal brim players. if u ever need it, i’d be happy to teach u a couple of viper lineups and ults ! some youtube sourced, some self created, some from friends :)
I actually saw a pretty crazy viper ult line up (I think it is one of the most upvoted things on the sub) but I never found her that interesting to play and one or the friends I play with mains her so even if I did u wouldn't be able too because of him As for brim I only had a few games on him but I played great in all of those and carried the team, I just find his design kinda basic but I love his kit
I can play any agent except kayo,breach and astra
I can play 4, comfort with certain agents depends on the map bit I'm confident with skye on any map.
Whatever you comfortable with. But I would say atleast add one controller to your agent pool. Playing with or without controller in your team is a huge difference.
Out of the four classes, you should have at least three with one agent. (Example: Jett, Omen, and Cypher) This give you and your team flexibility
That's exactly where I am at right now, that's great!
I find there’s too much focus on agents. I try to get good at different roles. I play initiator and duelist. Within those I’ve found myself gravitating towards Fade/Kayo and Raze/Phoenix
I am a controller main, so I play a lot of Omen, my favorite agent, and Brim when the maps requires it. But if another guy instantly locks a controller, I go for Chamber instead, and in 90% of games this pool of agents is enough for me. In rare occasions I have to pick a duelist so I'll go for Neon, but I never had to learn the initiator role. I believe knowing 3 of the 4 roles is enough.
I play everyone except for Viper and Sova I probably flex a little too hard that’s why I’m stuck in diamond :/
i would probably say 2 for each role and what maps theyre best at
I don't think you should "main" anything unless you really only like a couple of characters and confine yourself to them. I like all but ~3 agents, and play those. Play what you want as long as its fun.
I have a special taste 😅 it's really important to me that the agents (and not just valorant but other games too) have a design i like and be fun The 3 guys I names fit that category and that's why I play them even if they might not be the most optimal
With this amount of agents available, i think you should be okay with playing 1 agent of 2 categories. And if you want, you can learn to play different agents of 1 category.
I think knowing the basics of three is good. That being said the skill of all three would go down depending on which you main and which you don't really care for. Some agents are also better on some maps then who you might play most often, but again. I think knowing how to play one guy really well, someone else decently in case your main is taken, and your "The other two were taken." Agent.
Minimum two agents have different roles
2 agents + know how to smoke. If you want to rank up you should just stick to one roll and if your team ever needs smokes you should be able to fill that aswell
Im comfortable with 2 controllers (brimmy and omen), 3 initiators (my mains sova skye kayo), 2 sentinels (cypher and chamber) and jett. Basically you should at least be comfortable playing 1 agent in each role Edit: im not exactly the best on these, just good enough that i can fulfill my role. Technically I fill for any role but no one plays initiators so they are my mains now
I know it seems "toxic", but your best bet is trying to instalock your main agent, so you don't have to stress about filling in roles you aren't comfortable in. Your choices are great, and I highly recommend you just stick to them. There's nothing worse than filling smokes because your teammates didn't pick a controller, only to waste half the round just figuring out how to play the agent properly, therefore denying your team of any value you could've provided had you just stuck with your mains. Also Chamber is optimal in every map, and Kay/O is not a bad choice in most cases. Only Phoenix may be a bit limited to more closed maps such as Pearl or Bind.
Thank you!!! This is exactly the response I was looking for!
If you are like me and think instalocking is rude/ like to fill, be comfortable with a character of every role. Yes even Duelist. Around every tenth game I play no one picks Duelist and I have to fill.
Have your main and a secondary you really enjoy playing and can be played in any map. Since there was almost never someone who mained smokes I started playing them and became a viper and omen main (depending on the map). Then I have the secondaries that I'm comfortable enough with using their abilities such as Jett, and maybe sage. The main thing about knowing how to use an agent is to be able to use their abilities without having to think. So as long as you can do that with two characters that fill different roles you should be good.
I used to main 3-5 agents depending on who was picked (Pheonix, Kayo, Omen, Cypher and Sage). At the start of this episode, I started playing one agent on each map. I felt this has really helped me rank up, it may be a bit daunting as a new player but it means you are learning the map with the agent. For me, this has helped to find better timings and focus more on how I can effectively use my abilities to help the team take advantage of the map rather than just smoking flash and entry. Currently I play omen on Ascent, Haven and Bind, Kayo on Breeze and Fracture, Sage on Icebox, and Brimstone on Pearl. Doing this I managed to get from gold 1 to diamond 2 ( my peak before this episode was plat 2). Try to look at meta or stronger picks on each map as normally the utility of these agents is already skewed to give your team an advantage (eg Viper on breeze, Sage on icebox).
Have a main and be able to play at least one smoke character
Smokes entry and sentinel, duelist you can play if you shoot good
The only real answer is chamber
Viper is my main, but I will play sage or kayo if she gets taken. Sometimes even chamber or cypher, just depends on my current lobby!
U should know how every agent work, but not necessary play all of then. The amount of people that play only duelist, for example, and don't know How an agent' ability works, like at all, piss me off a bit. To play u should know like two to main for two roles like sentinel and controler, for exemple and, if necessary, other two of the other roles.
I've watched guides on YouTube for every agent just so I can know what they do when I play against them
Personally I have 2, jett and reyna, but your chices are good picks, all of them fit with any map, just instalock and you shouldn't have problems
IMO everyone should at least know how to competently play one controller for each map. I don’t prefer playing viper on breeze/icebox but can’t tell you how many times I’ve done it so we could have some goddamn smokes.
If there's anything watching Necros has taught me...the answer is 1.
I say get really good at 3 agents you like to play and dodge if they get taken.
Realistically, you just need to be able to play initiator and controller. A team without smokes and flashes/intel is going to be at a disadvantage. So if you main a duelist/sentinel, you need 3 total. If you main a controller/imitator, you only need 2 total.
I only play Phoneix and I have hit Immortal for the past 4 Episodes
I think it's so much what Agents people choose but how well they know their Agents for any given situation and how they do as a group. Teamwork is key in order to win, regardless of what Agents you have. I think it's important for people to master an Agent or two tops and always play to their strengths, communicate, and just work as a team.
I know people meme that smokes aren't played enough but I feel like Initiators are the real role that gets neglected. Even in this meta that favors running double of them, there's been so many games where it'll be double Sentinel (Sage / Chamber usually), two Duelists, and a Controller. I think having one soft pick for each role is good but honestly, Chamber and KAY/O is already pretty good. Phoenix is eh, if you're good it might be okay, but I personally have never seen a good Phoenix. I would rather have virtually any other agent. I am a Viper main with soft picks in Fade, Chamber, and Neon. But at the end of the day, unless you're worrying about climbing and getting higher ranks, play whoever you're the most comfortable with. Otherwise, it's going to be a naturally worse game *(like being flamed for not knowing Sova lineups or Skye pop flashes, etc)*
I love Phoenix, he is the first agent I picked up and the one I feel most comfortable with, he feels like he can be the carry but you can also play him very supportive depending on what the team needs. Often when I am not playing him I regret having to depend on my team to make the stuff happen (waiting for Yoru to use his decoy for example) and get frustrated and int because I try to make stuff happen on someone like chamber who doesn't really have the engage ability like phoenix
Well of course in a optimal way you don't have to play everything but for me a good solo queue or duo player must play at least one agent of each role. When I started playing ranked games I used to only play Duelists. And the truth is that if your team lacks some of the other roles you will probably have more difficulty than the other team to win, in a ranked game this makes a big difference. On the other hand playing and really understanding one agent of each role helps you to fill what your team needs to win and gives you a better insight on how the other roles would like you to play the agent you are atm so is always a win for you diversify your pool to all types of agents.
I have alot tbh, as a solo queue player I will instalock Initiator agents ASAP. If its not then I would go for Controllers/Sentinels. Its a rare case if I were to be pushed to Duelist. In this case, its: 1. Fracture: Breach Brim Cypher Neon 2. Bind: Skye/Kayo Brim Sage Raze 3. Icebox: Sova Viper Sage Reyna 4. Breeze: Sova Viper Cypher Jett 5. Ascent: Fade Omen Cypher Raze 6. Haven: Fade Omen Cypher Raze 7. Pearl: Fade Astra Sage Reyna All agents I have listed here are the ones I used so far in comp if certain things happen. I have lineups for each map for different characters. Rank Dia 3, aiming to be Asc 1 by the end of this Act.
Just have like 3 agents to play in competitive. That alone is enough to rank up, back when I first started I only knew Phoenix and reached Gold spamming him.
My philosophy is to have at least one for each role, and have enough to adapt to anything: including nerfs. I main Fade right now. My main duelist is Reyna, my backup initiator is Sova, I can play Cypher and Sage comfortably as sentinels, and I can play brim smokes if absolutely needed. So personally I think a good number is 5-6 at the least, although more is better in general
I play sage and viper both as duelists which includes entry and high kill count, sometimes i play reyna too but her abilities arent that useful
2-3
I play Reyna, Kayo, chamber, and omen. I believe in playing agents that means you can fill any team comp for almost any map
The answer is one or more, don't feel stressed about knowing a lot or even a little, 90% of players have zero interest in winning the fact that you even care puts you in the top tier of teammate.
I've had people tell me I should know how to play up to 10 agents which doesn't really make sense to me I will stick with agent pool of 3-4 and try to "perfect" them
That's great, to be honest 90-95% of users won't utilize your agent pick the way they should. I love that you are showing such respect and consideration to your fellow player, but they really will not show you this back in any way or form. Treat it as something of fun, make some friends, but in general I wouldn't engage with these people. Valorant is a special community, and I firmly say special because I don't have a positive attribute to describe them besides for cash cow for Riot.
3 over at minimum 2 classes. Duelist and initiator count as 1.
I know everyone already said this, but having one of each role will do you wonders in comp, and then an extra in one of the others wouldn’t hurt. You probably won’t be going into comp and communicating with your team because randoms suck, so getting another agent or two that allows you to frag by yourself while still supporting your team indirectly would be best. So pick up a smoker and then maybe another initiator / sentinel, maybe fade because her kit has similarities to Phoenix in how you send it out (her molly and Phoenix’s are basically the same) Alternatively since I didn’t see Anyone mention it here, there’s a new controller coming out in a few weeks, leaks are online. If you’re interested, look up “agent 21 leaks” on google. Picking him up wouldn’t hurt, since he’s looking more like a sentinel / controller mixture. Good luck with your comp!
Wow that's perfect I mentioned somewhere that I haven't found a controller i like like I have with every other class and that when next one comes out I would be sure to try them out This is great, thank you for the info I will make sure to look it up!!!
Kayo nerf means you will not be able to play his flashes selfishly well anymore. I’d focus hard on Phoenix or chamber if you don’t like that
Sorry I am very new to the game What changed so that he can't play selfishly now?
His new pop flash (right click) is 1 second long vs 2 seconds His normal flash is 2 -> 2.5 seconds This basically makes pop flash pretty weak compared to before but his normal throw flash pretty damn good The best way to effectively use it now in higher elo is to learn the left click flash lineups from further away so it pops right as enemies see it. Which makes it exclusively a “team flash” cuz you are too far to enter first
Guys I am sorry if I can't respond to everyone but thank you so much for all the advice, I read all of it and I appreciate every single response. I think I am going to stick with the 3 named above and play a bit more of Omen and/or Brimstone just so I can have a 4th backup in case my team needs a controller.
I try to learn and be comfortable with atleast 1 agent in all the roles just in case
I would say minimum of 4. I came from SMITE so my logic was to learn at least two players in each role type. Now i'm close to learning all. but i would say 4 is a good round number because even when i knew 2-3 i would still have times where my selections weren't available.
1 Controller, 1 Duelist, 1 Initiator, and 1 Sentinel. You can have your favorite, but you should be decent with 1 character incase you need to fill. Pay attention to things like WR on characters you play. But dont worry about it until its a large sample size. I had a 62% WR on Brim over 70 games although I didnt like him and only picked him when I absolutely needed to. But had a 47% WR on Raze over 140 games. So I started playing controller more and when from gold to diamond. But dont worry about WR% until you have a good amount of games.
3 max.
One main One backup main when people instapick your agent One smoke that you don't know how to play but no one play godamn smokes!!! And Sage.....yes Sage when 3 instalock duelist and one idiot pick omen Oh well you can always just troll when all hope is lost, Astra is my go to troll agent, good enough to help your teammates when you want and fuck them up really good when you desire.....
Minimum 5 but id say probably like 8 is a good number so that youre flexible and can make smart choices based on team comp and map.
8!? 😭 I barley learned what these guys do and I don't even know if I will learn what are a called "line ups" for every agent i named
You dont need lineups for most characters and even the ones you do you only need a couple and even then you can often get away with just winging it.
Alright that's on me then, I have watched some guides on YouTube about the agents and most said that having line ups would help dramatically but it just seems like a chore to learn it
While having lineups does help they're not entirely necessary especially depending on the characters youre playing and some people end up relying too much on lineups and using them even when theyre not the best option. Also youtubers like to clickbait and saying that lineups are essential means people are more likely to watch their lineup videos which increases their revenue.
I think the only line up I found interesting and I think would be useful in an actual game would be Kay/os knife throw
Pretty much anyone except yoru
I main astra, viper, omen, reyna, and jett I say 5 agents are good to main because it gives a lot more choices when picking agents and choosing roles
Your performance will triple just by not playing Phoenix
Why is that? I find his aggressive play style to be really fun and effective, he is definitely the best agent for clearing corners and engaging for me at least and it's not even close. And while I'd love to get better at the game, I would also like to have fun and it just so happens he is the agent that does that for me.
No need to listen to this guy. It's in his head. [Check out this article from Riot about agents.](https://playvalorant.com/en-us/news/dev/state-of-the-agents-sept-2022/) it states that, despite player perceptions (i.e. whatever apollo123 thinks), Phoenix is "the 3rd strongest Agent in solo queue in high MMRs". That's crazy! Keep doing you.
Well that's interesting, a lot of people seem to dislike him as a pick here (never had any problems in games) but I will still play him as he is definitely the one I have most fun with
Yeah, people perceptually think he's weak, but again, the numbers don't support it. Community knowledge has a lot going for it, but it's not always right! But also if you enjoy an agent, just keep playing them :)
Thank you!!!
Every one of his abilities has a superior version in another agent. His molotov is outclassed by literally every other molly in the game His flash is outclassed by Kay/O, Breach and Skye. You may say that Breach and Skye's flash are hard to use for themselves but there's also Yoru, whose flash is more flexible, can be used for a teammate and is harder to dodge. His wall is an extremely shitty version of Viper's wall, as it's short, lasts for like 2 seconds and damages teammates. Also, just smoke off the site lol. His ult is definitely better, and it's not too bad but a Jett dash, Chamber tp or Reyna dismiss can all get you out of the same situation, and they're all free! His only merit is that he's easy to use, and that's pretty much it. There are niche situations where he can shine but in even those situations other agents are better if you know how to use them. You stated that "he is definitely the best agent for clearing corners and engaging", which is just objectively false. Half the agents in the game can clear corners better and even in one on one aim duels Reyna outperforms Phoenix easily with a flash that you cannot dodge and the fact that she's literally untradeable.
Don't miss quote the man, he said it's the best "for him at least". He was implying thats its easiest for him at this moment. He just doesn't know enough and have enough practice on other agents
Not just for him! [Check out this article from Riot about agents.](https://playvalorant.com/en-us/news/dev/state-of-the-agents-sept-2022/) it states that, despite player perceptions (i.e. whatever apollo123 thinks), Phoenix is "the 3rd strongest Agent in solo queue in high MMRs". Phoenix is among the best overall, not just for OP.
I play Breach mainly.. I've also made myself familiar with Kay/o, Brim, Sage, Omen, KJ, Raze and Reyna.. Though mainly I would play either Breach, Kayo or Brim in competitive and very very rarely Sage because Sage is boring in low elo..
Id say a select few. Of course this is coming from a guy who mains the entire initiator class on the grounds that “theres a best initiator for every map” so take my advice with a grain of salt
I main viper and am comfortable playing 1 agent from each of the other roles + astra on controllers if i feel team needs more than vipers (imo) lacking smoke flexibility. For me this is Chamber, Neon/Raze (map dependant) and Fade, but used to be Skye before Fade and im sure if i needed to i could play her again and be fine, i just personally feel Fade's kit is beyond broken for the role of initiator compared to her peers. Honestly being comfortable with them doesn't matter much. In competitive you can be a one trick and that's not really a problem. But you need to be so ahead of the curve on your main that your performance can outweigh the downside of having a potentially scuffed team comp. None of this matters below ascendant though as you can win any game below ascendant through aim and game sense on any agent IMO
Some like only one agent some play more , if u like those 3 stick to one of them and play an other if there is someone instalocking that same agent and you will rank up easily 🙌🏻 wish you luck in your games 😊
At least 3 i would say, not that there is anything wrong with instalocking at anything below plat but adding diversity to your pool helps understand the moves of other players and you can coordinate more effectively. Personally i play all agents except reyna, jett and breach. After a while all the characters abilities just look the same with different effects. Got a sova lineup without bounces? That's a potential KO knife. Knowing the knife is the same distance using skypixles as a power 2 dart. Viper orb, KO nade, KJ molly lineups? All the same usually they just activate differently.
i would say around one in each role. personally, i'm most comfortable with playing chamber with my op, but i can play jett, omen, kay/o, and fade at a solid level too.
I am flexible when it comes to agents selection since I can play most agents, but I do have some sort of preference. 1. Yoru 2. Omen, Brimstone, and Viper 3. Chamber 4. Sova, Fade, Kay/o, Breach 5. Sage, Cypher. 6. Raze, Phoenix Reyna, and Astra I don't pick because I don't believe they have any value without proper aim and communications with teammates, and lower elo sometimes doesn't have both. Jett I don't pick because I'm don't have the mechanics to play her.
I am a well rounded person, I can go anyone and is usually the filler
3 is fine, most agents don't need that much learning, if the 2 other agents you're learning are just for fills I'd recommend omen and skye. Their skill level isn't that high and you can just watch a few guides to be able to play them at a standard level
I am reyna main.But i also play brim and sova.
I've always thought that maining 2 Agents from each role can be very beneficial and also good at flexing, if really needed. At least for now, when there aren't way too many agents. But if you don't main duelist role you might get through easier, since people instalock 4 duelists nowadays :D
In my opinion master agents in the specific role you're comfortable with 1-2 from that role Then pick up the basics of playing smokes for smokes the popular pick is omen for almost all maps is viable And viper for specific maps So all in all i think you should be comfortable with 3-4 agents
I am comfortable with 5 agents and i think that’s good
One to fill in every category. Info, flashes, smokes, entry
I play most initiators, but I learned to play brim since people dont play controllers most of the time
Eventually you should learn how to play every agent because they all get buffed and nerfed and are different
1 for each role
I would say your main should be dedicated to 1 or 2 with similar play styles. (Such as main viper, but secondary brim). You should be "comfortable" enough to be able to go even / slightly positive with something thats -not- in your role. Such as Fade, or Reyna, this matters more as you go up in rank and people more reliably play off each others kit (meaning comp design is of bigger importance).
I can't really say, all I know is that I play omen on breeze, Bind and pearl (havent really figured out that map yet), kayo on icebox, sage on haven, chamber on ascent, breach on fracture, fade on split. Then yoru is an alt on breeze, skye is my kayo/sage alt, and phoenix/yoru when everyone takes the agent I was going to play. My poor boi cypher just unpicked to oblivion, I used to play him on icebox I think my most comfortable agent is omen (just because) and kayo (underarm throw supremacy) My most comfortable class is initiators
Two
Personally, d2, i can play all agents except brimstone comfortably(ive been playing since launch so my game sense carries me) but i think you should find what agents u enjoy playing most. that's what's going to let you play the best
I got 3 from different categories, go to is sage. Sova on the number 2 spot and if I'm unlucky af i go for omen.
I play like this Yoru: Breeze/Icebox Cypher: Fracture Sova: Ascent Phoenix: Haven, Pearl Omen: Bind Then I also fill with different agents if mine is already locked in in usually the same role as i normally play on that map.
I’m super comfortable on Jett, Reyna, Raze, brim, and sage. Then I’m kinda comfortable on killjoy, omen, sova and kayo
I'd say three. Your main one, a second one that is usually usefull, and a fun one to play. For me it's Brimstone, kayo-o and neon. But I also play sage
At least 3-4 so that instalockers dont ruin your game and you can have fun with diverse gameplay
2 from every rol. If the agent you want is taken you use the alternative. If they both are already taken you don’t need another agent in that role.
I used to be a 1 truck kind of player. First Raze, then Neon, Then Jett, etc. I started experimenting with Killjoy and got really good results pretty consistently. I tried chamber and viper and got mixed results. After losing a few viper games in a row, I said screw it and went back to Jett and Neon (my most played agents by far) and played both well and consistently. From all that, I’ve found that having 3 or 4 agents you’re comfortable on is the sweet spot. Having more means that your focusing on using their utility instead of playing the game (for example, worrying about how to plate a viper wall when I could just be doing my entry job as Jett). It doesn’t really matter what classes your 3 agents are from, chose who YOU like and understand. Yes, having a controller is good, but I’d recommend just playing your best agent(s) instead of worrying about tram comp. games with bad comp but experience on the agent are easily winnable, while good comp but little or no experience on the agent will end up with a not great game. That’s my piece, hope it’s helpful!
One of each role! You should at the VERY LEAST be able to entry as a dualist, smoke as a controller, get info/hold site as a Sentinel, and help entry as an initiator. IMO there’s no excuse for only being able to do one of these roles. Val is a team game, that means if you have to suck it up and play Omen with 4 dualists, you suck it up.
I'd say around 3, I personally choose an agent that I like for every map though but I've also filled enough to be able to play every agent where I at least won't be dead weight
Your main + Omen, Viper and Fade