Valorant Tier List: All 20 Agents Ranked From Best to Worst (Patch 5.08)

Here's our Valorant Agent tier list following Patch 5.08 and the arrival of Harbor.
valorant, agents

It’s been over two years since Riot Games launched its superb tactical shooter Valorant. Several major updates and new Agents have shifted the meta, and sometimes even turned it on its head. With the launch of Episode 5, Act III, we’re back again to re-rank Valorant’s Agents into Tiers, according to the big recent meta shift. Without further ado, here’s who we consider the best Agents in Valorant Patch 5.08.

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S Tier – Chamber

Best Valorant Agents, Ranked

Image Source: Riot Games

Valorant’s big daddy sentinel, Chamber was a very interesting addition to Valorant’s roster toward the end of last year and has firmly solidified his presence in the meta since. This is largely due to the fact that he offers an alternative to Jett for those who like to use the operator, partly because he can quickly teleport away from danger (similar to Jett’s dash) but mostly because he gets an operator for his ultimate.

Chamber became so much of a menace, in fact, that he’s recently endured two pretty hefty nerfs. And yet, the Agent is still absolutely one of the strongest in Valorant as of Patch 5.08. Sure, his kit is more expensive and generally less effective now, but you can still kill an enemy without being traded, and you still get two of the most powerful weapons in Valorant to play with.

Chamber’s ultimate, in combination with a scoped Sheriff called the Headhunter, means that he offers tremendous econ value to his team. Chamber can use powerful weapons when others have to save after a round loss, meaning that he in turn has more money the next round to either rebuy expensive weapons or buy for his teammates. This sort of passive ability is, in some respects, rather boring, but you can’t deny its effectiveness.

Despite his aggressive capabilities, Chamber is a sentinel, a defender, and he is best played as such. Using his Trademark traps to slow rushes or flank watch, Chamber can then use his firepower to lockdown Spike sites. He’s well-suited to those with sharp aim, but playing him properly requires more strategy than you might think.

Chamber Abilities

  • Trademark – PLACE a trap that scans for enemies. When a visible enemy comes in range, the trap counts down and then destabilizes the terrain around them, creating a lingering field that slows players caught inside of it.
  • Headhunter – ACTIVATE to equip a heavy pistol. ALT FIRE with the pistol equipped to aim down sights.
  • Rendevouz – PLACE two teleport anchors. While on the ground and in range of an anchor, REACTIVATE to quickly teleport to the other anchor. Anchors can be picked up to be REDEPLOYED.
  • Ultimate: Tour de Force – ACTIVATE to summon a powerful, custom sniper rifle that will kill an enemy with any direct hit. Killing an enemy creates a lingering field that slows players caught inside of it.

S Tier – Fade

Image Source: Riot Games

Valorant’s newest initiator, Fade, has stormed into the meta. It took a little while for her potential to be realized, but there’s no doubt that her kit feels OP compared to other Agents in her category at the moment. So much so that we think Fade is probably due a nerf in the future.

Fade’s abilities are quite unique, but her focus on intel-gathering makes her most comparable to Sova. Unlike Sova, though, Fade’s intel-gathering is much closer ranged, and it’s designed to be played in combination with her Prowlers — an ability similar to Skye’s Seekers. It also doesn’t really require as much practice with lineups to be effective (though you will still have to have a few up your sleeve). As a result, she’s very strong as a sort of pick-up-and-play character, perfectly suited to ranked.

That doesn’t mean Fade is suitable only for Ranked, though. Far from it, in fact. As an Agent for co-ordinated competitive play, her potential is absolutely sky-high due to the fact that so much of her utility can be combined with other Agents in the game. We’ve already seen during the Valorant Champions Tour that Fade is replacing Sova on maps like Ascent in some cases, and she’s versatile enough to be used on maps like Icebox and Breeze as well.

  • C – Prowler EQUIP. Fire to send a creature out which will travel in a straight line looking for enemies AND/OR Trails.
  • Q – Seize EQUIP an orb. Upon hitting the ground, it will lock in place and begin to cook for .5s.
  • E – Haunt EQUIP an orb. FIRE to throw the orb. If the Eye sees opponents, it will REVEAL them and apply a TRAIL debuff that lasts 12s. Can be reactivated in the flight to drop the projectile earlier.
  • X – Nightfall  FIRE to send out a wave of dark mist. If the mist comes in contact with an enemy, they will be TRAILED, DEAF, and DECAYED for 12s.

S Tier – Jett

Image Source: Riot Games

Following Jett’s big Tailwind nerf earlier this year, she’s much less capable as a defender and operator player but remains very capable on attack. The rebalancing of her kit has been very effective, helping to focus her utility on what it’s supposed to be good at — quickly taking space and attacking from awkward angles.

Still, Jett’s ability to quickly dash, jump, and glide allows her to move across the map quickly and hold what would typically be suicidal angles for other Agents. This makes her a superb Operator player, and even after the introduction of Chamber, whose teleport ability and Ultimate is strong enough on paper to replace her in this role, she remains capable in this role.

When it comes to using her ultimate, Jett players need to be sure they have excellent aim since her Blade Storm is a one-hit kill if you can score a headshot. What’s more, it’s accurate even while on the move, and she’s able to unleash all five knives with a single right-click for close ranges. The flipside, though, is that if you miss your shots the ultimate has done nothing useful for your team.

Still, with a utility kit that’s both excellent for Jett and useful for her team, she’s easily one of the best Agents in Valorant, albeit not a great one for beginners.

Jett Abilities

  • Cloudburst –Throw out a cloud of fog that obscures vision on impact. Hold down the ability button to bend the cloud’s in-flight trajectory.
  • Updraft – After a brief wind up, propel yourself upwards.
  • Tailwind – Immediately dash a short distance in the direction you’re moving.
  • Ultimate: Blade Storm – Arm yourself with several deadly throwing knives that deal moderate damage and kill on headshots. Scoring a kill restores all daggers. Left-click throws a single dagger. Right-click throws all remaining daggers in a short-ranged burst.

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Author
Alex Gibson
Alex was a Senior Editor at Twinfinite and worked on the site between January 2017 and March 2023. He covered the ins and outs of Valorant extensively, and frequently provided expert insight into the esports scene and wider video games industry. He was a self-proclaimed history & meteorological expert, and knew about games too. Playing Games Since: 1991, Favorite Genres: RPG, Action