B Tier – Harbor
And that brings us to Harbor, Valorant’s brand-new (as of Patch 5.08), water-bending controller who might not be as strong as he first appeared. We’ve been play-testing Harbor in early access for a few days, and while his interesting kit has some combination potential, he doesn’t feel especially strong enough to be considered a meta controller on all but one or two maps.
Interestingly for a controller-type Agent, Harbor isn’t that capable on defense. His kit feels much better suited to attack as it’s able to be deployed fluidly and rapidly for site executions. The bendable wall and moving cascade is excellent for pathing and scaling on to sites, but it doesn’t work very well for delaying enemy pushes in the same way that every other controller does.
The big surprise is that Harbor’s bullet-proof Cove ability is underwhelming. That’s because it can be destroyed in a matter of seconds, which not only removes the protective layer but actually sees the smoke completely disappear. That means it doesn’t really have any one-way value; it can’t be used to smoke off choke points, and it doesn’t even protect a planter for more than a few seconds. Not good for an ability that costs 350 credits!
Of course, it’s early days yet for Harbor. We’ll have to see how he settles into Valorant’s meta across ranked and pro play. For now, though, our verdict is that he’s a bit of a wet blanket to play.
Harbor Abilities
- High Tide (E) EQUIP a wall of water. FIRE to send the water forward along the ground. HOLD FIRE to guide the water in the direction of your crosshair, passing through the world, spawning a wall along the water’s path. ALT FIRE while bending to stop the water early. Players hit are SLOWED
- Cove (Q) EQUIP a sphere of shielding water. FIRE to throw. ALT FIRE to underhand throw. Upon impacting the ground, spawn a water shield that blocks bullets.
- Cascade (C) EQUIP a wave of water. FIRE to send the wave rolling forward and through walls. RE-USE to stop the wave from moving further. Players hit are SLOWED.
- Reckoning (X) EQUIP the full power of your Artifact. FIRE to summon a geyser pool on the ground. Enemy players in the area are targeted by successive geyser strikes. Players caught within a strike are CONCUSSED.
B Tier – Sage
There was a time when Sage was very much at the top end of Valorant’s meta, but she’s fallen from grace a little recently due to a combination of nerfs to her kit and the fact that there are other Agents (specifically, sentinels) with more useful utility.
Still, Sage is a strong pick for solo queue ranked play and also slots easily into many compositions in the scrim/esports environment. Beyond her ability to heal and revive, her wall is extremely useful for entering sites and using as a shield to plant the spike. Even with the latest changes to Icebox, she’s still likely to prove a must-pick on that particular map.
Of course, her slowing orbs are also very handy for halting rushes and preventing peeks from defenders. They take the sting out of onrushing attackers or interrupting any defenders looking to enter a Spike site and defuse. They can also be combined with other utility that inflicts damage, such as Brimstone’s molly/ultimate, in clever ways.
Sage Abilities
- Slow Orb: Cast out a radiant orb that breaks into a slowing field upon impact with the ground. All caught in the field are slowed, grounded, and make noise when moving.
- Barrier Orb: Conjure a large, solid wall. Right-click to rotate the wall before casting.
- Signature Ability: Healing Orb: Heal an ally or yourself to full health over a few seconds.
- Ultimate: Resurrection: Target a friendly corpse. After a short delay, revive them with full health.
B Tier – Breach
Best Valorant Agents, Ranked
Breach has fallen in and out of favor since Valorant’s launch, and he’s never really been a universally popular pick at the pro level. Things are starting to change a little recently though, as we’re seeing more and more EMEA and NA teams pick Breach where it was just Eastern team that did before.
At the ranked level, Breach is a powerful supporting Agent that can be used at all elos effectively. He’s the ultimate rush initiator thanks to his unique utility that flashes, concusses, and even damages enemies through walls. You want Breach leading the charge and then setting up teammates across the map to combo utility.
His most powerful asset is his flash, which makes peeking around corners easy. They’re best-used in tandem with other teammates, with Breach flashing and then a teammate quickly peeking to get a frag.
There’s just no better Agent for clearing an awkward corner, and his utility is effective in so many other situations, like disrupting a rush or a Spike plant.
Breach Abilities
- Aftershock – We’re waiting for some news on what Aftershock does.
- Flashpoint – your standard Flashbang-style non-lethal throwable.
- Fault Line – A stun grenade that slows an enemy and throws their aim off-kilter.
- Ultimate: Rolling Thunder – Again, we’re waiting for an update on what this Ultimate Ability is, but early playtesters have reported that it’s impressively powerful.
B Tier – Killjoy
Best Valorant Agents, Ranked
The limited range of her utility, and the fact that it can be easily destroyed by other Agents’ utility, means that Killjoy only has limited application in the current meta. That being said, she’s very strong on the maps she’s good at,such as Ascent, Split, Icebox, and Haven.
Indeed, Killjoy is arguably still the ultimate Agent for locking down a Spike site. Her Turret, Alarmbot, and Nanoswarm make life extremely difficult for enemy teams to breach her site, while her Lockdown will send entire teams running for the hills to avoid being detained and easily killed.
Killjoy isn’t likely to score high frags in a game, but then again she doesn’t really have to. She’s a team player, facilitating other players to go and make plays while they rely on her to hold the rear or defend the site.
Killjoy Abilities
- Alarmbot – Equip a covert Alarmbot. FIRE to deploy a bot that hunts down enemies that get in range. After reaching its target, the bot explodes, applying Vulnerable. HOLD EQUIP to recall a deployed bot.
- Turret – Equip a Turret. FIRE to deploy a turret that fires at enemies in a 180-degree cone. HOLD EQUIP to recall the deployed turret.
- Nanoswarm – Equip a Nanoswarm grenade. FIRE to throw the grenade. Upon landing, the Nanoswarm goes covert. ACTIVATE the Nanoswarm to deploy a damaging swarm of nanobots.
- Ultimate: Lockdown – Equip the Lockdown device. FIRE to deploy the device. After a long windup, the device Detains all enemies caught in the radius. The device can be destroyed by enemies.
B Tier – Viper
Up until recently, Viper would have probably made our A-Tier, but a recent nerf has sent her tumbling down to B. Wielding poisonous utility that is designed to control areas of the map for her team, Viper can block off areas with her wall and smoke, and then stain the floor with a deadly toxin that does damage to anybody caught in its puddle.
Unfortunately, though, her poison now drains faster than before, and both her wall and orb suffer from a longer cooldown. Her molly, too, which was one of the most effective post-plant weapons, has been reduced in time by a second.
We still expect Viper to remain a must-play on maps like Icebox and Breeze for her wall’s ability to block a huge sightline, but her overall strength has definitely been taken down a notch.
Viper Abilities
- Snakebite – Fire a projectile that explodes into a pool of damaging acid.
- Poison Cloud – Throw a gas emitter that you can reactivate to create a poisonous smoke cloud at the cost of fuel. The emitter can be picked up and thrown again after a short cooldown.
- Signature Ability –Toxic Screen: Deploy a long line of gas emitters that you can reactivate to create a tall wall of toxic gas at the cost of fuel.
- Ultimate: Viper’s Pit – Emit a massive toxic cloud in a large area that lasts as long as Viper stays inside the cloud. Enemies inside the cloud are highlighted.
