VALORANT Agent tier list: Who to pick to rank up

Jett has stood the test of time as one of VALORANT’s evergreen duelists. Apart of the VALORANT Agent line-up since the game’s release, Jett has seen near-constant pick priority.

Jett’s incredibly mobile kit which allows her to reposition at a moment’s notice and find unique peek angles, Jett is viable on nearly every map. In competitive, Jett has cracked into the top 5 of every active map. In professional play, Jett is an incredible asset capable of pulling off unreal plays.

Jett’s ultimate, Bladestorm, is perhaps her ultimate asset. Providing one-shot kill knives, Jett can equalize any round. 

Information is invaluable, and there is simply no better info gathering Agent than Sova. Most of Sova’s kit, whether directly or indirectly, provides some level of scouting. Sova does have a relatively steep learning curve as his kit is only effective as your knowledge of the map.

Though Sova’s relatively inexpensive kit can be effective on every map, by far the most ubiquitous initiator in the game. Sova averages a 48.2% winrate across all VALORANT’s map pool but finds particular success on Ascent

The second duelist to make it into the S-tier category, Raze’s kit is an incredibly self-sufficient toolset that revolves entirely around fragging.

Raze’s abilities perform best in maps with tight bombsites and corridors, where she can deal massive damage or zone enemies off entirely. Across the ranks in competitive, Raze finds her best winrates on Ascent (50.2%), Bind (50.3%), and Split (50.9%). 

The most recent addition to the VALORANT Agent lineup, Astra has emerged as one the game’s premier controllers. Astra’s kit is an all-inclusive combination of stuns, smokes, and a unique pull with her gravity well. While Astra’s astral projection and star management system can take some learning, Astra has unparalleled map impact.

Though with a relatively low pickrate (4.9%) given her newness, her overall winrate (47.8%) has already surpassed the likes of Omen. Similar to Sova and Jett, Astra’s utility can be effective on any map, making her a pick bound to rise in priority. 

Check out our piece on how Astra has influenced VALORANT esports here!

One of the original 10 in the VALORANT Agents roster, recent patches have turned Viper from an ‘off-meta’ pick into a priority on specific maps. Buffs to smoke cloud and Viper’s pit decay have given her greater map control on Icebox particularly.

Averaging a 49.6% winrate on the map, Viper is capable of completely locking down A site incredibly well. Though Viper’s lineups can be difficult to learn, the effectiveness of her utility makes her well worth the time investment.

Sage’s innate healing ability makes her an asset to nearly every composition, seen through her impressive 79% pickrate in competitive. The sentinel’s resurrection has stood out as the continual best ultimate in the game, creating a man advantage or equalizing a round in a moment’s notice.

Though much of Sage’s other utility has been nerfed, maps where her wall can work in zoning off enemies. Split highlights Sage’s utility the best, where she heralds a 53.7% winrate, however she is one of the only Agents who holds a +50% winrate across every map.

The Vampire duelist, Reyna’s ability to peek, reposition, and peek again enable the best fraggers to unlock their full potential. Reyna’s kit makes a numbers deficit feel completely nullified, as her vision steal and self-heal provide some of the best supplementary utility in the game. Reyna has quickly risen to one of the most picked and most effective duelists in competitive.

With the highest winrate across every map (an aggregated 51.2% winrate), Reyna performs particularly well on maps with plenty of angles to cover, such as Icebox (52.1%) and Bind (51.2%). The only downside of Reyna is that she is an incredibly selfish Agent, considering she requires dedicated kills to recharge her abilities.

Killjoy is undoubtedly the best anchor in the game. On defense her upsides are obvious, however on attacker side her alarm bots and mollies are great flank protectors as well. With a relatively low pickrate (34%), Killjoy has proven herself to be the best sentinel pick on specific maps.

Bind (51.3%) and Icebox (51.1%) are hands down Killjoys best maps, providing bombsites she can easily lockdown by herself. Killjoy’s downside comes from her anchor role, as her turret and alarm’s short range keep her bound to her posts.

Though once a premier duelist pick, the release of Reina and prevalence of other duelists have certainly come at the expense of Phoenix. Do not let this deter you however, as Phoenix is an incredibly rewarding Agent to start fights on. His ultimate and curveball are still some of the best utility in the game for checking corners and gathering information, however are both very punishable.

Unlike Jett and Reina, Phoenix offers little to no mobility and positioning and ult timing can be the most difficult part of learning this VALORANT Agent. Haven (47.5%) is Phoenix’s best map given the tight corners and corridors his utility plays around best.

Skye has one of the most unique kits among VALORANT Agents as she has a mixture of healing, flash, and information gathering utility. Skye's regrowth heal is considered significantly better than Sage's considering it's AoE effect which can heal multiple allies at once.

Her information gathering however is significantly lacking since her Seekers are relatively slow moving and easy to shoot down while the trailblazer only lasts for a total of 5 seconds. The versatility of Skye's kit makes her an effective, yet at times puzzling, Agent for players to learn.

Good Cypher players are defined by their setup knowledge. Comparable only to Sova, the worth of a Cypher is the information they can gather. Cypher has a significantly more difficult time gathering information however considering his cameras and trip wires have rather obvious tells.

Holding only a 17.3% pick rate, Cypher has fallen off since the release of Killjoy especially. Though not entirely a lost pick, Cypher players need to constantly look for unique camera angles.

Omen still holds the highest pickrate out of any controller (44.7%) however has dropped in priority ever since the release of Astra. With smokes, flashes, and short range teleports, Omen is a fairly easy VALORANT Agent to get the hang of, however falls off in higher ranks. Haven (47.7%) and Ascent (47.8%) have long been Omen's best maps where he still remains a viable pick.

Breach had a very short time as a meta Agent. Breach's kit is littered with flashes and dazing abilities, making him one of the only true initiators in the game. Without information gathering Agents by his side however, Breach's ability to send chargers through walls is largely useless for anything other than zoning tools. Though an incredibly fun Agent, a Breach's effectiveness is contingent on those around him.

Brimstone's primary fault is how short ranged his utility when compared to the likes of Astra or Omen. An upside to Brimstone is long lasting molly and global ultimate, capable of punishing opponents caught out of position. Ultimately, Brimstone is not a bad Agent however better alternatives exist.

At the bottom spot among duelists, Yoru heralds the lowest agent pick rate (11.3%). Yoru has an ambitious kit centered around distraction and mobility. Currently, few maps reward this playstyle as he holds a sub 40% winrate across every map. Breeze may see a surge in Yoru play, however this remains to be seen.