Jett

The agent has been dominating the meta for quite some time and remains to be on the top of the list. Despite multiple nerfs in the previous updates, the Korean duelist has everything an entry fragger wishes for. Jett’s tailwind and updraft abilities are often used for creating spaces and getting aggressive picks throughout the map.

She possesses incredible mobility helping players who prefer using an operator—enabling them to escape from a fight after getting a crucial pick quickly. Her Blade Storm ability also plays a significant role in eco-rounds, making her the #1 duelist in the current meta.

Viper

Viper was an agent that remained untouched and had the least amount of pick rate during the first few episodes. Fortunately, Riot brought in some interesting changes in Episode 2, quickly making her the best controller in the entire game. The update enhanced her abilities, inflicting great damage to her opponents. Viper’s Pit now almost ensures a win in a post-plant situation.   

Since the agent is heavily reliant on her utilities, she might not be the best one to pick when it comes to solo queue. Furthermore, it might take some time for players to adjust their playstyle and adapt to the support role.

Sova

The Russian archer comes with some of the best intel-gathering abilities that assist your team in tracing out the opposition in no time. Sova’s recon ability plays an essential role in providing early information at the start of the round that no other agent can match. Apart from these unique abilities, the initiator helps clear out close angles and execute perfectly-timed strategies.   

This agent has a high learning curve, so players must devote a few hours to learn their arrow lineups to achieve the maximum potential of the agent. 

Astra

Astra is one of the most versatile agents in the hero pool, bringing in an array of abilities. The controller features a range of stars that can be placed throughout the map—Smokes, Stuns, Gravity Wells, and finally, her ultimate Cosmic Divide that can separate the map into two parts.

However, while placing stars in the Astral Form, players can be caught off-guard and taken down quite easily without getting a chance to fight back. Additionally, playing the agent would require a lot of effort due to its complexities.

Neon

The newest addition to the agent pool, Neon boasts a speedy kit along with her electrifying abilities, making it a possible replacement for Jett in the near future. 

The duelist comes with High Gear, allowing her to sprint across the map with the option to trigger an electric slide. Neon also has a bar above her abilities, which shows the electrical charges left. Apart from her abilities, Neon’s speeding tricks can be used efficiently to get early picks during a game. 

It’s still early to say if Neon will stay consistent on the S-Tier, but surely will be an interesting character to play against.

Sage

Sage has always been considered one of the best support agents in Valorant. Despite some big nerfs coming her way, the sentinel has managed to make it to the top of the A-Tier. Apart from her Slow Orbs and Barrier abilities, she provides valuable healing to the entire team and is crucial for every team composition.  

In between an important round, having a man-advantage is something every team wishes. The Resurrection ability allows her to revive a teammate—providing her with an extra member to her team, which can be critical in clutch situations.

Skye

Skye comes with a high-risk, high-reward factor, which can be utilized to its full potential if placed in the right team. While it takes time to get used to her abilities, Skye’s pop flashes along with her Seekers can be used to break through any bombsite with ease.  

She also has the ability to heal all her allies in range and line of sight. Starting your journey as an initiator might seem difficult at first but can be impactful once you get the hang of it.

Chamber

Hailing all the way from France, Chamber makes his way as the fourth sentinel in the agent pool. The deadly assassin was released recently and is increasingly becoming a promising asset for teams. 

Chamber’s abilities allow him to quickly teleport anywhere on the map and simultaneously use his Trademark ability to trap and slow down enemies in a given range. The newest sentinel is slowly climbing up the charts in the current meta and is considered a solid pick on almost all the maps.

Cypher

Cypher was once considered a primary pick to hold down a bombsite single-handedly. However, due to multiple nerfs in the recent patches, the pick rate of the agent has massively dropped. The Moroccan comes in with his Trapwires, Spy Camera, and Cages to reveal enemy locations at any given point in time. 

His Neural Theft provides invaluable information by revealing the location of all the living enemy players on the map. The only drawback with this agent is losing his Trapwires if he’s taken down at the start of a round.     

Raze

Raze features a range of aggressive abilities that assists players in creating havoc on the battlefield and taking up close-range fights without any fear. With Riot constantly releasing nerfs in the past updates, Raze has dropped down to the B-Tier of the current meta.

The duelist still plays a vital role in clearing out angles with her Boom Bot and Paint Shells. Raze’s incredible mobility can be utilized on the attacking side of the map by using her Showstopper, combined with the Double Satchel movement to demolish the enemy team. 

Killjoy

Equipped with her german technology, the utility set that Killjoy offers can be quite influential on both the defensive and the attacking sides of the map. 

Killjoy faced a few roadblocks during her Valorant journey when Riot disabled her robots while standing far away. But the sentinel can still deploy her Lockdown ability to detain enemies in the given radius to clear out a bombsite and secure the round easily. 

Reyna

The duelist has been a part of the Valorant hero pool since the start and is often described as one of the most selfish agents due to her self-centered abilities. 

Most of her utilities focus on getting instant kills and then consuming the opponent’s soul to heal herself completely. Reyna is the perfect pick for your team if you’re entirely dependent on your aim and your ability to take solo fights. If not, you might prefer looking for another duelist on the list.

Breach

Breach’s lethal personality completely matches his playstyle along with the set of abilities he brings to the table. The Rolling Thunder is one of the most impactful ultimates that the agent has to offer—leaving everyone concussed for precisely six seconds. 

While the agent is designed to take control on the battlefield, his utilities can also damage his teammates. For this reason, players prefer Sova or Skye in their team composition to avoid mistakes that can cost them the entire round. 

Omen

The mysterious controller might not be one of the most widely used agents in this meta, but he remains more viable than others. Omen received numerous nerfs in the recent updates, leading to his substantial fall into the C-Tier. 

Apart from his smokes, Omen features a wide range of abilities. He can use his ultimate easily for teleporting anywhere on the entire map, along with the Paranoia to reduce vision and create confusion amongst the enemy team.

KAY/O

Coming in from an alternate timeline, KAY/O is a robot designed to outplay his opponents with his technical utilities. The initiator’s Flash/Drive ability resembles the flashbang from CS:GO, and since many professional players have shifted from the latter, it was pretty easy to adapt to his playstyle. 

Upon arrival, the agent led the meta and was considered a serious threat to the opponents. However, he couldn’t compete with the likes of Skye and Sova and so trickled down the list.

Brimstone

During the game’s initial launch, Brimstone started as a decent pick in multiple maps. One of his most damaging abilities, the Orbital strike, launches a laser at a selected area, causing considerable damage to the enemy team. 

But based on the current meta, the big man is sadly one of the weaker choices for a controller. Even after receiving numerous buffs and an increase in the range of his sky smokes, Brimstone doesn’t contribute much to the competitive scenario. 

Phoenix

The fiery duelist doesn’t have much to offer compared to others but always leads from the front when required. Apart from his aggressive abilities, Phoenix can play a vital role in creating a distraction with his quick flashes to annoy the opposition.

Moreover, the Run It Back ultimate has to be his strongest ability, enabling him to get a few quick kills and return to his location with full health. Now, fans hope that Riot will release a few updates to bring back the duelist into the meta. 

Yoru

Finishing up the list, we have the Japanese duelist making his way to the bottom of the agent tier. With his arrival in Episode 2, Yoru started as a top-tier agent and looked quite promising. Although, as the season progressed, he was considered the weakest duelist in the entire agent pool. 

Inevitably, he has the lowest pick rate of 8.6% amongst all 18 agents, and his utility kit doesn’t make much of a difference when compared to other high-rated duelists such as Jett and Reyna. 

With the excitement of the latest Episode and the Valorant Champions Tour on the verge of starting, the Agent tier will likely see changes. So, it won’t come as a surprise if the agents move up or down the tier list based on the changes in the meta. 

Written by Kanishka Thakur on behalf of GLHF.