Valorant is a 5v5 team-based competitive FPS game launched in 2020. It consists of various Agents with unique abilities. Since its inception, the Agents have been categorized in a pool of duelists, initiators, controllers, and sentinels.
Valorant consists of 22 Agents, of which five agents are Sentinels. They are the players with two critical roles: first, to hold and anchor sites while on defense, allowing other teammates to rotate and play around the map, and second, using their abilities to hold the back lines while attacking a site. Moreover, playing a Sentinel needs a lot of patience and creativity with placing abilities and peeking with the help of those abilities or creating an advantage.
Sentinels can make plays passively, trying to trap enemies into death. While every player plays a different playstyle as a Sentinel, the basic playstyle remains the same. All these five Sentinels can influence a player’s playstyle depending on the utility kit and map.
Chamber and Killjoy allow you to play aggressively and fall back after the first encounter. For Deadlock and Cypher, you should take the help of abilities to trap them in a tripwire or sonic sensor. For Sage, getting creative with walls and slow orbs on site entries is the trick to get the most out of her.
Sentinels: The Objectives
The main objectives of a sentinel player are as follows:
➡️ Anchoring Sites
Sentinels have a unique kit that allows them to have a strategic defense to stop enemy pushes. This utility allows them to slow down pushes or choke down enemies in a confined space.
➡️ Backstab
Sentinels must watch out for a flanker or late rotation while anchoring a site. Moreover, they are responsible for watching backlines on the attacking side.
➡️ Information Gathering
Sentinels are responsible for the passive information gathering for rotations, and the site takes based on their utility, like Cypher’s trip camera or Killjoy’s turret and alarmbot.
Getting Better with Sentinels
Here’s what you need to know if you play with Sentinel Agents and want to master them:
➡️ Communication
Communication is one of the most critical aspects of playing as Sentinels. It involves information relaying based on the passive information gathered from the abilities.
➡️ Trap Plays and Lineups
Sentinels are responsible for controlling the sites. Hence, you must get better with a trap set up in the sites or on the entries.
➡️ Patience
Sentinels are supposed to have patience, holding onto the site and angles to get the most out of their utility.
➡️ Knowledge
Sentinel players need much more knowledge about the Agent and surroundings than any other Agent category. Be it the trap position, after-plant setups, or lineups, you have to know it all!
Ranking All Sentinels
Now that you know the important bits of playing as a Sentinel, let’s rank the best Sentinals in the game!
➡️ Killjoy
Killjoy is one of the most versatile Agents of all the Sentinels. Not only does it allow you to play in a passive, utility-based style, but it also allows you to play aggressively accompanied by her turret. Her turret also allows her to gain passive information while slowing down the attacks and dealing with critical damage.
Moreover, it can watch flanks with its long range of firing compatibility. Hence, the information is relayed faster compared to any other utility. Alarmbot paired with the nano swarms can deal the damage while enemies take on the site, or it can watch for the flanks when back lines have more minor choke points.
Nano swarms are useful in a unique way to counter enemy strategies. Whether it is holding sites with unique setups on choke points or denying plant defuse using lineups from far away from the plant site, it’s all possible with Killjoy’s abilities.
Killjoy’s Ultimate is called Lockdown. It has a vast range that can detain enemies in range at the end of the countdown. This ability can be used to clear the site on offense, stop a push on defense, or even retake sites. Overall, Killjoy is a potent Agent with a unique kit and option to use abilities on attack and defense.
➡️ Cypher
Cypher is one of the most underrated agents in the current meta. He has a robust kit of abilities for players who love to hold sites and wait for fights to come to them. Cypher has the best opportunity for passive information gathering with his camera.
Unlike Killjoy and Chamber, Cyphers’ abilities do not have a limited range. Thus, it allows quick rotation based on the information gained from his camera or ultimate. Cypher’s trap wires can be placed on the entries of backlines to watch flankers or to peek as soon as the enemy gets tripped while executing a push.
Cypher’s cage is useful for crossing sites or choke points on the attack, while on defense, you can create an inevitable setup using one way on the map. Combining trap wires and cages allows Cypher to hold the site independently.
His ultimate is an excellent ability for information gathering on attack or defense, as it allows you to get the exact enemy location during the round. In conclusion, Cypher has a supporting utility that doesn’t deal any damage directly but instead works as a supporting ability.
➡️ Sage
Sage has been in the game since the beginning and has undergone various meta changes. She has a unique kit that helps you slow down the enemies while they try to take on a site or block their entries completely.
Sage’s wall can be used in multiple ways, from blocking entries to wall boosting yourself/team on an advantageous angle. It also helps you plant on sites without cover using her wall. Slow Orbs are used to slow down the enemy and can be used along with her wall. Moreover, slow orbs can be paired with various Agents to deal damage at choke points on the map. Sage has defense abilities and can heal and resurrect as her ultimate.
One of her abilities is called the Healing Orb. As the name suggests, it is used for healing herself or her teammates during the round. Her ultimate can bring a dead player back to life during a round, and she is the only agent in the game that can do that. Hence, she has a solid passive kit that helps teammates take up the fight.
➡️ Chamber
Chamber as a Sentinel allows you to play aggressively on one entrance of the site and try to build pressure while it allows you to rendezvous out of the risky situation. He is the most offensive Sentinel, thanks to his kit with a heavy pistol, a sniper, teleporting ability, and a trap.
Chamber is more of a Duelist than a Sentinel, as he can be an aggressor on both attack and defense. The Headhunter is a heavy pistol similar to a Sheriff that can benefit you on eco or semi-buy rounds. A trademark is an ability that allows you to watch for flanks and anchor a site alone or watch for backlines on the attacking side.
Rendezvous is a super valuable ability. As a Chamber playing aggressively, it allows you to teleport out of danger and back to safety. It allows you to play with a Shotgun or Operator on the unexpected fronts of the maps.
Tour de Force is the ultimate in Chamber’s kit, which is a sniper similar to an Operator. Furthermore, it has a faster scope-in time and deals more significant damage, allowing one-shot kill even on a leg shot. Considering all these abilities, Chamber in the current meta is finely balanced and has taken more of the Sentinel role than in his early career.
➡️ Deadlock
Deadlock is the newest Sentinel in the game and has the most creative ultimate. However, she needs the essential Sentinel utility for solo site anchoring, and backline holds. Apart from her ultimate, the only above-average ability is her wall.
The wall is a great utility to block off choke points completely and can cause significant damage before breaking down. Thus, it can help slow down push on the site or block the spike in postplant. Her ultimate is a valuable tool to take down enemies, clear alleyways or corners while taking on the site.
Moreover, it is most deadly in a 1v1 situation when you know the enemy’s position or are playing in a post-plant scenario. The Sonic Sensor and the Gravnet grenade use nanowire technology, but it’s just below-average utilities. Most of it is easily dodgeable abilities or breakable. Hence, considering all these factors, Deadlock is currently the weakest Sentinel agent in the game.
Conclusion
Sentinels are crucial in a team composition; they are responsible for site anchoring and flank watching. However, that being said, Sentinels are way more than that. They should get creative with its utility for holding, pushing, anchoring, or setting up the team. Moreover, Sentinels can be good lurkers in the mid-rounds, sneaking into enemy territory.
Sentinels in the game’s current state have the most unique abilities compared to Controllers, Initiators, or Duelists. Overall, Sentinels are getting more potent at controlling the game at the beginning of the round and mid-rounds and are a critical component in the team-based game.
To understand the jargon and get a better grip on the game, check out our post on all the Valorant roles, along with a detailed explanation for each and how to make the most of them!
