There are plenty of agents to choose from in Valorant. But do you know which is the best agent for the current and future seasons? Let’s find out!
Valorant has been there for a very long time, initially launched with 11 unique agents, and now has 22 agents in the game. Each agent brings in a separate set of utilities influencing the FPS game regarding meta and team compositions. These agents get nerfed or buffed by the Valorant developers to keep the game healthy.
Thus, keeping up with the meta is very important; sticking to only one or two agents will harm your gameplay in competitive situations or eSports. From the very first patch to the most recent one, Valorant agents have seen incredible buffs, nerve-breaking nerfs, new agent launches, agent overhauls, and much more.
The developers mainly focus on patching agents without harming the current meta or making an agent overpowered or underpowered. However, there have been few cases where Riot released or patched an agent to be overpowered or underpowered for the meta, like the Chamber with a fast ultimate operator and teleporting ability across the map.
At the same time, few agents are barely touched and have remained mostly balanced. These have greatly influenced meta, the composition, the maps, and players’ ability to adapt.
Shifting Dynamics of Meta
Valorant constantly undergoes meta changes due to its vivid ability-based gameplay. Due to that, meta has a significant influence on the agent selection to adjust to game dynamics. Players and teams need to adjust the team composition based on new patch notes. This is because some agents get buffed while others get nerfed.
To get the most out of each agent, a team consists of abilities that can be coupled with other abilities to make the most out of the composition. To adjust to the shifting dynamics, consider these factors:
- Map-based agent selection: Select agents based on maps as few agents are potent on some particular map.
- Current meta: Selection should be based on a particular agent’s meta changes in abilities.
- Economy-based selection: Consider the overall economy of your team for each set of rounds to make the best out of your team composition. Hence, select agents that allow flexibility in your team concerning the economy.
Best Agents in the Current Meta
- This tier list is purely based on observation, and there might be different opinions.
- These agents are not rated internally in a single tier.
- The tier list is based on patch notes 7.04, and we have considered the extra orb required in the ultimate orb cycle.
Let us look through different agents in different tiers for the current meta.
S-Tier
S-tier agents need no introduction; these are the best of the best agents in the meta currently. These agents have gone through nerfs and buffs over their history and are still viable options on most of the maps. They can control the game’s pace and single-handedly hold sites on defense or make space on attack.
➡️ Jett
Jett was the pinnacle of all the agents in Valorant for a long time. She was the one everyone wanted to master, but most of them failed. Jett requires super fast movement and precise aim to get to the top. She has seen numerous pick rates in ranked games and eSports.
However, with the newest patch, Jett got her most significant nerf: the dash duration window has been reduced, the smoke cover reduced to almost half, and the updraft charge is now reduced to 1.
Hence, the pick rate has fallen in ranked games. That doesn’t mean that the agent’s win rate has declined much. In fact, it’s remained pretty steady.
So, as long as Jett is known for the dash and her overall agility, she’ll hold her place in the S-tier with immaculate ease.
➡️ Viper
Viper has been one of the most prominent controllers in the game. Patches changed, meta changed, and still, Viper survived it all and remained a constant pick on most eSports teams for particular maps. She can still hold down a site independently while most controllers struggle.
Viper received one significant change regarding her toxin screen and the orb recharge while having some quality of life changes. Viper remains the first choice controller on a few maps while second choice controller on others. Hence, Viper makes an S-tier for our tier list.
➡️ Raze
Raze is the super aggressive agent, allowing incredible movement and parkour. From the days of having two grenades and followed by multiple boom bot nerfs, Raze is still a strong and rock-solid duelist.
With Jett getting a drastic drop in pick rate, Raze is replacing her in most games. Raze has seen a fantastic growth rate in both the esports world and ranked games in the last three months. Considering all the factors, Raze makes the S-tier in the list.
➡️ ISO
ISO is one of the newest members of the Valorant agent roster. When it comes to ISO’s Valorant role, he’s a straight-up Duelist, which means that he’s usually part of the aggressive bunch. Want to clear a path for your teammates, ISO is a pretty good bet.
The reason to put him in the S-tier is two-fold. Firstly, Valorant has marketed ISO pretty heavily in the past couple of months, and having him down in the B-tier or C-tier wouldn’t make sense. Secondly, and more importantly, ISO is basically bulletproof.
He converts ambient energy into protection against bullets, at least for a certain while. This means that you’ll be able to get out of sticky situations much easier with ISO than with any other agent. Of course, with powerful abilities like Double Tap and Contingency, any Valorant veteran is going to have a gala time with ISO!
A-Tier
Agents in the A-tier are just an edge below that of S-tier agents. These agents have undergone significant changes and are strong enough for the current meta. This set of agents consists of the most unique ones in the game, from flying Jett to planting Wingman, teleporting Omen to shock king Sova, and much more.
➡️ Killjoy
Killjoy was very strong at the launch, with its alarm bot and turret paired with nano swarms just inevitable. Back in the day, Killjoy could single-handedly anchor a site. Following that, she received so many nerfs, with range restriction, that she fell down the tiers a lot, and along with that, her pick rate dropped drastically.
However, with other sentinels falling off the meta, Killjoy still has the utility to allow solo hold sites when paired up with utility from agents like Astra, Sage, etc. All this being said, the current meta Killjoy is one of the most potent agents.
➡️ Gekko
Gekko is one of the newest additions in the game and allows teams to have unique compositions, from pairing the Wingman with harbor orb or sage wall to pairing his blind with a blind from Skye.
Moreover, his ultimate allows you to clear the site and set your team up while your duelist can rush in. While his molly has limited usage, you can still use it to clear corners or in post-plant situations.
➡️ Sova
Sova has received so many nerfs from the beginning and still has made it to our list on A-Tier. Most recent nerfs involve the recon bolts reduced to 2 scans from 3 scans earlier, reducing the ability to scan sites effectively. The second one is the damage reduction in shock darts to counter double shocks post-plant.
That being said, Sova still has great recon utility to justify its role as initiator. On top of that, with his strong ultimate and shock darts, you can deal good damage in critical situations.
➡️ Omen
Omen is an agent known for its creative play. A player can pair up his utility or, with the help of team utility, pull off some crazy gameplays. While Omen hasn’t seen many nerfs or buffs, one particular nerf is the ability to do one smoke from the walls, taking away the ability to take blind 1v1s from enemies’ POV.
Omen remains a favorite choice for players in ranked while seeing a decent pick rate in the eSports scene. Hence, Omen gets placed in the A-tier list, allowing versatile plays.
➡️ Fade
Fade has been a balanced agent from the beginning and only to review one significant change that reduced the duration of her prowlers, reducing the ability to clear the corners.
While it has seen some quality-of-life changes, those were minor and barely influenced any pick rate. Fade has seen a pick rate in maps like Lotus, Pearl, and more, allowing players to have options against Sova.
➡️ Skye
Like Fade, Skye has only seen one significant change since her launch. The nerf involved the blind based on how long the bird stays in the air, making it hard to instantly blind and peek.
Skye’s robust blind allows her to recon sites based on voice alerts, and her trailblaze to clear the corners. Her ultimate goal is to allow the team to make a fast entry with a guiding light. These abilities make her a strong contender for A-tier in the current meta.
B-Tier
In the current meta, this tier is stacked with flashers, including Phoenix, Kayo, and Breach, along with the Speedster Neon and the all-reliable Brimstone. Depending on the situation, Phoenix, Kayo, and Breach have few of the most substantial blinds in the game. Neon has one of the most unique kits to make plays around. The original, Brimstone, has yet to receive many buffs or nerf and is one of the easiest sentinels to learn.
➡️ Phoenix
Phoenix is one of the strongest duelists in the 2021 Valorant era, but his pick rate dropped with the inclusion of new agents with better kits. People used Phoenix more because of his ultimate: it was a drone that could shoot, and you wouldn’t take any damage.
He is the only agent that can damage an enemy with the same utility with which he can heal himself. Recently, Phoenix saw a few picks on the map of Pearl.
➡️ Kayo
Kayo is a new-generation agent equipped with modern technology. It has been stable since the beginning and saw a slow and consistent growth in pick rate. His kit consists of a powerful flash similar to Counter-Strike flashbang, splash damage made with three blasts, a knife to suppress the enemies, and a get-out-of-jail card ultimate with a suppressing ability.
The agent is currently underrated and picked only on specific maps like Ascent. The knife and ultimate abilities of Kayo are unique and strong ones in the game.
➡️ Breach
Breach is one of the most annoying agents to play against, but taking sites becomes easier when you have a Breach on your side. This agent underwent few changes, be it reducing the number of flashes, the after-shock having multiple small blasts, or the ultimate covering a wider area.
All of these changes kept Breach a balanced agent; if you have him on the team, life becomes easy, but you still need to include him if you don’t have one on your team.
➡️ Neon
Neon is one of the fastest agents in the game, allowing some incredible movements. Moreover, Neon is the agent with the most negligible changes and has stayed almost the same. It allows you to enter fast with the help of her two relay bolts and high gear while creating space for the team.
➡️ Brimstone
Brimstone is one of the original agents in the game and has been a part of the game from the beginning. He is most often chosen to be the second smoker for the team, with the primary being the Viper or Omen.
However, it allows a speed boost with a speed beacon to push in or help your duelist aggressively. Also, his kit consists of a powerful molly and an incredible ultimate to have the inevitable post-plant.
C-Tier
Agents in this tier have been on the borderline of the pick rate. These agents have had their nerfs and buffs on very few occasions. They are still considered in eSports, depending on players and the map the team is playing. Moreover, few of these agents are hard to master or are slow to play; hence, the pick rate is low in ranked games.
➡️ Astra
First of all, Astra was one of the most vital agents when she joined, even though players were finding it difficult to learn and play. Following the nerf, Astra drastically dropped on the list but saw her revival in eSports due to map rotation, as it allowed more map control for teams. Hence, Astra is on the C-tier on our list.
➡️ Sage
Next up is Sage, the all-cool and everyone’s favorite agent. Sage is one of the most straightforward agents to learn, although mastering this agent can take time.
Sage has one central nerf/buff scenario and has been consistent throughout. Due to her limited kit and ability to make plays around it, we have Sage on C-tier, as not everyone can play as well as Grim.
➡️ Harbor
With Harbor, India finally saw its presence in the game. The Indian agent came into the meta slowly but kicked a new meta called Viper-Harbor meta. Harbor’s kit allows you to block vision like Viper using walls to drop a barrier like Sage.
Hence, it’s a great second smoker for your team. “I am the Raja.” Indeed, the Harbor is the king of water.
➡️ Reyna
Reyna was once called the ranked demon, but slowly, with new and more vivid duelist agents in the pool, she faded away. Following her nerf of the number of soul orbs reduced from 4 down to 2, the agent saw a drop in pick rate in eSports. However, for ranked games, you’ll see more of her plays.
➡️ Cypher
Cypher is one of the most underrated agents in Valorant. From the old days of his camera having a gun and shooting to now just having utility used as an information gathering tool. Apart from that change, Cypher has mostly stayed the same. However, due to other sentinels currently having a better kit for meta, Cypher is on C-tier.
D-Tier
Agents in this tier have one of the lowest pick rate or in-meta ratios out of all the agents. These agents have rarely seen any picks in eSports matches, while for competitive matches, people pick them for fun without considering any composition and team play.
➡️ Yoru
First and foremost, Yoru. This agent’s origin belongs to Japan, one of the most promising communities in Valorant, but he still needs to keep up. He has stayed in the D-tier, even after a complete makeover.
Yoru can make solo play with the help of your teammates. However, it is tough to play in a team environment; in case you fail to enter, the team won’t be able to trade him. Moreover, his kit is mediocre, with a flash that flashes most of the teammates.
➡️ Chamber
Chamber was one of the most broken agents at the launch, and it took a long time for Riot Games to fix him. He had this incredibly accurate operator ultimate, a Sheriff as a sidearm, and a free get-out-of-jail card with his teleport.
It changed with multiple patches; the operator is slower, the teleporter has a smaller range, etc. Hence, Chamber has fallen out of the meta and pick rate.
➡️ Deadlock
Deadlock is the newest introduction in Agent Pool. At the same time, cinematics made the agent look inevitable. Still, the reality was quite different, with her almost useless sentinel utility apart from the wall and a hit-miss ultimate that can be easily broken.
The agent saw zero pick rate at the most recent world championship and a little playtime in ranked games. Hence, deadlock is on the D-tier for the list.
Conclusion
Valorant has seen drastic changes in its few patch notes while the quality of life changes. Moreover, all these patch notes influence the players’ gameplay on particular agents and the gameplay in a team-based environment.
Playing a nerfed or out-of-the-meta agent can cost you matches in eSports and ranked games. Thus, agent selection based on meta holds high importance to get the most out of your team. To keep up with the meta, players should be aware of all the major and minor changes and how to overcome and use utility for their benefit and the team’s benefit.
Next, check out the best Valorant weapons to pair with your favorite agent!
