Role specific Valorant tips you wish other players knew

Unlike in Counter-Strike, each role in Valorant serves a different purpose. Bad communication and a bad understanding of the game can lead to bad performances.

The best tip for climbing the ranks in Valorant is to play one role and maybe two agents at most. But you also have to understand how the other roles work.

Initiators — Give them time

The agents in the Initiator role in Valorant always play a key part in the execution. Their utility is versatile enough to be used both on defense and offense and brings a lot of value on both sides. Those agents mostly focus on information gathering, clearing space, and flashing angles while offering great initiation tools. But one thing most Initiator players can’t explain to their teammates is that it takes time for this utility to function. Breach can stun an area but not the entire site. If you enter before he flashes, you will die from another angle. Sova’s Recon Bolt can clear an entire site if placed properly, but those lineups require positioning and take time to land. It’s not Sova’s fault you entered before the arrow landed.

Controllers — Must keep one smoke for the retake

Playing smokes in Valorant is like going to the dentist. Nobody wants to do it, but if you don’t have them when you need them, you are screwed. In lower elo’s especially, players might not realise the impact these agents have. Sure, they don’t have flashy abilities that can create montage plays, but more often than not, they are the key to winning. Most of their value lies in blocking off sightlines, which prevents the defenders from defending the site.

You can’t shoot what you can’t see and if you push through a smoke versus four players, you will die the second you show up. Their ultimates are also great for taking space (Brimstone, Viper) and blocking off vision (Viper, Astra, Omen). But apart from Omen and Astra, the rest of the agents in this class don’t have smokes that recharge. Astra’s stars can also be used to defend the site, but not as smokes. Viper’s utility is static once it’s dropped, and many Viper players don’t realize they can pick up their Orb.

All of this means that players playing these agents can’t use their abilities mindlessly. Not every angle or entrance can be smoked off. If the enemy fakes push and rotates towards the other site, the Controller will be left without utility. Having at least one smoke is crucial for executing retakes. Regardless if you are smoking the enemy sightline to the spike or the spike itself.

Sentinels — Don’t push the site 

Sentinel players often get blamed for things that are out of their control and that’s completely unfair. Their abilities offer little to no offensive firepower unless you are Chamber. So it’s natural that they don’t get a lot of kills when they are designed to dominate only one side of the map.

But the main thing that other players often don’t seem to understand about Sentinel agents is how their playstyle works. When they are on defense, Sentinels are capable of defending a site all by themselves. With proper utility usage and holding the right angle, they can destroy the enemy team in seconds. Cypher and Killjoy setups are deadly only if the enemy team walks into them. Otherwise, they are wasted utility. And when Duelist agents come to push the site that the Sentinel is defending, it ruins the whole plan. Not only is the round a 4vs5 from the start, but Sentinels also can’t play their positions because the Duelist that was supposed to watch Mid or the other entrance just died.

Duelist — Follow up on my entry

The Duelist role in Valorant is usually filled with the most skilled fraggers in the game. That kind of explosive playstyle is often fueled by a zero fear mindset and great confidence in skill. But all of that goes to waste when the Duelist enters a site and creates space with no help. If the team is committing to the site, everyone needs to use their utility and follow up on the entry. One or two defenders on the site can’t shoot at four people at once.

Follow your Duelist and trade the kill if they get taken out. If the Defender scrambles and misses, you get a free site and a numbers advantage. All it takes is two or three rounds where the Duelist sacrifices themselves to shake up their confidence and make them play selfishly.

Header: Riot Games