Who Are The Best Valorant Agents On Ascent? [All Roles]

Not sure which Valorant Agents to pick when you’re forced to play on Ascent? Here are the best picks for each role!

Ascent is one of the few Valorant maps heavily dependent on a team’s lineup composition, so it’s essential to understand which Valorant Agents fit the best on this map. 

Best Duelists On Ascent

Starting with the Duelist role, Jett and Phoenix are two Agents you can feel comfortable playing Ascent on. Here’s why!

Jett

The first reason Jett is highly effective on this map is the number of different elevations to play around with. There are many boxes and positions you can Updraft to, which can help you surprise your opponents and give you a massive advantage in gun fights.

Such positions include the boxes on A Short and the Generator on A Site when you’re on Defense.

Jett’s kit of Dash and Cloudbursts also makes her a menace on the Attacking side. Entering bomb sites on Ascent can be tricky due to the choke points on the map. Jett can ignore these narrow hallways by throwing a Cloudburst and Dashing in to create space for her team.

For example, most professional players tend to throw a Cloudburst at the top of the Generator on A Site, then Dash and Updraft into it. Plays like these will help distract enemies to buy time for the rest of your team to enter. 

Phoenix

Ascent is a map with many tight corners, making Phoenix’s Curveball incredibly effective. Most Agents will have difficulty getting through confined positions on the Attacking side, but a pop flash from Phoenix can solve many problems. 

Phoenix’s Blaze wall can also help him and his team isolate duels when entering the A or B site. For example, Phoenix can create a wall when entering the B Site to cover Market and CT Spawn, giving his team seconds to enter and battle on-site players without worrying about their backs.

Another essential thing to note is Phoenix’s Ultimate only requires six Ultimate Orbs. The Orbs on Ascent are very accessible to the Attacking side, allowing Phoenix to farm his ult very safely. Just call a teammate to protect you while you’re channeling the Orb, and you’re good to go!

Best Initiators On Ascent

For the initiator roles, two particular Agents stand out in an information-heavy map like Ascent. We will feature Sova and KAY/O, two “information brokers”.

Sova

Our favorite hunter, Sova, is infamously known for being a menace on the B Site while Defending. The wall separating B Main from the site is paper thin, allowing players to wallbang and significantly damage or even kill enemy players.

With a proper Recon Bolt lineup, Sova players can set up the dart and spam through the wall with an Odin to get some easy frags. Make sure to look for some cheeky Sova lineups on YouTube; these lineups can be found anywhere!

In general, Ascent is a map with open skyboxes, as there aren’t too many ceilings. The lack of coverage allows Sova to throw Recon and Shock Darts effectively, especially during post-plant situations.

His Hunter’s Fury is also always available to cancel plants or defuses since the Spike plant positions are usually planted in the same positions.

With many narrow corridors in Ascent, it’s difficult to advance as Attackers, but Sova’s Owl Drone can diligently clear close angles to help your team.

KAY/O

Going back to the lack of skyboxes on Ascent, a map characteristic like this automatically makes KAY/O an incredibly viable Agent. Areas such as B Main also have holes in the walls, allowing KAY/O to set up lots of devious pop flashes to set up for his teammates. 

KAY/O’s FRAG/MENT grenade is also highly useful since there are multiple cubby angles on Ascent, such as those on A Main, B Main, Mid, Pizza, and below Market. 

These cheeky angles are often difficult to clear as an Attacker since you have many more areas to worry about, so throwing his nade will give your team a lot of reassurance. 

The best part about KAY/O on Ascent is his ZERO/POINT ability, also known as his knife. This ability is a menace on the Defending side, as if placed correctly, his knife can gain information on the entirety of A or B Main. 

Best Controllers On Ascent

Under the Controller category, there are two obvious choices. You’ve probably seen Omen or Brimstone in every single Ascent game you’ve played, and there are reasons why.

Omen

Compared to other Controller Agents, one of Omen’s stand-out characteristics is that his smokes get renewed. A map like Ascent requires players to have avid amounts of smokes, both on the offense or defense, making Omen’s renewed smokes crucial.

Like Jett, Omen can use the elevations and high grounds to surprise unsuspecting enemies. Shrouded Step can help players get on top of boxes or walls to catch enemy players off guard, such as the boxes on A Short or the wall close to Attacker’s Spawn on A Main.

Omen’s Paranoia is a fantastic ability on Ascent since the map has many tight angles and pathways. For example, you can throw a Paranoia to blind the entirety of A Main, getting maximum value for the ability. The blind almost covers the entirety of Pizza and B Main, too. 

Brimstone

The best part about Brimstone’s kit is having three smokes at a time, which is ideal for a smoke-dependent map like Ascent. Access to three Sky Smokes can help make playing on the Attacking side much more manageable. 

When executing A Site, Brimstones can smoke Heaven and Door and have an extra smoke for reserve in post-plant situations. Smoking CT and Market will always get the job done for the B Site.

Brimstone’s Stim Beacon also gives his teammates movement speed buffs, which are extremely helpful in advancing through the many choke points in Ascent. With proper smokes and the help of his Stim Beacon, getting into bomb sites will not be as difficult as you think it’d be. 

Just in case, learning a few post-plant lineups with Brimstone is recommended. Since the bomb sites aren’t covered by ceilings like Lotus, allowing for incendiary setups to secure rounds. 

Best Sentinels On Ascent

Finally, we’ll talk about the pesky Sentinel role. On Ascent, most professional players love running Killjoy, while ranked players enjoy Sage. 

Killjoy

Ascent offers numerous spots for Killjoy to lay down her Turret, especially on the Defense side. Some good Turret placements include the CT wall on the B Site or the top of the Generator on the A Site. Incoming Attackers cannot simply ignore these Turrets, making Killjoy extremely annoying on Defense.

KJ’s setups are also very straightforward on the A and B Sites. On the A Site, setting up her Nanoswarms on A Main can never go wrong, but Killjoy players also tend to set up on the default plant areas. 

On the other hand, most Killjoy players place their Nanoswarms on B Lane, which forces incoming Attackers to take the long way and have to fight through CT, Stairs, and Market. 

Overall, KJ’s defense on Ascent is unparalleled. However, she also has her uses on the Attacking side, such as having her Alarmbot or Turret guard flank or placing Nanoswarms for post-plant situations.

Sage

Last but not least, Sage is the Agent that will end this list. Sage isn’t picked as often as Killjoy in the professional scene; it’s always a welcomed pick in typical ranked matches – it’s always nice to have a Sage in the team.

On the Defender side, Sage’s Barrier Orb can fortify a section of the map for a decent chunk of the round, such as Mid or B Main. Walling one of these areas can allow a team to allocate another member elsewhere.

Sage’s Slow Orb can devastate incoming Attackers since they’ll have to go through specific choke points to enter the site. If a Sage throws her slow on A or B Main, immobilized Attackers affected by it can easily get mowed down. 

Her Healing Orb is also helpful on the Defender side since she and her low-health teammate can easily peek each other from opposite bomb sites. Say you’re playing Sage on B, and your teammate gets tagged on A. Both of you can peek each other through CT Spawn with ease.