Valorant Best Agents For Each Map

Updated: 14 Oct 2021 6:31 pm
Valorant Best Agents For Each Map
Who should you pick?
santibarron's picture BY: Santiago Barron


Valorant Best Agents For Each Map

With new updates coming out regularly, the meta in VALORANT is constantly shifting, and knowing what agents are best for each map can be very hard, especially for newer players. However if you gather enough data, analyze pick rates, win rates and professional players’ opinions, some conclusions can be drawn. At Gamers Decide, that’s exactly what we’ve done and this article will break all this information down. Do note, however, that because Fracture is such a new map, not enough data exists to know for certain which agents are best for said map.

1. Haven

Haven is the only map so far to feature 3 sites. Because of this, attackers have a lot of room to attack from different sides, all while the C to A rotation for defenders is rather long. This means that having good stalling utility on the defender side to prevent pushes like Sage’s wall in mid can really pay off. Also, keep in mind that versatile smokes like Omen’s or Astra’s are basically a must on this map, as some sites can be practically impossible to enter without them.

    Top 5 Best Agents for Haven

Killjoy: One of the strongest agents in the current meta. Because it’s so easy to flank on Haven, having her utility to stop flankers and lurkers is a must. Also, she can easily stop pushes on any site with her swarm grenades and turret.

Raze: Her damaging abilities are useful for clearing out areas behind boxes. Also, thanks to her blast packs, Raze can be on a site in a matter of seconds. This can counter sentinel’s utility, allowing for clean entries on the site.

Sova: Truth be told, with lineups, Sova is a no brainer on any map. With the ability to kill enemies without even being in danger as well as clearing out angles for your team to enter a site, Sova is a super strong pick.

Astra: Astra is probably the best controller on this map, followed by Omen. The reason Astra is a bit stronger is because she is a much better lurker than Omen, since she doesn’t have a flash. On top of that, her abilities are more useful for locking down sites than Omen’s.

Sage: Haven is one of the maps in ranked that Sage is almost always a must pick. Her ability to close off middle is extremely useful and gives players on the defending side a lot of freedom by being able to let go of mid. Despite that, as you climb the ranks, you may realize she is not as valuable as people make her to be, though she is still very strong.

Split

Split is a map that heavily benefits from agents that can stall full rushes. This is because mid is extremely vulnerable for the defenders, and once the attackers gain control of it, it can be near-impossible to win the round. Because of this, good sight denial is a must on attack and good rush denial is a must on defense.

Top 5 Best Agents for Split

Sage: This is no surprise. If you’ve played the game for a while you know that having a Sage to close off mid at the beginning of a round is super important. Even if your enemies break it, you still have 2 slows to buy time for your team to come help you.

Astra: Having up to 5 smokes is good on any map, but with good communication, Astra can give her teammates free kills from anywhere on the map. Especially on Split, where there are many tight corridors for enemies to walk over your stars. Astra brings an insane amount of value, which easily puts her among the top 5.

Skye: Her flashes are crazy good for entering a site on this map because she can throw them above walls and flash every enemy on a site. Also, she can easily regain mid control on the defender side with a good flash. 

Jett: It’s common knowledge that Jett is the best opper in the game. It’s also a fact that Split greatly benefits oppers, by offering positions where players have great angles because of height advantage. For this reason, putting Jett with an Operator on Split is a really smart idea for getting easy frags!

Killjoy: On the defender side, her utility is incredibly useful on any site. Whether it's B or A, there are setups that can get you easy kills, either with your swarm grenades or by re-fragging your turret. Her ultimate is also extremely powerful for taking and retaking sites, which makes her one of the strongest picks on this map.    

Bind

Bind is a really small map and it’s special for a few reasons. Firstly, it has the teleporters, which can really spice rounds up, and allows for making plays you normally wouldn’t be able to do. Secondly, it doesn’t really have a “mid lane” per se; both middle lanes play more like “short lanes” normally would on other maps. Those two characteristics of Bind make the agent meta a bit different.

Top 5 Best Agents for Bind

Brimstone: Brimstone isn’t really all that strong of a controller on most maps, but Bind isn’t most maps. Because of how small Bind is, Brimstone’s smokes are useful from practically anywhere. Also, his molotovs can be thrown through the A portal to stop pushes on hookah. In pro play, he is usually played alongside Viper, but alone he is still extremely strong.

Viper: Viper’s toxic screen on Bind is an invaluable asset for pushing sites, whether it’s A or B. The fact that she can completely block off lamps, CT, and heaven with just one ability is already crazy enough, but she also has lineups for post-plant situations that make her even stronger.

Sova: As said before, Sova is extremely strong, but he shines even more on Bind. Because of the size of the map, there are lineups for shock darts and recon bolts that can quickly land wherever you want, from wherever you want.

Killjoy: If you’ve played Bind against a Killjoy, you know how annoying it is trying to sneakily enter B and having her turret immediately shoot you. Getting information on this map with Killjoy is super easy, and she can also stop pushes with her swarm grenades.

Raze: On this map, having the ability to swiftly enter a site without ever being in danger is extremely powerful (for example using your blast packs from A short to land in lamps without being in danger from A tower). Because of this, Raze is one of the most picked agents on this map in pro play and has a really high win rate. If you know how to air strafe with this character, you should definitely use her.

Ascent

This map has a big open area in the middle, which is usually highly contested. With exceptions, the team to fully secure mid control has a huge advantage. Also, both sites feature an entrance that is easy for attackers to get to (A main and B main), and one that is more dangerous (A link and market). Finally, the entrances to the sites are rather small choke points that can be abused by agents with crowd control abilities.

Top 5 Best Agents for Ascent

Killjoy: So far, Killjoy has been a top pick for every map on this list and Ascent is no exception. Her swarm grenades can easily net you kills in post-plant situations and on the defender side. To make matters better for her, her turret can easily get you frags and make enemies fear entering the site you’re holding.

Astra: All her abilities are perfect for this map. She has so many smokes available that she can allow her team to take control of mid and still have smokes for entering a site on the attacker side. For the defenders, her supportive abilities are extremely abusable because of the small choke points.

Sage: This agent can buy your team so much time to rotate that it makes her extremely strong. Because of her barrier and slows, she is useful for preventing enemy pushes on any position: A site, mid or B site.

Sova: If you know double shock dart lineups with this character you can wreak havoc on the enemies. Couple this with Astra’s gravity well and you could get free kills every now and then to let you win easy rounds.

Jett: Because of how contested the middle area of this map is, it’s very dangerous to peek your opponents. Thankfully, if things go wrong, Jett can dash away to safety. In other words, the reason this agent is so strong on this map is because her ability to dash makes it so you can put a lot of pressure on middle and hardly ever be in harm’s way.

Icebox

Icebox is one of the biggest maps in the game and has the most verticality ever seen on VALORANT. The size of this map means that it takes an eternity to rotate from A to B and the verticality means that enemies can peek you from very awkward angles. Icebox is also very open, and entering a site can be rather difficult because of the sheer amount of angles you can be shot from.

Top 5 Best Agents for Icebox

Viper: Right of the bat, it’s safe to say Viper is usually a must-pick on this map. Because there are so many angles to be shot from, a sight-blocking ability like her toxic screen is invaluable, as it can block off multiple angles at once. On top of that, her lineups on this map are some of the most useful, because she can execute them from very far away.

Skye: She is one of the only agents that can throw her flashes in the air. Because of this, she can throw them high enough so that every enemy in a site gets flashed. On the other hand, other initiators like Breach can only pop their flashes low, which, because of the number of boxes and walls there are on Icebox, means that the flashes are super easy to avoid. Because of this, Skye’s flash is super strong on this map.

Sage: Her barrier is an extremely valuable ability to have on Icebox. Usually, it’s used to block off tube, which is extremely useful to prevent enemies from getting access to CT, kitchen, and B site. Keep in mind, though, that this ability can be used on other parts of the map too, and overall it provides enough value to be put on this list.

Jett: Because of how vertical Icebox is, Jett takes advantage of that and can quickly reposition from one awkward angle to another. This synergizes very well with how Icebox is designed and she can provide a lot of value from just getting frags.

Raze: All of Raze’s abilities are super optimized for Icebox. Her grenade can be used on choke points to get free chip damage and her boom bot can get info to know when to rotate. However, most importantly for Icebox, she can travel insanely long distances and rotate very fast in a very short amount of time. 

Breeze

Like Icebox, Breeze is also an extremely big map, but different in a few aspects. Firstly, it’s much more open than Icebox, with the sites having a lot of space to roam and multiple angles to hold and be shot from. Secondly, it has less verticality than Icebox, meaning that despite there being more angles to be shot from, it’s usually easier to enter sites here than on Icebox.

Top 5 Best Agents for Breeze

Viper: For the same reasons as Icebox, Viper is extremely powerful on Breeze. Her toxic screen covers multiple angles at once and her lineups on this map are out of this world, as she can win rounds from extremely safe positions in post-plant situations. Bear in mind though, that other controllers aside from Viper like Astra are also viable on Breeze.

Skye: Aside from her extremely strong flashes, her tiger can gather early-round information that’s vital for knowing when to start pushing or rotating. It’s important to gather this information as early as possible because rotating on this map can take a while.

Sage: Because of how slow rotations can be on Breeze, having a Sage (the best staller in the game) truly makes a difference. She can slow enemy pushes until the rest of her teammates arrive, which instantly makes her an extremely powerful choice on Breeze.

Killjoy: One of the main reasons Killjoy is on this list, is her versatility when it comes to setups. She can set her abilities to stop pushes and get kills on B, or she can put her utility on A hall to prevent lurks. The possibilities are endless with Killjoy and it’s because of that she’s earned this place on the list.

Sova: Because of how big sites are, enemies can be anywhere. However, thanks to Sova, you can spot opponents or narrow down where they can be, which makes him great at pushes and retakes. On top of that, his damaging abilities are extremely useful for post-plant situations and make him a top pick for this map.

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Santiago Barron
I've been visiting digital worlds since my youth, researched countless tomes and practiced for hours upon hours... But I'm still bad at League of Legends
Gamer Since: 2006
Favorite Genre: Pro-gaming
Currently Playing: VALORANT
Top 3 Favorite Games:Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Borderlands 2, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare