Those who have yet to find their suitable roles in Valorant will be sure to lose until they can definitively right the ship. With an open mind and a drive to get better, here’s how to find your main role in Valorant.
Trying to figure out which role is best for you to play in Valorant can be a time-consuming task. For players who manage to find their preferred role, they can work towards gradually improving themselves to then climb atop the solo-queue ladder.
However, once you figure out which role is best for you to play in Valorant, that’s only half the task – you’ll need to take into account the daunting decision of which agent you should play as well.
Duelist
Starting off with the most recognizable role in the game, Duelists are premeditated on quick movements and thinking. As Riot Games explains in their description of the role, duelists are “self-sufficient fraggers who their team expects, through abilities and skills, to get high frags and seek out engagements first.”
Players with excellent reaction times, sharp aim, and an aggressive manner of playing usually perform as their team’s Duelist. Whether they’re interlocked in complex situations such as retaking a base or scouting the map without knowing where the enemy is located, Duelists are relied upon as the first line of attack, so for anyone that prefers to play fast and brash, this is the perfect role for you. The agents whose roles are Duelists include Phoenix, Reyna, Jett, Raze, and Yoru.
Initiator
Considered as one of the most versatile roles in the game, Initiators, as said by Riot, generally “challenge angles by setting up their team to enter contested ground and push defenders away.” Through their distinct ability set such as stuns and flashes, they can help their team advance without major hindrance on the map, thereby acting as a support for Duelists.
Additionally, Initiators have the propensity to shine individually when given the chance. For example, they can wipe out their adversaries through their moves, making them a vital all-around asset for teams. For players looking to try their hand on every trace of the game both in offense and defense, Initiators is the way to go. Agents classified under this role include Sova, Breach, Skye, and KAY/O.
Controller
Don’t you hate it whenever you push in a map and your vision suddenly gets blocked while moving ahead, thus making you an easy target for the enemy? That’s essentially the job that Controllers entail. Tasked with “slicing up dangerous territory to set their team up for success,” Controllers are most effective as a utility-oriented role that takes a backseat relative to Duelists and Initiators.
As Controllers work with blocking vision, their importance affects both offense and defense in matches. They can control the pace of the game according to their abilities without being in the spotlight, so for people who prefer to play with utility instead of attacking enemies upfront, Controllers are the ideal role to use. Controllers in the game include Brimstone, Viper, Omen, and Astra.
Sentinel
Last up in the list is the Sentinel, who are “defensive experts [that] lockdown areas and watch flanks, both on attack and defender rounds.” Sentinels are primarily defensive agents as their abilities are most effective in holding sites, but they occasionally deliver big on offense also by assisting teammates throughout the map.
Reviving teammates, gathering information, watching flanks, laying traps, and going slower compared to the rest of the team. These are all aspects Sentinels cover in the game, so for those wanting to play slow while managing a myriad of factors while in-game, this is the right role for you. The recognizable sentinels found in Valorant include Sage, Cypher, and Killjoy.