Agent Roles

VALORANT is the first first-person shooter multiplayer game that combines the concepts that cover the basics of FPS games, fundamentals of teamplay, and a popular graphical theme with the concept of pre-defined roles.

To explain in simple terms, VALORANT has four agent roles or classes - Duelists, Controllers, Initiators, and Sentinels. Each role has a list of Agents under them that have abilities that justify classifying them under the same umbrella.

The competitive, ranked and casual VALORANT scene has thus, evolved to have players who either are masters in a specific role or some specific agents. Let us explore what each role entails.

VALORANT agent roles

Duelist role

The official in-game description for the Duelist role is: "Duelists are self-sufficient fraggers who their team expects, through abilities and skills, to get high frags and seek out engagements first."

Basically, Duelists are agents that look for duels and can take favorable ones based on the abilities they possess. Also, they regain or gain the function of using their signature ability after every two kills taken in the round. In layman's terms, their signature abilities will get recharged depending on getting kills rather than being based on a time cooldown.

Phoenix was the first Duelist to be recruited by the VALORANT Protocol. There are currently six Duelists in the game - Jett, Phoenix, Reyna, Raze, Yoru and Neon. The commonality for Duelists lies in the fact that every agent's signature ability helps in prolonging their viability to take duels on the map.

In the competitive VALORANT scene, Duelists are responsible for being the "entry" during executes or taking initial fights. Also, the Duelists role is charged with the duty of creating space. Due to the aggressive or active nature of Duelists, they usually have a high ACS in games.

Controller role

The official description for Controllers entails: "Controllers are experts in slicing up dangerous territory to set their team up for success."

Controllers possess abilities that help them control areas on the map. Also, their abilities are mostly about control - controlling and denying the vision of the opposition. There are currently five agents listed under Controllers, with Brimstone, Viper, and Omen present from the beta version itself. Astra and Harbor have since been added, with the new entrants having a different way of controlling areas and vision on the map.

Brimstone and Viper are unique in the sense that they are the only controllers that have damage-dealing abilities. One thing common with all the Controller agents though, will be the fact that their signature abilities all help in blocking vision in a certain way.

However, a lot of people wonder what role is Harbor in VALORANT? Many have opined that Harbor is better suited as a hybrid between Controllers and Initiators. Harbor is a Controller by default and fits the criteria because he possesses the signature ability to obstruct vision or control vision on the map.

Initiator role

"Initiators challenge angles by setting up their team to enter contested ground and push defenders away." - the official description of the Initiator role.

As the description states, Initiators have the abilities to set up their teammates to either take fights or capture some area or gain information. Basically, Initiators have the ability to initiate, be it the capture of an area, a contest with the opposition or even the intent to find information on the map.

The current VALORANT scenario has five agents listed under the Initiators class. The common ground with all Initiators is that their signature ability enables the agent to find information about opposition or helps the team find an easier engagement in a certain area.

While Sova and Fade's signature abilities are purely for information, KAY/O's does the same job along with preventing the enemies from using any abilities for a certain period of time. On the other hand, Breach and Skye help in taking an advantageous fight with the help of the Stun and Flash respectively. However, Skye's signature ability is unique in the fact that the voice cues associated with the flash also help in finding information or clearing an area.

Sentinel role

Coming to the agent role with the least number of agents currently listed under it, with just 4 agents part of the VALORANT scenario right now, the official description defines the Sentinel role as "defensive experts who can lock down areas and watch flanks, both on attacker and defender rounds."

Again, to simply explain the official description, Sentinel agents are tasked with protecting a certain area on the map and also to detect and/or deny flanks from enemies during the round. Sentinels are often seen as the best agents to anchor map sites, with their abilities suited to detecting the entry of enemies towards the area, weakening them, doing chip damage or possibly even revealing and trapping them in their kit.

Only Killjoy, Cypher, Sage and Chamber are listed under the Sentinel role. Every Sentinel has a signature ability that helps in detecting, preventing, slowing down enemies and dealing chip damage to them at chokepoints on a map.

However, Chamber's role in VALORANT is a bit of a contentious thing. Chamber is often used competitively as a duelist because their signature ability helps in taking high percentage duels with an escape option ready at hand. But, the fact that it also enables Chamber to act as an effective anchor along with the fact that the agent has traps to detect and slow down enemies does justify being classified under the Sentinel class.

Commonly asked questions about all roles in VALORANT

What role is Harbor in VALORANT?

As explained above, Harbor is a Controller, despite the frequent confusion and assumption that he is an Initiator.

What role is Fade in VALORANT?

Fade is a direct competitor to Sova in the Initiator class. She is categorized as a "revealer" Initiator, possessing the enemy marking ability "Haunt," which is an answer to Sova's "Recon Bolt." She also has two "Prowlers" that allow her to check corners and track down enemies.

What is the hardest role in VALORANT?

There is no such thing as the hardest role. Each character role can be difficult and demands some practice to perfect. Some may argue that Duelists are the most difficult due to the requirement of getting first kills. Others may argue that Initiators and Sentinels are the hardest as they typically require learning lineups and setups for their utility. All in all, there is no one answer.

What is the most important role in VALORANT?

Much like the hardest role, the answer to this question is rather difficult and it's fair to say that there isn't a role that is the most important. Rather, players should focus on Agents themselves and how to use their utility efficiently.