Sage

VALORANT’s agent Sage is a supporting Sentinel built to heal allies, slow enemies, and change the tide of a battle before you can blink. But this former monk isn’t as delicate as she may seem – Sage can be surprisingly aggressive when played like a pro on a Battle Sage strat.

Any way you slice it, Sage will deliver the goods and then some. As one of the ten original agents released with VALORANT’s beta, she’s been a top choice for beginners and pros alike since day one.

"I will soothe this turmoil. With fire if I must." Wei Ling “Sage” Ying

Lore

Before she was Sage, VALORANT Protocol’s seventh agent, Wei Ling Ying was a Radiant monk from the Shaanxi province in China. We know little about her pre-VALORANT life, though it’s suspected that she studied for a great deal of time at an unknown monastery in China, learning to balance her temperament and hone her powers.

Sage carries herself with a wisdom typically reserved for those far older than she is. Combined with her compassionate, motherly ways, the value she holds for others’ lives and teamwork, and her natural leadership skills, this led her to rise quickly through the VP’s ranks.

Since joining VALORANT, she has become Brimstone’s unofficial “second in command”, and is an integral part of training new recruits.

She considers it her duty to use the “gift” of her powers to heal everyone she can, though some of her fellow agents question the altruistic benevolence of her powers – namely Omen, who ominously mentions she “upsets the balance” and goes against the natural order of things.

While we’re not clear on any direct or dire consequences of Sage’s abilities, Omen isn’t the only one worried about them. Fade and Viper have both also expressed concern.

Sage’s powers are linked to the Earth itself, and channelled through the crystallized radianite orbs she carries with her, though they seem to be a way for her to control her power, rather than the source of it.

“The stronghold of China, Sage creates safety for herself and her team wherever she goes. Able to revive fallen friends and stave off aggressive pushes, she provides a calm center to a hellish fight.” Riot’s official description of Sage

FAQs

Where is Sage from?

Sage hails from the Shaanxi province in China.

How old is Sage?

Official VALORANT sources cite Sage’s age as between 25 and 30 years old.

Is Sage any good?

If your VALORANT play style is more defensive than aggressive, then Sage is a winning choice for your next match. From slowing enemies to healing and reviving allies, she’s definitely more about support, but savvy players can also get creative and deadly with her Barrier Orb ability, and open up some insane off-angles (Grim, anyone?).

What does Sage do in VALORANT?

As a Sentinel, Sage locks down areas and guards flanks with her control-based abilities. She can slow enemies, throw up protective walls, heal herself and her allies, and even revive killed allies with her Ultimate. She can change game pace in a split second, and plays best strategically, not on the front lines.

How much does Sage heal?

Sage can heal herself for a total of 30 HP in 10 seconds, and her allies for 100 HP in 5 seconds with her Healing Orb ability.

Is the Pocket Sage Buddy rare?

The Pocket Sage Buddy is one of VALORANT’s rarest gun buddies, yes.

Riot released it as a free, limited-edition gun buddy to celebrate their partnership with Xbox Game Pass.

Players could only get the Pocket Sage Buddy before Jan 1, 2023, after linking their Xbox Live and Riot Games accounts.

What is Sage’s unique skin?

Every VALORANT agent has a custom gun skin. For Sage, that skin is the Final Chamber. An elegantly detailed Classic sidearm, this skin embodies everything about Sage and looks like something she carved out of her Jade-colored radianite spheres.

Is Sage being nerfed?

In December 2022, Sage was hit by a fairly heavy nerf that halved the strength of her self-healing. Since it also increased how much she heals allies from 60 to 100 HP, many called this the “end of Battle Sage” (but we’re fairly certain the likes of Grim would disagree!).

Gamer’s Guide

Ready to learn how to play Sage like a pro?

Before we take a look at the tips and tricks for some epic Sage plays, here’s a quick rundown of her reality-defying abilities…

Sage abilities

Here are all of Sage’s abilities, their official descriptions, and key stats. Armed with these, you’ll be well on your way to being the best Sage any team could ask for.

E – Healing Orb

EQUIP a healing orb. FIRE with your crosshairs over a damaged ally to activate a heal-over-time on them. ALT FIRE while Sage is damaged to activate a self heal-over-time.

• Ability type: Signature
• Cast time: 0.5 seconds
• Duration: 10 seconds (self-heal), 5 seconds (ally-heal)
• Self-heal: 3 HP per second (30 HP over 10 seconds)
• Ally-heal: 20 HP per second (100 HP over 5 seconds)
• Cost: Free
• Cooldown: 45 seconds
• Max charges: 1

Q – Slow Orb

EQUIP a slowing orb. FIRE to throw a slowing orb forward that detonates upon landing, creating a lingering field that slows players caught inside of it.

• Ability type: Basic
• Cast time: 0.5 seconds
• Duration: 7 seconds
• Debuff: 50% slow
• Cost: 200 creds
• Max charges: 2

C – Barrier Orb

EQUIP a barrier orb. FIRE places a solid wall. ALT FIRE rotates the targeter.

• Ability type: Basic
• Cast time: 1.35 seconds
• Max wall length: 10 meters
• Health: 400HP (initial) – 800HP (max)
• Max duration: 40 seconds
• Decay after: 35 seconds
• Cost: 400 creds
• Max charges: 1

X – Ressurection

EQUIP a resurrection ability. FIRE with your crosshairs placed over a dead ally to begin resurrecting them. After a brief channel, the ally will be brought back to life with full health.

• Ability type: Ultimate
• Cast time: 2 seconds
• Revive duration: 1.3 seconds
• Ultimate cost: 8

How to play Sage

Be patient

The last thing you want to do is utility dump when playing Sage. She’s a Sentinel who succeeds best when played patiently.

Wait until you’re certain your enemies are committing or that it’s the right time before using your abilities. And no, that doesn’t mean “hold onto your Resurrection or Healing Orb for so long that you don’t ever use it” – what we mean is get used to finding the perfect timing.

Always be healing

Between her Healing Orb and Ult, Sage can turn the tides of a match in a heartbeat when played well. She can be the key to an unexpected underdog-type victory, but chances are that’s only going to happen if you’re focused on healing rather than killing.

Yes, this is VALORANT. Yes, fragging enemies is what we’re here to do. But Sage is a healer, and a dead healer is a useless healer, so you want to cut back on the risks you take (especially if your team is depending on you to heal them).

Sage isn’t a solo act, so stay close to your team and support them. The only possible exception to this is if you…

Go Battle Sage

There’s more to Sage than just healing (even though we literally just told you to focus on that).

Yes, she’s built to keep her team alive, but you can play her as an unbelievable agent of destruction if you use your other abilities right. We’re talking, of course, about Barrier Orb.

Sure, it’s part of her supportive kit, but this ability’s ability to control a map and shield your team is only scratching at its potential.

Hardcore Battle Sage players like Grim have learned to play this Sentinel super aggressively, by using their Barrier Orbs to create unique off-angles that score them a godlike kill rate. It takes practice, but when you get used to casting Barrier Orb at your feet and the angles it can give you, you’ll be doing your best evil laugh all day long.

Your enemies will hate you, we promise.

Healing Orb tips

Sage’s heal works best when you’re sure it’s safe to use it. Since she puts her weapon away to heal, this ability leaves you open to attack if you’re not careful.

Thankfully, Healing Orb has a decent range so you can support your team and stay out of enemy crosshairs.

You can play this ability selfishly and use it to support an aggressive Battle Sage style strategy, but it’s definitely best suited for defensive, supportive strategies where you’re far from the frontline.

Slow Orb tips

Sage’s Slow Orbs are a great way to cut off flanks and control enemy movements, which is super helpful if your team is retreating from a site.

Use Slow Orb to hold back enemy pushes on defense, or upset their retake attempts on attack. On attack, use it on commonly defended areas, or to delay enemy retakes.

This ability is also a great way to choke up common peek angles and stop your enemies from swinging and scoring headshots.

Be wary though, Sage’s slow will affect her and your allies, so you’ve got to use it wisely and communicate clearly with your team about its placement.

Lastly, get creative in how you use this one – Slow Orbs ricochet off walls, so you can make some epic plays with this ability if you know your maps like a cartographer.

Barrier Orb tips

If you’re playing Sage like a true Sentinel, her Barrier Orb ability is absolutely ace for covering your flank. Enemies will have to shoot through the wall, and so abandon the element of surprise they were counting on.

Sage walls are also great ways to block lanes and sightlines. You can cast them at the start of rounds and funnel enemies into a path that suits your team’s strategy, separate the enemy team, or block off common sniper spots and make life difficult for pesky Op players.

On attack, Barrier Orb is perfect for cutting off angles when your team is executing a site, helping you to plant the spike, and giving you much-needed time to heal or revive your allies.

It’s dead handy whether you’re planting or defusing the spike, so unless you’re going full Battle Sage mode, it’s probably best to save your wall for near the end of a round.

On defense, you’re doing your team a disservice if your walls aren’t guiding your team while retaking, or delaying enemy pushes.

Resurrection tips

Sage’s Ult is one of those rare abilities that instantly makes her life worth more than pretty much any other agent. No one else can revive a downed teammate – Phoenix’s Run It Back doesn’t even come close!

The trick to Resurrection is finding the sweet spot for when to use it. Dying without using it is such a tragic waste, especially when it has the ability to turn a 1 vs. 1 into a 2 vs. 1 and win you that clutch.

Bottom line: you can’t be afraid to use Resurrection. Just be sure it feels like the right time. If you’re waiting for the “perfect moment”, you probably already missed it. Sage’s Ult is here to help you win rounds and gain a numbers advantage on your enemy.

When you do use Resurrection, be sure you’re somewhere safe – reviving an ally in the middle of heavy gunfire will only get them killed again fast and amount to another wasted Ultimate.

Plan for the lengthy revive animation and make sure your soon-to-be-alive ally won’t get insta-killed. If the area isn’t secure, throw up a Barrier and make it safe.

Countering Sage

Sage can be a tough cookie to counter, but not impossible – all it takes is a frag to the face.

Focus on taking the enemy Sage down ASAP.

Use recon agents like Cypher or Sova to keep an eye on her movements and set up the likes of Jett, Neon, or Yoru to blitz past her defenses and take that Sage out. A solid Op player usually plays well against any enemy Sage.