Every Valorant role explained

As with almost every modern competitive FPS game, players are given certain roles they’re expected to fulfill. While it isn’t exactly forced on you when it comes to Valorant unlike Overwatch 2’s role queue, that doesn’t mean the agents don’t have roles they’re best suited for.

Today, we’re here to go through all of the roles that are present in Valorant. By diving deep into all four roles in Valorant we hope to help you guys understand what every agent is best used for and how you can construct a good strategy to take the enemy out and win every single match.

So, without further ado, here’s every Valorant role explained. Naturally, it’s better to hire a professional coach from Eloking to show you the ropes if you’re still having confusions. You can even use the code “BoostToday” to get a 20% discount.

How many roles are there in Valorant

There are four roles in Valorant, all with unique tasks and responsibilities that set them apart. These roles are Duelist, Sentinel, Initiator, and Controller. While each character’s base gameplay is the same, what makes them unique is their abilities, which focus on each type. Usually, a good team tries to have at least one of each.

What does each Valorant role do?

Duelist

Firstly, we have Duelists. They’re the team’s offense, who focus on playing as aggressively as possible and pushing opponents. Duelists often get the first picks due to their abilities being more aggressive-friendly.

Duelists are also the most independent characters in the game, meaning they can play alone since their only responsibility is getting kills instead of being a supporting player. Their skills let them easily damage opponents and have mobility so they can get in and out of situations.

So far, the only Duelists in Valorant are:

• Phoenix
• Jett
• Reyna
• Raze
• Yoru
• Neon
• Iso

The easiest Duelist is Phoenix because his kit lets him heal himself and make simple walls and flashes.

Sentinel

Next, we’ve got Sentinels. They’re the opposite of Duelists, and their main job is playing defensively. These guys focus on supporting the team or stopping enemy pushes using their abilities.

Sentinels have a more passive playstyle, where they usually support the backlines and assist their team in any way they can. If they’re in the defense team, their main job is making sites a fortress and stalling opponents so that their team can rotate as quickly as possible. In the attacking team, they’re the team’s first defense against flankers.

At the moment, the only Sentinels in Valorant are:

• Chamber
• Cypher
• Deadlock
• Killjoy
• Sage

Players consider Sage the easiest Sentinel to play because her abilities allow her to heal herself and her teammates and slow down enemy pushes.

Initiator

Initiators are the ones who set up a play for their team. Their kit has abilities that they can use to either make the enemy team easy to kill or gather information regarding their whereabouts and setups.

Their kits usually involve cameras, darts, or drones, which can check whether an area is empty and safe to push or if enemies are nearby. Their kits also usually have flashes to help their team push or to stop the enemies from pushing. Unlike Duelists or Sentinels, which are more active or passive roles, Initiators are more flexible and can play in whatever way they think is right.

As of writing this, the Initiators in Valorant are:

• Breach
• Fade
• Gekko
• KAY/O
• Skye
• Sova

Valorant players recommend starters to play Breach because, unlike Initiators, he can daze and flash enemies through walls.

Controller

Finally, we have Controller, arguably the toughest role in Valorant. These guys specialize in smoking off areas, blocking the enemy team’s line of vision, and creating a safe space for your team.

They’re tough to play because bad smokes can be a liability that can give the opponents an advantage and screw your team over. Like Sentinels, these guys usually play more passively and help their team from afar and away from the action. People consider Controllers as the team’s leader because a team’s movement and strategy depend on their smokes.

Currently, these are the only Controllers in Valorant:

• Astra
• Brimstone
• Clove
• Harbor
• Omen
• Viper

While all Controllers are hard, Brimstone is often what new players play because his smoke ability doesn’t keep him wide open, and his other ones are easy to grasp.

FAQs

Will there be more roles in Valorant?

We highly doubt Valorant will get any new official roles, especially since these four roles have been in the game since its inception. While adding new agents is fine as it doesn’t change the game too much, adding an entirely new role would force players to have to relearn entire strategies.

Do other games have roles too?

As we mentioned above, many modern competitive games have roles. These roles can be pre-determined like in League of Legends and Overwatch 2 or they can be chosen on the go like with CS2