Not all of the agents in VALORANT are equally loved. Let’s take a look at who the most underrated Agents are in VALORANT.
VALORANT is a hero-based tactical competitive shooter. The heroes are called Agents. Each of the Agents has distinct abilities and utilities to use. Moreover, all of them are classified into four categories, each playing a unique role in the game.
Since its release, developer Riot Games has constantly provided patch updates with changes to Agent abilities and in-game features. Therefore, the game meta also keeps changing. In addition to that, Riot also continued to introduce new agents with more versatile abilities. So, the Agent’s pick list in VALORANT never remains constant.
However, some agents are favorable to newcomers, while others possess abilities that are more fun to play. Naturally, players tend to choose those Agents more, while other Agents get overshadowed. These underrated agents may have a higher skill ceiling to learn or were not proven to be that impactful in the past. However, they can be strong performers too!
In this article, we are going to explore the most underrated Agents in VALORANT who can win you matches if played the right way.
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How Many Agents are There in VALORANT?
VALORANT is currently on Episode 7. Right now, the game has 23 Agents. Among the agents are 5 Controllers, 7 Dualists, 5 Initiators, and 5 Sentinels.
Most Underrated Agents in VALORANT
Here is a list of 5 VALORANT Agents we believe to be the most underrated in VALORANT. This list is based on the current meta, player preferences, and patch changes.
1. Yoru
Yoru is probably the most popular agent in the ‘Underrated’ category. Despite the ability to rift through portals, Yoru’s pick rate was always on the lower side. Riot has buffed the agent’s ability a number of times to make the agent viable for players to pick.
Yoru’s abilities, if used correctly, can win you crucial matches. His Fakeout clones are very hard to distinguish. Additionally, it flashes enemies in a way that is very tough to avoid. Yoru’s flash ability, Blindside, is arguably the best flash in the game. Recent pro plays VOD from Tyson “TenZ” Ngo has proved that by learning proper lineups for Yoru’s Gatecrash and combining with Blindside, you can easily catch opponents off guard almost always.
The most important buff Yoru got was his ultimate Dimensional Drift. You are literally undetected from enemies’ radar while in ultimate form. Moreover, you can simultaneously use other abilities and go behind enemy lines to surprise them.
Among all the Duelist agents right now, Yoru has the lowest pick rate. But possessing one of the strongest abilities in the game, Yoru has the potential to be one of the best Agents in VALORANT.
2. Breach
Breach, a Swedish ex-mercenary equipped with artificial arms, is an Initiator Agent in VALORANT. Even though this agent is recently being picked by in pro games, the casual and ranked scene portrays the opposite. The main reason might be because his utilities while being quite powerful, depend highly on team play to get impactful outputs.
Breach’s Flashpoint is probably the most annoying flash currently in-game. Unlike Skye’s Guiding Light, his flashes do not depend on time. Even though these flashes can be seen and possible to dodge with proper timing, if hit, they blind enemies for two long seconds. His other ability, Aftershock, can clear corners that are hard to check that too from far angles.
The strongest kit in Breach’s skillset is his ultimate Rolling Thunder. It can stun enemies covering a large portion of the area and, for some maps, the whole site. This ability can also be used to delay a player while planting or defusing the spikes.
Despite boasting a very destructive utility kit, Breach is often neglected in Ranked games. In competitive, most of the players queue in solo or duo parties. As said before, the perfect use of Breach as an Initiator depends highly on team synchronization. So, with proper team play, Breach can be as impactful as any agent.
3. Astra
Astra is the fourth Controller Agent added in VALORANT. She is a member of the Astral Guardians who harnesses the power of the cosmos to reshape the battlefield in her own way. Compared to other Agents in the same role, Astra is a slow-paced Agent. She can not teleport like Omen nor possess damage abilities like Brimstone. However, her kit gives an upper hand on the defense side.
Like all other Agents, Astra also has four abilities. But what defies her uniqueness is her being able to decide what her stars are for. For example, Omen can only flash once in a single round. But depending on the star count, Astra can use any of her abilities.
Astra can control choke points with her Nebula or Gravity Well. A well-planned Nova Pulse can disrupt enemy positions and make space for your entry fraggers. Gravity Well also can be used to delay spike defusing. The was exploited in such a way that Riot eventually had to nerf that. She also received a buff on patch 7.05, where she could hear her surroundings even in Astral Form.
Finally, let’s talk about how her ultimate Cosmic Divide can break the map into two. The wall comes in clutch when the team is in a dire situation and needs to take a round badly. Even in save rounds, the wall can make a huge difference.
Astra is a witty Agent to play. While her abilities do not allow her to move very fast, her map overall map control compensates for it. With her defensive kits, she is better suited for composed players. In short, Astra can just be the perfect controller with proper strategy and patience.
4. Cypher
Cypher, the Moroccan information broker of VALORANT, once was the king of Sentinels. His powerful abilities can keep the whole map under surveillance regardless of his positioning. His thorn was taken during the Chamber meta. After Riot nerfed Chamber, the German engineer Killjoy took the place.
Playing Cypher requires a bit of patience and practice. However, once mastered, Cypher becomes insanely useful on both sides. Rushing against his Trapwire can be a nuisance, while on the attacking side, these pair of traps help him check on the flanks. He can also set his Spycam in unorthodox spots and become the team’s guardian angel. That’s not all. Taking a fight against Cypher can be frustrating as his Cyber Cage provides enough cover to make witty plays.
Cypher’s ultimate Neural Theft only consumes 6 orbs and is literally a wallhack. Neural Theft exposes all alive enemies’ locations twice in a round. It can provide you with crucial information to win the round.
The main reason Cypher is being overlooked is the ongoing Killjoy meta. Killjoy might be the strongest Sentinel in the game right now, but Cypher is not that far behind. What gives him the advantage is that his utilities do not depend on the agent’s distance. Cypher can place his traps and play freely anywhere on the map, which Killjoy is unable to do. With a little bit of thoughtfulness and sly gameplay, Cypher can be a formidable Sentinel.
5. Fade
Fade unleashes the power of nightmares to hunt his enemies. She is a Turkish Initiator Agent. Judging by playstyle, Fade resembles another Initiator, Sova. She is the only Agent after Sova who can recon a site to reveal the enemies’ positions. Nonetheless, as Sova has been in the game the longest, people still prefer Sova over Fade.
Fade’s abilities can be considered as a combination of Sova and Skye. Just like Sova’s Recon Dart, Fade uses the Haunt that shows enemies’ locations inside its line of sight. Her Prowler is a weaker version of Skye’s ultimate Seeker. Prowler can be maneuvered manually and has a lower health. But they are pretty useful to check corners and break Cypher’s Trapwire. Her unique ability, Seize, holds down enemies and can be combined with damage utilities like Raze’s Paint Shells or Viper’s Snake Bite.
It is true that Fade’s ultimate may slightly be on the weaker side, but it is nowhere to be overlooked. Nightfall covers a large area, just like Breaches Rolling Thunder. Those who are hit by Nightfall get deafened and decay for a limited time. Additionally, it sets a path towards the enemy that Prowlers can seek.
Though Fade is quite like Sova, the Russian hunter often overshadows her. But Fade can outrun Sova in faster gameplays. While Sova’s Recon Darts are almost unmatched utility right now, it require practice and memorized lineups to use properly, which can often be difficult for players. On the other hand, Fade is useful for fast-paced plays with her Prowlers and Hunt. These fast-paced abilities make her more viable in 1v1 fights than other agents.
So, Fade can be a perfect choice for those who like to recon sites and check corners for teammates but also don’t want to miss the actions.
Final Verdict
Although these Agents are not that mainstream right now, they are pretty fun to play. It is possible for players to understand their potential and use their capabilities to win matches.
VALORANT, as a game, constantly evolves. Whenever an agent or playstyle becomes meta, Riot tries to change it and keep up the flow. The list of the underrated agents can also be changed in the upcoming days depending on the meta change, new patches, or updates introduced.
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