With Challengers LCQ wrapped up and São Paulo right around the corner, professional Valorant has returned in full force. For the less-professional Valorant player, Season 6 brings with it a new opportunity to climb the ranks and finally reach the rank of your dreams.
Luckily, I’ve ranked the best sentinels to play right now with the following tiers!
S - Near must pick, offers a clear advantage over the others
A - Very good pick that still offers a lot
B - Okay pick that can work in some situations
C - Less successful pick that will usually struggle
Harbor - C
Changes - Harbor’s smoke durations were buffed, with his High Tide and Cascade now on par timewise with Viper’s wall and orb.
Strengths - Harbor offers a more flexible playstyle than Viper as his wall can be deployed at any point of the match (and recharges after 40 seconds) and can be curved around the site to cut off multiple chokepoints. He is good at taking or retaking sites with Cascade and his ultimate, while Cove offers unique opportunities to play on the spike.
Weaknesses - Harbor doesn’t control vision as much or as long as the other controllers on this list. Furthermore, his kit lacks any utility, like a molotov, to destroy utility and his ultimate is weaker than other site-clearing ultimates. As the newest agent, his unique more aggressive playstyle presents a learning curve for new players and makes it hard to maximize his value.
Overall - Harbor presents a unique suite of abilities, but they are hard to master. He doesn’t offer as much utility as the other agents on this list and his learning curve leaves him in a very niche position. While he could break out in the future, for this season look toward the other agents if you’re looking to climb.
Astra - B
Changes - Untouched by 5.12.
Strengths - Astra has a global reach, able to place a smoke anywhere on the map at any time. In addition to smoking off a site, her Gravity Well is a valuable post-plant tool to deny diffuses and, if timed properly, her Nova Pulse can stun and stop a push in its tracks. The flexibility to turn a star into any of these, plus being able to recall stars that aren’t properly placed, gives her the ability to adapt to the enemies’ strategy and her ultimate can seal off the whole map if placed well.
Weaknesses - Astra requires stars to be well-placed to get good value. Placing stars requires her to enter Astral Form, leaving her vulnerable if enemies are nearby. She lacks utility outside of her stars, meaning if she runs out of stars, she is unable to offer anything else to her team.
Overall - Astra is an okay controller who has seen increased pick-rate at the pro level on some maps. Her stars are flexible and powerful, but misplacing them or running out leaves her with nothing to offer her team. While not as challenging a pick as Harbor, read on to see some of the better agents to climb with.
Brimstone - A
Changes - Brimstone’s molotov now damages most utilities, including Killjoy’s and Chamber’s.
Strengths - Brimstone is a good beginner controller because he offers smokes on demand. He can quickly place long-lasting smokes that are hard to push through (since they aren’t hollow), making him good at controlling vision. His molotov is great for post-plant or clearing an area while his ultimate is one of the best tools to clear out a section of the map.
Weaknesses - Brimstone’s smokes are limited in range, meaning he has to be closer to the area he wants to smoke. He only has 3 smokes maximum, meaning he is out once they are used, and he can’t cover long stretches of a site without committing multiple smokes.
Overall - Brimstone is a solid controller right now. Especially with the removal of Breeze, he does well on the smaller maps that play into his limited range and his additional utility offers more to his team than just vision control. Still, read on for the other top-tier controllers.
Omen - A
Changes - Omen’s Paranoia was reduced in cost from 300 to 250 in 5.12.
Strengths - Omen excels on deception. He can place smokes globally with a supply that regenerates over time, allowing him to support teammates across the map. His Paranoia is helpful for clearing corners when pushing out while his teleport gives him the opportunity for creative plays or taking the high ground. His ultimate toys with opponents by forcing them to worry about the possibility of a flank and can get information on a tightly held sight.
Weaknesses - Placing Omen’s smokes quickly can take some time to master and he is vulnerable while he places them. His ultimate can’t force enemies off a site or areas like Brimstone’s or Viper’s, and his hollow smokes are easier to push through than others. Positioning is key for Omen, as a misplaced teleport can expose him to enemy fire.
Overall - Omen is a solid controller with a global smoke range and mobility options for creative players. He can’t force enemies off an area as effectively as Brimstone or Viper, but he does play with his opponent’s minds to give his team an advantage. Of course, check out our final controller before deciding if Omen is your agent to main.
Viper - A
Changes - Viper’s ultimate was increased in cost to 8 orbs, while the time she can spend outside of the ultimate before it dissipates is reduced to nudge her towards playing in her ultimate more. Her Snakebite now damages utility in line with the other utility changes.
Strengths - Viper offers a well-balanced kit. Her wall cuts off large sections of the map while her orb acts as an on-hand smoke. Snakebite is strong for clearing corners or post-plant and her ultimate is great for making it hard for an enemy to push into an area. The ability to toggle the wall and orb with rechargeable smoke gives her some of the best uptime for her smokes while opening up the option for creative plays.
Weaknesses - Viper’s smokes may have high uptime, but they have rigid placement; the wall can’t be replaced and she needs to pick up her orb to reuse it. Since her smokes are active abilities, they’re disabled immediately if she is killed or disabled by Kay/o. Players have to be careful with their timing, as running out of gas right when pushing a site will drop the wall and orb, leaving her team exposed.
Overall - Viper is a solid controller for holding an area. Her rechargeable vision coverage, despite being dependent on placement, is strong and her other utility is immensely helpful for the team. She is a good pick, but so are Brimstone and Omen.
Thoughts? Disagree? Leave a comment down below and don’t forget to check back later for the rest of the roles.