Agents in VALORANT are currently mainly used to quickly take out enemies. Will Riot Games maintain the strategy or will the shooter get the possibility of a defensive tactic with new agents?
Rapid rounds are the hallmark of the gameplay in VALORANT. The two teams on the server usually aim to get out of the way quickly in duels. One reason for this is the alignment of the agents, which are mainly equipped with attack tactics. Riot Games is currently tinkering with the balance of the shooter, because it should always be remembered that the game is in the beta phase.
The offensive power of the agents can currently be countered with little or nothing at all. This does not meet with much approval in the VALORANT community, because in competition everyone wants to have the chance to defend themselves. This includes, for example, the Ultimate from Brimstone, which can destroy everything in a large area. At the moment, there is no alternative – bomb-laying or bomb-disarming experts can tell you a thing or two about it.
New agents for more diversity
That Riot Games is already developing other agents should be fairly certain. Currently there is a leak about a new agent called “Sabine”. But more than the name is not known yet.
What VALORANT players generally want is the possibility of counterattacking, especially when they are attacked by enemy agents with their special abilities. A shooter has found a solution in this respect. This is because the differentiation between attackers and defenders exists in Rainbow Six: Victories. There, the 54 operators are selected on the basis of defensive and offensive characteristics. But this tactical element is still dreams of the future for VALORANT – especially with currently only ten agents.
Looking at the other Riot Games title, League of Legends, banning agents might make sense. But only if the range of agents is wide enough.
Leak to Agent Sabine
Sabine would bring additional features to the gameplay if introduced and more agents may follow. Maybe Sabine already has the ability to make other agents miss the business. For example she could manipulate the robot of Raze or the camera of Cypher. Or how about a shield against Brimstone’s deadly Ultimate?
These traits could push enemies back and give the shooter more tactical depth with new agents. The use of complex special abilities is the special and distinctive feature of VALORANT in terms of its similarity to the related classic Counter-Strike.
Wenn @myKnochen mal wieder Ult hat… pic.twitter.com/xpTCR7k92T
— Sola (@LoLSola) April 29, 2020
Besides new agents with other properties, the community hopes for changes to standard utilities like grenades. Not every agent has the ability to use smoke grenades, stun grenades or incendiary grenades. And besides, they are not equally effective with agents.
Gunplay is in the foreground
Smokes are relatively common among agents. Additionally, Brimstone can throw a kind of Molotov and Breach and Omen can blind enemies. Comparing this to other shooters like Counter-Strike, this utility is not standardized. So grenades remain rather a special discipline, which underlines the other game idea of Riot Games.
What is certain, however, is that the gunplay in VALORANT will continue to stand in the foreground, because it is characteristic for a first person shooter. In the future, it will remain exciting to see when new agents might come into play and with which characteristics they will be equipped. Probably Sabine will soon knock on the door of Haven’s Double-Doors – and this will certainly come with a surprise in her luggage.
