Valorant: Controller Agents, Ranked

Valorant is one of the most popular tactical shooters in the world. What sets the game apart from its competition is the fact that each playable character, known as an Agent, has their own unique abilities that can make a massive impact on the battlefield.

Valorant is filled with awesome characters, but mastering the Controller role will allow you to take complete control of a match. Controller Agents are all about using their abilities to tilt the battle to their side and are a must-pick for any team in both competitive and unrated matches. These are all of the Controller Agents in Valorant, ranked from least effective to most effective.

Updated November 25, 2024 by Maria Antiporda: This list has been updated to include new agents and to accommodate changes to agent abilities, which affects the overall rankings.

6 Harbor: The Commander Of The Sea

Harbor is an agent that can wield water and use it as a tool to deny enemies their vision and stop their movement.

His Cove can be useful for protecting those planting and defusing the spike, and enemies passing through his walls will be slowed. That said, he’s the least useful out of all the Controller agents because the others have smokes that simply work better in most cases.

Harbor can be a good pick if you pair him with another Controller agent in your team composition.

Abilities
Cascade	Send a wall of water forward that will block vision for a short period and slow enemies that go through it.
Cove	Throw a cove of water that can block bullets until it is broken.
High Tide	Equip a wall of water that you can send out and guide with your crosshair to form a vision-blocking wall of your own design. Enemies that go through it will be slowed.
Reckoning	Summon a geyser pool covering a large area. Enemies within the radius will be tracked and will be concussed if caught.

Harbor’s Cove is what sets his kit apart from the others, providing some protection for your team. The fact that it can be easily broken, however, and that someone can simply enter the cove makes it useful only in certain situations.

5 Viper: The American Chemist

The American Chemist Viper means business in Valorant and has been a part of the Agent lineup since day one. Viper has plenty of poisonous devices and she’s not afraid to use them. There’s a lot you need to know about Viper, including her passive abilities. All of her abilities use fuel and her abilities that apply Toxin cause the maximum health of enemies to be instantly reduced.

The Viper’s Pit can allow the team to take control of a large area, making her very useful on certain maps.

With Viper’s smokes however, you’ll need to be committed to where you’ll be placing them because even though they can be brought up again, they cannot be moved to another location. This makes her best paired with a second Controller agent.

Abilities
Snake Bite	This is a deterrent ability. Viper shoots a canister that detonates when it contacts the floor, creating a small pool of acid. Players who step into this pool will not only take damage, but become vulnerable.
Poison Cloud	This is a gas emitter than can be thrown onto a surface and activated at a later time to emit a sphere of toxic gas that will block vision and will Decay the health of enemies that touch it.
Toxic Screen	Shoot a long line of gas emitters that can be activated at any time. Doing so will emit a long smokescreen of poisonous gas that will Decay the health of enemies who go through it. The wall can be raised again when you have enough fuel.
Viper’s Pit	Using this ability will create a toxic cloud around her that reduces vision range for enemies and the maximum health of enemies inside it. The cloud will stick around as long as you’re inside it and will lose integrity if you leave. Enemies who enter the cloud will be marked red and easy to spot.

4 Brimstone: The Big Man

Brimstone, from the United States, is one of the original Agents in Valorant and, if there’s one thing the big man loves, it’s fire. He’s a boots-on-the-ground agent who isn’t blessed with any magical powers like some others, but that doesn’t necessarily limit his effectiveness. Brimstone will deal plenty of incendiary damage to the opposing team.

VALORANT: Brimstone Character Breakdown

VALORANT’s American agent Brimstone can help teammates with Stim Beacon, or deal damage from above with Orbital Strike.

Abilities
Incendiary	Throw a grenade that detonates once it’s resting on the floor. On detonation, it creates a fire zone that will damage players that walk on it.
Stim Beacon	Throw a beacon on the floor that grants players inside the zone Combat Stim and a Speed Boost.
Sky Smoke	Bring up a tactical map and select exact locations to place your smoke clouds. Upon confirming, clouds will fall from the sky and will block all vision through it.
Orbital Strike	Fire a high-damage strike at a selected location, dealing heavy damage to everyone trapped inside. It’s a great ability to use when the opposing team is grouped up.

While Brimstone’s smokes are the best in the game, his kit offers less creativity compared to other Controllers. That said, he is a great pick if you want a no-nonsense smokes agent or if you plan to pair him with another Controller. For instance, he makes a great complement to Viper on Bind.

3 Astra: The Astral Radiant

Astra hails from Ghana and was added to Valorant during Act 2 of Episode 2. She is a master of the cosmos, capable of using stars to both attack and defend. Her kit can effectively block enemy vision and take control of an area using stunning and pulling abilities.

Abilities
Gravity Well	Activate a star you’ve thrown to create a Gravity Well, which traps players and makes them vulnerable.
Nova Pulse	By targeting a star you’ve placed, Astra can concuss enemies in its vicinity.
Nebula/Dissipate	By targeting a star you’ve placed, you can create a cloud of smoke. You could then dissipate it and move the star somewhere else.
Cosmic Divide	Create a beautiful starlight barrier that blocks bullets and heavily dampens audio. The barrier can be walked through, but you’ll have no idea what’s on the other side.

Astra’s kit makes her an essential pick for Pearl and, most of the time, Abyss.

The one thing Astra lacks is a true offensive ability, but you can leave that up to the duelists. To use her properly, you need to be strategic in where you place stars on the map to help your duelists capitalize on their effects. This makes her lean towards the sentinel role as well when it comes to defending a site.

2 Omen: The Shadow Hunter

Omen is the unknown enigma in Valorant who has been playable since launch. No one knows who he is or where he comes from, but he’s one of the most fun Agents to play in the game. He does all of his work in the shadows with a focus on movement, vision blocking, and blinding.

Abilities
Shrouded Step	Allows you to teleport a short distance. Keep in mind that your enemies will hear a noise when you do this.
Paranoia	A blinding ability where you throw a blinding orb that can pass through walls. Players hit by the orb are Nearsighted and Defeaned. They will be able to see you if you come too close.
Dark Cover	Enter a phased world to place smokes down in an area within range. Smokes dropped from above will fall until they hit any surface that a player can stand on.
From The Shadows	Allows you to teleport to any location on the map. After confirming your target destination, you have a short period of time during which you can cancel your teleportation. This can be used to trick enemies, scout an area quickly, or other tactics only limited by your creativity.

If you’re looking for a Controller with some form of mobility that will allow them to take on fights, Omen is one of the best picks. His kit can help in performing executes that will tear down an enemy’s defenses and catch them off-guard.

1 Clove: The Scottish Troublemaker

Clove is a powerful Controller that uses aggression as a means to take control of an area. Unlike other Controllers, using them is rewarding when you take fights and deal damage. This makes them the most popular Controller pick, especially among those who want to play a little mischievously.

What makes Clove a great agent to pick, especially in ranked Valorant, is that you are less dependent on other agents to get your frags. You can do your job and theirs as well if you need to.

Abilities
Pick-Me-Up	Restore your health temporarily and gain a Speed Boost after you absorb the life force of a fallen enemy you damaged or killed.
Meddle	Fire a fragment that explodes and Decays all players caught within the blast.
Ruse	Place vision-blocking clouds down on a selected location on the map. You can use this ability even after you die, but only within a certain radius around your body.
Not Dead Yet	You can use this ability to come back to life after being killed. You will have a short period of time to get a kill or an assist in order to keep your life.

Though Clove is an amazing pick, if you’re not that great at being aggressive, you should select a Controller that’s geared more towards simply placing smokes down and deterrant abilities such as Astra and Brimstone.

Released: June 2, 2020
Multiplayer: Online Multiplayer
Engine: Unreal Engine 4
ESRB: T for Teen: Blood, Language, Violence
OpenCritic Rating: Strong
Cross Save: Yes
Cross-Platform Play: PS5 & Xbox Series X/S

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