The new free-to-play shooter Valorant offers a wide selection of heroes to play with its eleven agents. However, you need to unlock six of them first. MeinMMO gives you tips on which agents are worth unlocking first.
What are these agents? The agents in Valorant have unique abilities and their own roles. Accordingly, they are of varying strength and difficulty to play. More than half of them will need to be unlocked:
- Raze
- Pheonix
- Cypher
- Breach
- Viper
- Reyna, the newest agent
We want to show you in our list which agents are worth unlocking first. We focus on the following criteria:
- How strong is the character?
- How easy is it to learn?
- In which situations is it useful?
- Is it suitable for beginners?
The agents presented here are not necessarily the strongest according to the tier list of agents, but rather those that are best suited for beginners. Consider them as recommendations if you are unsure of what to expect in Valorant or when you can’t decide.
On June 2, Valorant was released and all players can start playing for free.
If you are completely new and have no idea about the game, you can find 12 tips for beginners in Valorant here.
How do I unlock agents?
You can unlock two agents in Valorant simply by leveling up. At level 5 and level 10, you will receive a free unlock for an agent of your choice.
Once you have used both unlocks or reached level 10, you will need to complete tasks from then on. You can activate a task through the agent menu. After that, you need to collect about 20,000 EXP per level. At contract level 5, you get the agent.
For this type of unlocking, you need to start with the free agents. It’s best to play one of the strongest agents for getting started in Valorant to progress faster.
Alternatively, you can also simply buy agents for money. Unlocking the agent in their contract costs 1000 Valorant points. A bundle with 1150 points is available for 11.99€.
1. Raze
Class: Duelist
Suitable for: Beginners
Strengths:
- high damage and great kill potential
- various bombs to draw enemies out of cover
- can take down entire teams if played correctly
Weaknesses:
- no ability to support your team
- will likely be adjusted or nerfed several times
Who is Raze? There was a lot of fuss about Raze during the beta of Valorant. The agent is considered “overpowered”, even after adjustments, and annoys her opponents with strong abilities.
Raze relies on bombs and explosions and has a rather aggressive playstyle without much fuss. You should use her fairly directly for attacks on the enemy.
This makes her suitable for beginners who want to test the waters of Valorant while at least knowing the basics through the first rounds. Unlock her directly with the first unlock.
2. Breach
Class: Initiator
Suitable for: Beginners, Intermediate
Strengths:
- can effectively disrupt enemy positions and take areas
- blinds enemies for easy kills
- can deal high damage even through cover
Weaknesses:
- dependent on his team
- requires a lot of scouting from others, like Sova
Who is Breach? The initiator Breach can control enemies with his abilities and deal heavy damage while simultaneously being able to control and hold areas. This makes him an optimal agent for beginners both in defense and in attack.
His only weakness is that you need to use his abilities quite precisely. This requires some practice and good communication with the team to ensure you don’t blind them. However, you will learn the communication that is important in Valorant at the same time.
Especially for competitive games, Breach is a good choice, as many professionals value him. However, you will need a bit more practice with him. It’s best to practice him with some friends.
As a beginner, you should buy Breach with your first or second free unlock.
3. Cypher
Class: Sentinel
Suitable for: Intermediate
Strengths:
- can easily monitor enemies and reveal their position
- can protect areas and reveal enemies during infiltration
- slows and controls enemies to make them easier prey
Weaknesses:
- strongly dependent on the team
- you need to know the maps well for Cypher to be useful
Who is Cypher? The spy Cypher relies on information and scouting and is possibly the best agent in Valorant in this area. No other agent can monitor an area as well as Cypher.
However, you need decent knowledge of spots on the maps, how they are structured, and common tactics in the game. Cypher is somewhat stronger in defense than in attack.
Cypher is strongest when you can play together with your team and share the information you obtain with him. So communicate a lot with your teammates and try to be as precise as possible.
Cypher is a good choice for your first unlock through a task after reaching level 10, as you will also gain the necessary knowledge of the maps while grinding for EXP.
Agents you should avoid
Our recommendations are of course just a guideline to help you get started and are not mandatory directives. However, there are some agents you should not buy, at least not right at the beginning:
- Viper is highly situational and requires a lot of experience with the genre and Valorant itself. Buy her later and team her up with friends.
- Reyna is still new and cannot yet be properly assessed. Currently, it seems you need to be good at Valorant for her to be useful. Not recommended for beginners.
- Omen is somewhat of an alternative to Breach, but weaker in many respects. He is easier to learn for beginners but quickly loses utility – buy him if you want to learn how to use him, but don’t expect the investment to last long.
What do you think of the recommendations? Which character will you unlock first? Will you even try the free shooter?
A complete overview of all champions and who should play them can be found here:
Valorant has already achieved great success and is very popular among many players. The new shooter could easily become the next favorite game for many fans of the genre. As part of “Find Your Next Game,” we conducted an interview with the developers at MeinMMO. If you are interested in Valorant, check it out and learn interesting background information about Riot’s new game, its development, and future.
