Roles in Valorant: A Guide for Dummies

Valorant Roles are pretty straightforward, only having four in the game: Sentinel, Duelist, Controller, and Initiator. Each has a role to play but won’t restrict you regarding how you play the game. Valorant is still an FPS game. So, no matter your role — you need good aim to win your duels. 

The Valorant roles explained are flexible in terms of your play style. Adhering to your role is still essential in winning your ranked games. Just like all the online multiplayer games out there, it takes a team to win the game. All five players must do their job properly (and hit their shots of course) to have the highest chance possible of winning the game.

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Knowing the most effective way to play your role will maximize the impact you have in your game. In this article, I will explain the four main roles of valorant characters and how to best play each one of them. With that in mind, let us dive deeper into the Roles in Valorant: A Guide for Dummies article. 

Valorant Roles and How to Play Them

Controller

Controllers are experts at controlling the battlefield by the use of smoke screens. Their abilities disrupt their opponents’ sightlines while providing cover for teammates as they take control of an area. Controlling sightlines is so important because it narrows down the opportunities an enemy has to engage a teammate from a favorable position.

As a Controller, you can control the pace of how the round will go. You control the timing of your pushes when you are attacking, and you can delay the push of your enemies. 

This role is best played for players who like to stay safe in the earlier parts of the round. Since controllers are important in pushes and retakes, your team needs you alive for most of the round. As a Controller, you can be a secondary entry fragger once you have used your smokes or a lurker who catches out enemy rotations and enemy lurks. 

Initiator

Initiators excel at gathering information and controlling the movements of opponents through the use of their abilities. Their abilities also spearhead the attack or retake of your team deep into enemy territory. 

Currently, there is a total of five Initiators in Valorant: Sova, Skye, Breach, KAY/O, and Fade. Sova, Skye, and Fade rely on their abilities to perform reconnaissance in an area to gather information while Breach and KAY/O specialize in disrupting enemies in their path through the use of their crowd control abilities.

Just like the name suggests, this role’s primary function is to initiate. As an Initiator, you are one of the most vital agents to stay alive as much as possible. With great offensive and defensive capabilities, Initiators can impact the game in more ways than one. 

Sentinel

Sentinels are defensive experts that have abilities that manipulate the battlefield, lock-down areas of contention, and provide utility such as healing courtesy of Sage. There are currently four Sentinels available in Valorant: Cypher; Killjoy; Chamber; and Sage.

All Sentinels, besides Sage, can control the enemy lurks with traps to cover the flanks. Primarily, Sentinels are great at defense due to their ability to anchor and lock down a site making it very difficult for the enemy to advance.

On attack, Sentinels usually lurk to find picks or kills from unaware enemies. A Sentinel is not expected to do much especially on the attack so feel free to play the role depending on your best playstyle. Either become a lockdown specialist or a proactive defender of the site. It is all up to you. 

Duelist

Duelists are the flashiest of the bunch. Duelists are known as the offensive experts in Valorant with abilities that allow them to be aggressive and self-sufficient when creating opportunities to engage with opponents. There are currently six Duelists in the game: Jett, Phoenix, Raze, Reyna, Yoru, and Neon.

If you want to play the role of a Duelist, make sure that you have superior aim and the ability to create space for your team. A Duelist’s primary role is to be the entry fragger of the team. You will be the tip of the spear of your team’s attack. Make sure that you have the skills to make things happen.

Duelists are expected by their teammates to be proactive and are the stars within the team that garner the most kills. You are expected to be the first person to enter sites in contention and perform high-risk, high-reward actions to gain an advantage.

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