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Lotus is the newest map in Valorant. It came out at the start of Episode 6 and entered the Unrated and Competitive queues starting from Patch 6.1.
Lotus has many interesting features, like rotating doors, breakable walls, and a silent drop. Additionally, there are complex elevation changes and narrow winding passages on the map.
Controllers are a class of Agents in Valorant that specialize in cutting off lines of sight and slicing up areas of the map to make it easier for their team to take space. All Controllers have kits that can achieve this on all maps to some extent. However, each is more suited to certain maps.
Omen and Astra are the two most widely picked Controllers in the current Valorant meta. However, with only a little over a week having passed since Lotus came out, a fixed Controller meta is yet to be determined for the new map. This article compares their performances with respect to Lotus.
Note: This article is subjective and reflects the opinions of the writer
Astra vs Omen in Valorant: Facts, abilities, skills, and pick rate
Astra
Facts
Since: Episode 2 Act 2
Role: Controller
Origin: Ghana
Abilities
All of Astra's basic abilities in Valorant must be used through the four Astral Stars she has. She gets one star free at the start of every round and can call back stars at any point in the round. She can have a total of four stars in a round, each costing 150 credits.
Recalled stars can be used after a 25-second cooldown. All of her abilities can be placed and used from anywhere on the map.
Basic Ability 1 (C): GRAVITY WELL
This ability activates a Star to form a Gravity Well that pulls Agents caught in its Area of Effect (AoE) to its center for 2.5 seconds before it explodes. Those caught in the AoE of the explosion are left vulnerable for five seconds. The cooldown for this ability is 45 seconds.
Basic Ability 2 (Q): NOVA PULSE
This ability activates a star to detonate a Nova Pulse, which charges up for 1.25 seconds before striking, leaving those caught in its AoE concussed for four seconds. It has a cooldown of 45 seconds.
Signature Ability (E): NEBULA / DISSIPATE
This ability can be used in two ways — one that creates a long smoke and the other that creates a much shorter one. The first one has to activated using the E key and creates a smoke where the star was placed that lasts 14.25 seconds.
You can also call back a star using F by pointing at it. This creates a fake Nebula that lasts for one second.
Ultimate Ability (X): COSMIC DIVIDE
Astra's Ultimate takes seven points to charge. Once charged, it can be used to cast a wall of infinite length between two selected positions on the map. The wall doesn't let bullets pass through it and heavily dampens sound on the other side. The wall has a total effective duration of 21 seconds.
Skills
Astra excels in both attack and defense. Her ability to recall stars (F) is great for throwing opponents off and faking site hits. All her abilities can be placed and used from anywhere on the map, making her an excellent lurker.
Astra's smokes (E) provide good coverage, while her Gravity Well (C) and Nova Pulse (Q) are very effective in stalling site hits. The former also prevents the spike from being defused.
Astra's Ultimate is not the strongest in Valorant but can be quite an effective tool to fake a site hit or take it quickly and stealthily. It can also be very useful in getting a spike defuse off if enemies are playing from far away.
Omen
Facts
Since: Beta
Role: Controller
Origin: Unknown
Abilities
Basic Ability 1 (C): Shrouded Step
This ability lets Omen teleport to a spot within a short range that he can see while equipping the ability. He gets two charges, costing 100 credits each.
Basic Ability 2 (Q): Paranoia
This ability activates a blinding orb that passes through walls and nearsights and deafens everyone (including allies) exposed to it for two seconds. He gets one charge of Paranoia, costing 250 credits.
Signature Ability (E): Dark Cover
Omen can cast a smoke with or without entering a phased world. The orb travels to the spot where it is placed. Omen can place smokes on about 50-75% of every Valorant map (from where he is). He has two smokes, which remain for 15 seconds and recharge after 30 seconds. He gets one smoke for free per round and has to buy the second one for 150 credits.
Ultimate Ability (X): From the Shadows
Omen can travel to any point of his choice on all Valorant maps using his Ultimate ability. The map of all enemies is obscured when the Agent performs his Ultimate.
Omen can cancel the ability on his own or if an enemy shoots down the Shade, both of which return him to the place where he cast his Ultimate. The Ultimate takes seven ultimate points to get fully charged.
Skills
Omen smokes (E) can be placed with ease. They are the most versatile when it comes to creating one-way smokes. His Paranoia (Q) can be used to set up others and to stall pushes.
Shrouded Step (C) allows him to get into corners and behind enemy lines, often without the knowledge of enemies. The Ultimate (X) comes in handy in rotating quickly in urgent late-round situations and collecting the spike if it is dropped far away by mistake.
Astra vs Omen: Who is most suited for Lotus?
Omen and Astra can both perform the basic functionality of blocking lines of sight with the two smokes that they have at their disposal in Valorant. However, the recall option that Astra has can come in handy for quickly crossing long sight lines, such as the one from A-Stairs into A-Lobby.
Astra can also smoke off angles in quick succession after having placed the stars. Omen needs to place each smoke individually, and they need to reach their position and then bloom, which can take some time.
Omen can place more number of smokes over the course of the round, while Astra is limited to two if she wants to use the rest of her kit.
As for crowd control in Valorant, Astra gets more than Omen. Both Nova Pulse and Gravity Well can be combined with damaging utility to clear tight corners such as the entrance to B-Site and C-Bend. Gravity Well's post-plant value also can't be ignored.
Omen's Paranoia can get a lot of value in narrow passages, but given their nature, it might be difficult for the Agent to use Shrouded Step behind them to take them by surprise. Shrouded Step can, however, be quite useful in getting into cheeky off-angles.
Both Omen's and Astra's Ultimates can be quite useful, but they apply to very different situations, so they can't really be compared. However, like the rest of the kit, Omen can take more advantage of his Ultimate to set himself up, while Astra needs support from her team.
Overall, if you know you have your team's support and can coordinate how you use your abilities with them, Astra is the better pick on Valorant's Lotus. However, this is not the case in most ranked Valorant games, where you will be better off playing Omen.
