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Agents in Valorant are classified into different roles that dictate the play style their abilities are suited for. Initiators are the backbone of any team, and they are usually more methodical in their approach and can support teammates by hampering the opponent’s ability to fight back.
Being a must-have role for any Valorant roster, be it ranked or competitive play, choosing the suitable Initiator for the task is tricky. Although all of them are good at disrupting the flow of their opponents, they achieve this through different methods in Valorant.
Five Initiator Agents to use regularly in Valorant in Episode 5 Act 1
Knowing the situations where a particular Agent is better or understanding the versatility of their kit is key when selecting your Initiator of choice.
In this tier list, we have ranked all the Agents that take up the role of an Initiator based on the effectiveness of their abilities and competitive pick rate for Valorant Episode 5 Act 1.
5) Breach
Breach is the only Valorant Initiator in this tier list without intel-gathering capabilities. Still, what this Agent lacks in one aspect, he more than makes up for it with his disorienting abilities that displace opponents.
He can flush out enemies from every nook and cranny using his explosive Aftershock, which barrages the area in a series of explosions, dealing significant damage to anyone caught in its wake.
With Flashpoint, Breach can create a flash of blinding light on the opposite side of a surface. This lets him flash enemies in areas other utilities would not reach.
Fault Line creates a disorienting blast in a straight line which dazes foes, reducing the fire rate of their guns and slowing all movement. Using this on unsuspecting enemies before a push increases his chances of winning the fight.
His ultimate, Rolling Thunder, sends a seismic blast with a wide area of effect that knocks enemies back and dazes them. Stunning every opponent within site, the fight is already in his favor before it even begins.
Breach excels when he can coordinate pushes with his team but is held back due to his comparatively slow abilities that take significant time to execute.
4) KAY/O
KAY/O is the terminator of Valorant, as this robotic Agent is armed with high-tech gadgets and the oppressive power to neutralize enemy abilities, rendering their utility useless.
Throwing a flash-bang grenade using Flash/drive, he blinds enemies providing space for his team to move uncontested.
Frag/ment throws down an explosive charge that deals damage in an area over time. It blocks his enemies’ paths and damages them if they push through.
His signature ability, Zero/point throws a knife that suppresses enemies in an area, rendering them unable to use their abilities while also informing his team which agents are caught in it.
When KAY/O’s ultimate, Null/cmd, is activated, he will emanate a suppression wave in an interval that restricts the ability usage of his enemies. This allows his team to push without any counter-utility.
KAY/O is a great Agent for charging into fights and immediately having an impact without firing a single bullet.
3) Skye
Skye is a nature-themed Valorant Agent who prefers to use her animal-like beasts from a distance to gather information while also healing her teammates, ensuring they don’t go into a fight at a disadvantage.
Trailblazer sends out a ground-based beast that she can control and scout with ahead of her team. This lets her gather information about enemy positions before her team engages.
She can conjure a flying bird with Guiding Light. It can be controlled and ends in a blinding explosion which informs her team whether an enemy was caught within its flash.
Possessing team healing through Regrowth, Skye can heal teammates around her as long as she doesn’t run out of energy. This helps reset fights and even the playing field once more.
Her ultimate, Seekers, sends out three beasts that chase after the closest enemies restricting their vision if they are close enough. Guiding her team, this ability will result in guaranteed kills if coordinated.
Paving the way for her teammates into any fight, Skye is a formidable foe for any team trying to defend the bombsite in Valorant from a rush or a retake.
2) Fade
Valorant’s latest Agent, the nightmarish bounty hunter Fade, lets players command darkness itself to hunt down enemies and limit their movement or vision, making sure they’re always backed into a corner with fear.
Her ability, Prowler, sends out an enemy-seeking entity she can direct, which latches onto opponents if near, causing them to lose long-range vision for a period. She can use this to scout ahead and disrupt enemies.
Haunt launches a dark entity at a spot, revealing the location of enemies within its line of sight and creating a trail if they move. This lets her warn the team about enemy positions and movement.
Throwing down binding darkness using Seize, Fade can anchor enemies caught in it and decay their health, priming them for her team to punish.
Her ultimate is Nightfall, sending out a wave of darkness. She creates trails of enemies caught in it while decaying their health and suppressing their sense of hearing. Fade he can use this to gather information while her team silently pushes.
Tracking the movements of her opponents, Fade leaves her team a trail to follow to a sureshot victory.
1) Sova
Being the highest-picked Valorant Initiator Agent in both ranked and tournament play, Sova is armed with a bow and his trusty Owl Drone. He is undoubtedly the best intel-gathering/recon agent in the game.
His signature ability, Recon Bolt, fires an arrow that attaches itself to surfaces, pulsing a sonic wave, pinpointing the locations of nearby enemies, and marking them for his team even through utilities such as smoke.
Using Owl Drone, Sova can send a flying-controlled unit ahead of his team to scout and mark enemies by showing their outline through objects. This helps his team clear tricky angles and sites before committing.
Shock Bolt fires electrically charged arrows that can ricochet off surfaces. He uses these to damage or flush out enemies already marked by his intel.
His ultimate, Hunter’s Fury, unleashes his bow to deal long-ranged damage through structures rendering cover useless. He applies ranged pressure on his enemies even when distanced from a fight.
Sova’s presence in the match ensures that his enemies can never expect a fair fight. He punishes anyone out of position and severely cripples their confidence to challenge his team.
Note: This article reflects the writer’s opinions.
