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There are currently sixteen different agents to play in VALORANT, and more on the way in upcoming Acts. For someone who is just beginning the game, the choice of an agent can be intimidating. To help make the choice for new players easier, here are three agents that are perfect for players who are just starting out in VALORANT.

Beginner VALORANT agents: Sage

Regardless of title, healers are considered a valuable asset to the team. Sage is VALORANT’s main healer. Her other abilities are second-fiddle to her usefulness in getting the team bandaged up. As one of the original VALORANT agents, she’s unlocked automatically at the start. This means there’s no extra playtime needed to play with her.

Sage, like all VALORANT agents, has four abilities unique to her kit. Her primary ability is her heal, which can be used on herself or on allies. Sage is such a good agent for beginner players because they can easily heal themselves while being an asset to their team.

Sage lock in screen for VALORANT featuring all of her abilities.
Sage lock in screen for VALORANT featuring all of her abilities. | Image provided by Riot Games

Her second ability is her wall and is primarily used to block off pathways from enemies. At 300 credits, her wall can be expensive to purchase in the beginning rounds of the game. However, if you can block off access points from enemies to successfully get onto or defend a site, the 300 credits are worth it.  Sage’s third ability is her slow orbs, which are projectiles that can be thrown to show enemies. This is often used to slow enemies push onto a site offensively or defensively.

Lastly, Sage’s ultimate ability is her resurrection, which brings any ally back into the game after they’ve died. Down a member in a clutch scenario? Just bring them back with Sage’s ultimate to even the odds. Be careful though, enemies can still see who Sage resurrects and can kill them as soon as they come back into the game.

Beginner VALORANT agents: Reyna

Reyna was the first agent added to VALORANT after the game was officially released. Since then, she has become a must-pick in solo-queue games. While Reyna has not been popular in the professional scene, her kit and abilities are easy to pick up and often overpowered. To unlock her, players will have to equip her contract (or purchase it) and earn experience.

The primary ability Reyna has is her E that can be activated one of two ways after killing an enemy. Once Reyna kills an enemy, she can use her E to either heal herself or leave the situation. Both can be helpful in clutch situations or when taking on multiple opponents.

Reyna lock in screen for VALORANT featuring all of her abilities.
Reyna lock in screen for VALORANT featuring all of her abilities. | Image provided by Riot Games

To heal (or escape), you must purchase her orb abilities at the beginning of a round.  Reyna is automatically given one at the beginning of a round, but players need to purchase a second one. Then once you kill an enemy you can either heal or escape using them. Her second ability can blind enemies and comes in the form of an eye that blinds anyone who looks at it. Reyna can purchase up to two of these blinds at the beginning of every round.

Lastly, Reyna’s ultimate ability gives her infinite orb charges. This means if she kills an opponent during her ult, she can either escape or heal using their soul orb. Her ultimate also gives her increased firing, equip, and reload speed.

Beginner VALORANT agents: KAY/O

KAY/O is VALORANT’s most recent addition to the agent lineup, and takes on the traditional approach to competitive shooters with his abilities. To unlock KAY/O, like Reyna, players will have to equip his contract or purchase it. New players are given two free agent unlocks after playing, so you can use those to unlock him if you haven’t spent them already.

His signature ability is his, knife which can be thrown to suppress enemies. KAY/O gets his knife every round which, when thrown, suppresses enemies within its radius. After throwing his knife, the knife will regenerate over time and can be thrown again. An enemy suppressed within that radius cannot use any of their abilities. They can still shoot and move, but can’t use anything else.

KAY/O lock in screen for VALORANT featuring all of his abilities.
KAY/O lock in screen for VALORANT featuring all of his abilities. | Image provided by Riot Games

KAY/O’s other abilities are flashbangs and a grenade. Both must be purchased at the beginning of a round and do not regenerate. His flashbangs can be thrown to blind enemies that are within the range to be blinded. Be careful, KAY/O can also blind himself and his allies. His grenade can be thrown a short distance and will explode multiple times to do damage. The closer to the center the enemy is, the more damage the grenade will do.

Finally, KAY/O’s ultimate allows him to suppress enemies within a large radius of himself. His ultimate is best used when entering a site as the radius moves with him. All five opponents can be suppressed if caught in his ultimate. Additionally, if KAY/O dies while his ultimate is still active, he will go down and possibly be revived. When downed, KAY/O has 800 health that ticks down until he is revived. If no one else is around to revive him, an enemy could continue to shoot at his body and kill him.

Summary

Sage is the perfect agent for new players trying to focus on learning the game other than an agent. They can still be an asset to the team by using her heal on herself or allies. Since she is free at the start of the game, anyone can play her.

Reyna is for anyone who wants to enter the site first and do a ton of damage. Her ability to heal herself allows her to take on solo missions with little repercussions. However, she will have to be purchased or earned if players want to play her.

KAY/O is a traditional soldier type with flashbangs and grenades that can be picked up by anyone familiar with other FPS titles. Like Reyna, he too will have to be unlocked or purchased to play at the start.