Valorant Initiator tier list: Which Agent is best for you?

Alan Bernal

If you’re looking for a tier list featuring all of Valorant’s Initiator Agents, don’t worry, as we’ve got you covered with our updated rankings that will help you make the most of your role in Riot’s tactical shooter.

Picking the best Valorant Initiator Agents is absolutely crucial to rack up those wins in the game’s ranked modes, and while these picks all have a focus on getting into the fight, they have vastly different playstyles.

While someone like Breach can concuss an entire bombsite with one button, Sova and Skye are better suited for team play or for meticulously picking apart corners during a push. Additionally, the newest additions to the category – Fade and Gekko – are also very versatile and well-suited for most tasks in Valorant.

To see how your favorite Initiator stacks up against the others in the class, read on, as our best Valorant Initiator Agent tier list has just what you’re looking for.


Contents


Best Initiator Agents in Valorant

6. KAY/O

KAY/O, one of Valorant's best Initiators
KAY/O is an incredibly offensive option for Initiators.

Attack

  • KAY/O is as close to Counter-Strike as you’ll get in Valorant. Stacked up with throwables, he can flash, damage, and silence enemies. It’s plenty of utility – and different types – lobbed into one character.
  • His resurrection ultimate is incredibly useful, both turbocharging him while he’s alive and allowing him to be revived by allies. We already know the power of Phoenix and Sage because of their “second lives”, and KAY/O is just another string in that bow.

Defense

  • KAY/O does struggle a bit on defense. You can push forward and use your abilities to block doors and stop pushes but he doesn’t have as much delay power as Breach or Skye.
  • He does, however, offer a very aggressive option to ruin teams in close quarters. Have a team pushing A on Split? Just throw your silence into A-Main and swing with a pop-flash while they’re all suppressed. Easy pickings.

This strategy falls apart on maps with a lot of open ground, like Breeze, where Valorant’s resident robot is left to face long sightlines.


Verdict

KAY-O lacks the flexibility of the other best Initiators Agents on this Valorant tier list. His base power is very high. But if you can’t maximize it in close quarters, you’re much better picking any of the other three.


5. Breach

Breach, one of the best Initiators in Valorant
Breach was the King of all Initiator Agents in Valorant before recent nerfs.

Attack

  • Depending on the caliber of players you’re up against, Breach can easily clear the way to a site if you’re not being targeted by the other team. Use Flashpoints to punish stale defenses and Fault Line to give your teammates a clear path to push through.
  • If you want to be the first through the doors, then Aftershock can give you enough space to mitigate an angle. If all else fails, follow a Rolling Thunder anywhere you want to claim real estate on the map.

Defense

  • Breach feels right at home on defense. His ability kit is incredible on offense but adapts just as well to protect a site. Any one of his abilities can stall out a rush or survive inside of a site during a take.
  • Rolling Thunder is your ace in the hole on defense. If you want to 1v5 to stop an obvious rush, then you have a realistic avenue to do that with enough players concussed. If you want to play for a retake, then the ultimate literally eats up an entire site. Take your pick.

Verdict

Breach is by no means a bad Initiator in Valorant, so don’t take his placement last in our tier list to heart. You can blame how good other Initiators on the list are for why he’s so low. But you can’t go wrong with the Swede, especially if you’re looking to make yourself the star of the show.


4. Skye

Skye, one of the best Initiator Agents in Valorant
Skye has risen up the power rankings in recent times.

Attack

  • Though her Guiding Light and Trailblazer can be great to get a pick here and there, they are especially potent at disrupting opponents who are holding an angle.
  • As soon as a spike goes down, make sure to throw out your Regrowth in case the site take left some of your teammates worse for wear. As for her ultimate, try not to use it at the start of a round since that intel can easily change as the play goes on.

Seekers are invaluable at sniffing out where the last enemy or two are hiding as a round dwindles down and information becomes increasingly scarce. Use your Guiding Lights first, and listen for the sound cue.

Defense

  • Skye is the total package as an initiator. Her Trailblazer is especially handy at stunning enemies holding post-plant angles, helping your team push onto the site.
  • Her Seekers are also incredibly potent, forcing enemies to move their guns towards the beasts and away from friendly heads. Plus, if it all starts to go haywire, you’ve got a heal for teammates in your back pocket as well as a few flashes.

Verdict

Skye does demand a very specific playstyle but those that master her intricate mechanics will get more out of the Initiator than other picks.


3. Fade

Fade in Valorant
Turkish Initiator Agent, Fade, will drive fear in your hearts as she hunts you down in Valorant.

Attack

  • Fade’s arsenal is filled with abilities that can be used efficiently to track down and hunt enemies. Be it the Prowler that chases down nearby enemies and applies the near-sight debuff on them or Seize that locks down multiple enemies in a fixed radius, Fade is well equipped for most aggressive scenarios in Valorant.
  • Apart from her utility tools, Fade’s Signature ability, Haunt, and Ultimate ability, Nightfall, are both excellent methods of gathering information about the enemies’ positioning. Her ultimate can be an absolute game-changer for pushing into a post-plant site as the Defenders.

Defense

Apart from aggressive scenarios, Fade’s arsenal of abilities is quite well suited to serve in defensive situations as well.

  • Fade can easily blind and lockdown any enemies that might be chasing after her with Prowler and Seize respectively. These abilities can be excellent tools that allow Fade to escape unfavorable situations when used optimally.
  • On top of these, Haunt can be used to check tight corners for hiding enemies before rushing into sites. Additionally, Nightfall can be used to gather intel and prepare for upcoming pushes from the enemy team.

Verdict

It has been quite a while since Fade’s release in Valorant and needless to say, the Turkish Agent has definitely made her mark in the meta. Offering a robust arsenal of abilities that can be used to not only track down enemies but also tie them down to a point, Fade is one of the strongest Initiators in Valorant.

However, with the pool of Initiators now up to six after Gekko’s release, it is safe to assume that having multiple Initiators in the same lineup could become a highly effective strategy in Valorant.


2. Gekko

Gekko's agent select screen
The Initiator from the United States can turn the entire course of a round with his abilities.

Attack

  • Gekko’s abilities like Dizzy and Wingman allow your team to set up for site entry and retakes. Being able to stun your enemies, blind their vision, and even plant and defuse Spikes without even entering the site makes Gekko almost a must-pick in every match.
  • All of Gekko’s abilities can be refreshed during the course of every round as long as he had it available at the beginning of the same. While all three of his basic abilities can be refreshed multiple times during the same round, Gekko can only refresh his Ultimate Ability only once in a round. All you have to do is collect the expired globule after using every respective ability and it will be refreshed after a short cooldown.

Defense

Like most Initiators in Valorant, Gekko needs to be patient when it comes to defensive plays. Considering his arsenal of abilities, there are plenty of things that the Agent can do to enable his teammates.

  • Gekko is perfectly equipped for site retakes with his Mosh Pit, which can be used to drive enemies out of corners, as well as his Ultimate Ability, Thrash, which can be used to lock down on enemies as your teammates enter the site.
  • The Initiator also does a very good job of being a nuisance for the enemy team when they try to take over sites with his various pets. Be it stunning enemies or blinding them for your team to get a few frags, Gekko’s kit has almost everything that you might need in the middle of a fight in Valorant.

Verdict

Given that Gekko is the latest Initiator to join the ranks in Valorant, the Agent is a bit overpowered, to begin with. Although Riot is expected to balance the Agent soon, it is quite obvious that Gekko’s entire kit of abilities will always allow him to enable his teammates in clutch situations. Having said that, we can safely say that Gekko is definitely at par with Sova as the strongest Initiator in Valorant.

1. Sova

Breach was the King of all Initiators in Valorant before recent nerfs.
Sova’s intel-gathering is crucial for many teams.

Attack

  • At the start of the round, try to land a well-placed Recon Bolt to pry into the defense. The Recon Bolt has a 40-second cooldown, so you’ll be able to have another one up before your team actually groups to take a site.
  • If the first bolt gets destroyed, then the defense is likely primed and ready for a hold. If the bolt scans and finds no one, then throw some Shock Bolts in angles that the scan didn’t account for. If all else fails, utilize Drone Owl to really lift the veil on the other team.

Most importantly, Hunter’s Fury can absolutely ruin a defender’s plan for a last-second defuse from afar. Make sure to use Valorant’s lack of a sky-box to your advantage by learning your lineups.

Defense

It’s important for a Sova on Defense to not get antsy. Players are used to having a lot of intel with this Agent but, on Defense, a patient Sova will prevail.

  • Sova is good at playing for retakes, but he’s stronger at stalling pushes than the trinket-wielder is. His Recon Bolt can give you information of what’s coming around the bend and gives your team more info than any other Initiator ability in the game.
  • During a pivotal round, don’t be afraid to use your Hunter’s Fury in the quiet parts of the stage to scope a potential site take. The X-Ray highlighting on a hit will let you know a lot about what the defense is planning.

Verdict

Sova is an incredible Agent to use overall and has been a meta pick from Day 1. If you don’t forget to learn a few lineups to avoid predictable Shock Bolts or easily spotted Recon Bolts, then Sova will take care of you in your climb to Radiant. However, with recent nerfs being applied to the Agent’s toolkit to make way for Gekko, it remains to be seen whether Sova can hold on to his position as the best initiator in Valorant.


Try out the different Initiators to see which suits your playstyle or desired role in a team. All of these Agents are good for their own uses, but every one of them can accomplish different jobs.

So, there you have it – everything you need to know about the best Initiator Agents in Valorant.

For more tips and tricks, make sure to check out our guides:

Best Valorant Agents | Best Sentinels | Best Duelist | Best Initiators | Best Controllers |What is the Night Market? | How to get Gun Buddies |  What is Econ Rating? | How to get free loot drops | Is Valorant on Mac? | How many people play Valorant? | When is Valorant on Mobile coming out?

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About The Author

Alan is a former staff writer for Dexerto based in Southern California who covered esports, internet culture, and the broader games/streaming industry. He is a CSUF Alum with a B.A. in Journalism. He's reported on sports medicine, emerging technology, and local community issues. Got a tip or want to talk?