Valorant pros underwhelmed by Harbor on release

Valorant pros have gotten their hands on the game’s newest Agent, Harbor, early and have come away feeling underwhelmed.

Riot Games allowed pro players, content creators and press the ability to play Harbor early and stream their gameplay.

After Harbor’s announcement, players were drawn to his unique Cove ability, which lets him throw a water grenade that turns into a shield on impact and acts as a smoke, which gives him a unique ability to control points on the map.

Despite how promising Harbor looks on paper, the pro players who have gotten their hands on the new Controller say the Agent feels underwhelming.

Valorant give mixed impressions of Harbor

The first point many pros made was that Harbor might not be able to play as a solo Controller at a professional level.

The new Agent does not have a lot of utility that can hold down an area as he was created for quick hits and to initiate fights.

first thoughts is that harbor seems incredibly weird on a practical level

I think the wave ruined his potential to be a good solo controller

he has 3 abilities with 1 charge

His shield bubble can be melted insta

His ult and wall are great tho

— ROY (@RealStrongLegs) October 13, 2022

For many pros, a controller that can’t be run solo in a pro composition is not worth the pickup, with Brendan ‘BcJ’ Jensen saying Viper is better than Harbor even when running two Controllers at the moment.

Harbor worse than every controller already in the game (when it comes to solo controller) and when it comes to 2x controller-> still worse than viper.

— BcJ (@BcJFPS) October 13, 2022

Some also pointed to flaws with Harbor’s Cove ability, which can only take so much damage, and once it is destroyed the smoke dissipates, giving enemies a brief advantage. Players can all shoot the smoke, or as one creator found, use one Raze satchel, to break the shield and take away the utility.

While the general vibe online from players has been middling, some have pointed out specific strengths they see in the Agent for professional play.

Former Sentinels analyst Dani ‘Dani’ Hashweh said he thinks that, though the Agent is not very good, Harbor is great at fast executes and strong for retaking space and spike sites. He also said the Cove ability will be strong on low-buy rounds.

harbor seems VERY strong. think he will allow for some insane retakes and defaults/execs more so than any other controller agent

we shall see tho 🤷‍♂️

— yay (@yay) October 13, 2022

Former OpTic Gaming star Jaccob ‘yay’ Whiteaker agreed with the sentiment around retakes and site executions and said he personally thinks the Agent is strong.

Pros will have months to workshop with the Agent before the 2023 season of the Valorant Champions Tour which starts in February. Fans will get to see how teams work out how to use the Agent in the offseason.