Riot Games' hero shooter Valorant released worldwide on June 2, 2020. With it came a fine mix of tactical and hero shooter gameplay. That of course means each character is able to do very different things, so if you’re wondering who you should eye as your main, we’ve got the details for you right here.

Valorant characters, abilities, and details

With every hero shooter comes the question of what’s available, who can do what, and what you should play. With that in mind, here’s a full list of each character in Valorant so far and what kind of abilities and capabilities they’re packing.

Note, this list is arranged in the order in which characters have been added, with new characters coming first. Updated 3/9/2021

Astra

Role: Controller

Backstory: Hailing from Ghana, Astra’s abilities are all about controlling the stars and using the cosmos. She is the fifteenth Agent added to Valorant, and is the fourth Controller in the game. 

How to play Astra in Valorant: Astra is unique in the sense that she has two Ultimate Abilities. One is always available and allows her to see an astral projection of the entire map, placing stars wherever she chooses. She can then turn these stars into smokes, concusses, or gravity wells.

Astra abilities: 

• Gravity Well (C) - Activate a Star to form a Gravity Well. Players in the area are pulled toward the center before it explodes, making all players still trapped inside fragile.
• Nova Pulse (Q) - Activate a Star to detonate a Nova Pulse. The Nova Pulse charges briefly then strikes, concussing all players in its area.
• Nebula (E) - Activate a Star to transform it into a Nebula (smoke).
• Dissipate (F) - Use (F) on a Star to Dissipate it, returning the star to be placed in a new location after a delay. Dissipate briefly forms a fake Nebula at the Star’s location before returning.
• Astral Form/Cosmic Divide (X) - Activate to enter Astral Form where you can place Stars with Primary Fire. Stars can be reactivated later, transforming them into a Nova Pulse, Nebula, or Gravity Well. When Cosmic Divide is charged, use Secondary Fire in Astral Form to begin aiming it, then Primary Fire to select two locations. An infinite Cosmic Divide connects the two points you select. Cosmic Divide blocks bullets and heavily dampens audio.

Yoru

Role: Duelist

Backstory: Valorant's first Japanese Agent, Yoru is able to jump through dimensions to gain the advantage in combat. He is the fourteenth Agent added to Valorant, and is the fifth Duelist in the game.

How to play Yoru in Valorant: Skye's abilities allow her to disrupt enemy players, giving her team the upper-hand when initiating combat and engaging the objective. She can also heal enemies with an area-of-effect ability.

Yoru abilities

• Blindside (Q) - Equip to rip an unstable dimensional fragment from reality. Fire to throw the fragment, activating a flash that winds up once it collides with a hard surface in the world.
• Gatecrash (E) - Equip to harness a rift tether, Fire to send the tether out moving forward, alt fire to place a tether in place, activate to teleport to the tether's location.
• Fakeout (C) - Equip an echo that mimics footsteps when activated, Fire to activate and send the echo forward, alt fire to place an echo in place, use the inactive echo to send it forward.
• Ultimate: Dimensional Drift (X) - Equip a mask that can see between dimensions. Fire  to drift into Yoru's dimension, unable to be affected or seen by enemies from the outside

Skye

Role: Initiator

Backstory: Skye hails from Australia and calls on nature to aid her in battle. She is the third post-launch Agent added to Valorant and one of three Agents in the Initiator class.

How to play Skye in Valorant: Skye's abilities allow her to disrupt enemy players, giving her team the upper-hand when initiating combat and engaging the objective. She can also heal enemies with an area-of-effect ability.

Skye abilities

• Trailblazer (Q) - Equip a Tasmanian tiger trinket. Fire to send out and take control of the predator. While in control, Fire to leap forward, exploding in a concussive blast and damaging directly hit enemies.
• Guiding Light (E) - Equip a hawk trinket. Fire to send it forward. Hold fire to guide the hawk in the direction of your crosshair. Re-use while the hawk is in flight to transform it into a flash that plays a hit confirm if an enemy was within range and line of sight.
• Regrowth (C) - Equip a healing trinket. Hold fire to channel, healing allies in range and line of sight. Can be reused until her healing pool is depleted. Skye cannot heal herself.
• Ultimate: Seekers (X) - Equip a Seeker trinket. Fire to send out three Seekers to track down the three closest enemies. If a Seeker reaches its target, it nearsights them.

Killjoy

Role: Sentinel

Backstory: Known as “The Genius of Germany,” Killjoy is a master technician that uses her inventions to get the advantage in battle. She is the second post-launch Agent added to Valorant, and is the third Agent in the Sentinel class.

How to play Killjoy in Valorant: Killjoy’s abilities are very defensively-oriented. Her Turret allows her to completely lock down certain entry points, while Alarmbot can sniff out an incoming push and thwart it before it begins. Both her Nanoswarm and Lockdown ultimate ability allow Killjoy to defend multiple enemies from an objective.

Killjoy Abilities

• Alarmbot (Q) - Deploy a bot that hunts down enemies within a limited radius. Deals damage and applies the vulnerable status condition. Can be recalled.
• Turret (E) - Deploy a turret that automatically fires at enemies within a 180 degree cone. Can be recalled.
• Signature: Nanoswarm (C) - Equip and throw a Nanoswarm grenade. Goes covert upon landing on the ground. Press F to activate the grenade, unleashing a deadly swarm of Nanobots on those in range.
• Ultimate: Lockdown (X) - Deploys Lockdown device. After a long windup, to the device detains all enemies caught within a large radius, stunning them and slowing movement. Can be destroyed by enemies.

Reyna

Role: Duelist

Backstory: Hailing from Mexico, Reyna poses a supreme threat to instantly turn the tide of a given round. With abilities allowing her to heal herself and become intangible, Reyna is incredibly self-sufficient, as long as the player can get the ball rolling. She is the first post-launch Agent added to Valorant, and is the fourth Duelist Agent.

How to play Reyna in Valorant: Reyna’s potential is sky-high, depending greatly on player performance. Upon killing enemies as Reyna, they will drop a soul orb that Reyna can use these orbs to quickly heal herself, or become intangible for a couple of seconds. Skilled players that are able to easily dispatch enemies will be extremely deadly with Reyna, as her kit makes it easy to string together kills. Reyna’s dependence on good performance and reward for skillful play makes her the ultimate top fragger.

Reyna abilities

• Devour (Q) - Consume a soul orb (dropped by killed enemies) and quickly gain health over a short period of time. 
• Dismiss (E) - Consume a soul orb (dropped by killed enemies) and become intangible for a couple of seconds.
• Signature: Leer (C) - Equip a destructible eye orb. Fire to cast the eye to a desired location, nearsighting any enemy that looks at it.
• Ultimate: Empress (X) - Increases firing, equip, and reload speeds. Automatically casts devour (without consuming orb) upon killing an enemy. When using Dismiss, Reyna becomes completely invisible. Killing an enemy renews the duration of the ability.

Raze

Role: Duelist

Backstory: Raze lives for the boom. She's packing enough explosives to bring down a house, but her job is to bring down opposing teams. If left unchecked, she can utilize her explosives to pin foes down and blow them to bits. You'd best stay on the move if you don't want to get caught in the shrapnel.

How to play Raze in Valorant: All of Raze's abilities are built around various explosives. From a cluster bomb built to cover a wide range to a little robot bomb that will chase opponents down for a deadly hug, Raze has some ordinance for every situation. When it's time to pull out the big guns and throw down explosive death of a more direct variety, that's when Raze can employ the rocket launcher. When she does, enemies will need to out of her sight as soon as you can. 

Raze abilities

• Blast Pack (Q) - Instantly throw a Blast Pack that will stick to the surfaces. Re-Use the ability after deployment to detonate, damaging and moving anything hit.
• Boom Bot (E) - Equip a Boom Bot. Fire will deploy the bot, causing it to travel in a straight line on the ground, bouncing off walls. The Boom Bot will lock on to any enemies in its frontal cone and chase them, exploding for heavy damage if it reaches them.
• Signature: Paint Shells (C) - Equip a cluster grenade. Fire to throw the grenade, which does damage and creates sub-munitions, each doing damage to anyone in their range.
• Ultimate: Showstopper (X) - Equip a rocket launcher. Fire shoots a rocket that does massive area damage on contact with anything.

Breach

Role: Initiator

Backstory: Walls are not obstacles to Breach. They are opportunities. And woe is the enemy standing on the other side of them when a good Breach puts his tools into effect. This burly, metal-armed menace is made to take advantage of enemies he hasn't even come into contact with yet with wall-penetrating abilities. What's more, he's got plenty of concussive force to blind and disorient foes. Be wary of the walls when Breach is near. If he knows where you are, you are not safe behind cover.

How to play Breach in Valorant: An initiator built upon starting the fight from a room away and keep the pressure on foes in cover, most of Breach's abilities are made to either be set on a wall or go through it. As such, Breach can start the fight and give his team a huge advantage by blinding, flashing, damaging, and disorienting enemies trying to stay protected, allowing he and his team to more safely move in for the kill.

Breach abilities

• Aftershock (Q) - Fire an explosive charge that breaches through walls and damages enemies standing near it
• Flashpoint (E) - Fire a flash charge into a wall that flashes enemies on the opposite side
• Signature: Fault Line (C) - Create a concussive quake in a straight line in front of Breach that disorients enemy aim and travels through walls.
• Ultimate: Rolling Thunder (X) - Fire a powerful seismic charge that travels through walls, dazes opponents, and knocks enemies upward

Brimstone

Role: Controller

Backstory: A grizzled soldier, Brimstone is a character for those who strategize around the map and tactical abilities that make use of it. Whether it's giving his teammates a boost, shutting out an area, or targeting a spot for harsh conflict, Brimstone values keeping track of the entire battlefield and the opportunities therein as much as he values keeping track of his allies and opponents.

How to play Brimstone in Valorant: Everything Brimstone has in his kit is built upon taking stock of the map and the situation of that of your foes and opponents. Whether it's cutting off an area with fire, obscuring vision in smoke, boosting his team's combat output, or blanketing an area in explosives, pretty much all of Brimstone's abilities require keeping track of the battlefield and making tactical decisions about where to deploy each of his skills at any given time.

Brimstone abilities

• Incendiary (Q) - Throw an incendiary grenade that coats an area in flames.
• Stim Beacon (E) - Select an area to call in this beacon that gives any player nearby a boost to fire speed.
• Signature: Sky Smoke (C) - Use your map to call in multiple smokescreens that block vision.
• Ultimate: Orbital Strike (X) - Call in a deadly orbital strike that strikes a targeted area repeatedly over several seconds.

Cypher

Role: Sentinel

Backstory: The last thing you want is to be caught in Cypher's sights, and he has plenty of ways to watch you. This enigma of an Agent from Morocco keeps a plethora of tools built towards providing information for both he and his teammates. Whatever you do, try not to die where Cypher can reach you. It's going to make everything so much worse for your teammates.

How to play Cypher in Valorant: Cypher's whole kit is an array of defensive measures built keep enemy positions known to his whole team at all times. He's got tripwires that will trap and reveal foes, cameras that can watch and mark targets with darts, and some nasty traps to keep known threats in place. Worst yet is getting caught by him. A hiding team won't stay hidden for long once Cypher reveals all of their locations from a dead foe.

Cypher abilities

• Trapwire (Q) - Place a tripwire between two walls that restrains and reveals enemies who cross it for a short time. Can be retrieved and reused.
• Cyber Cage (E) - Places a trap that, when activated, slows enemies who pass through it. Cypher can also detonate the traps, either one at a time or all at once.
• Signature: Spycam (C) - Place a remote camera that can be manually operated to fire tracking darts at enemies.
• Ultimate: Neural Theft (X) - Steal intel from a dead enemy, revealing the location of their allies.

Omen

Role: Controller

Backstory: A terrifying force that can strike from any direction, no angle is safe from Omen. His battle is a mind game that must be cracked if you're going to overcome him. Otherwise you'll be lost in the darkness as Omen leaves you blinding, moving in for the kill or slipping away in the shadows as the game suits him.

How to play Omen in Valorant: Omen's skills are centered around obscuring the vision of enemies, tricking them into fighting a false foe, and striking them from their unguarded flanks. He can launch clones that will blind foes if touched, teleport around short areas, and shroud areas in darkness. If Omen is on the field, always pay close attention for quirky behavior if you think you see him and never believe that your back is covered if you don't want to be killed when he shows up behind you.

Omen abilities

• Paranoia (Q) - Launch a shadow clone in a straight line that inflicts anyone it touches with blindness.
• Shadow Walk (E) - After a delay, teleport a short distance.
• Signature: Dark Cover (C) - Throw a stealthed orb that explodes into an obscuring sphere of shadow once it reaches its destination. Can be charged to increase its maximum distance.
• Ultimate: From The Shadows (X) - You can teleport to anywhere on the map, but it takes a few seconds to complete. Enemies can see a "shade" at your destination and cancel your teleport by killing it. After teleporting, you become invincible for a short time.

Jett

Role: Duelist

Backstory: Jett is Valorant's Korean representative harnessing the power of wind in her abilities. The breezy Agent has moves that both allow her to obscure her or her team from foes and let her dart around to either avoid fire or reach areas otherwise untouchable. The hardest part about playing against a character like Jett is going to be pinning her down long enough to net a kill.  You can learn more about Jett from her announcement.

How to play Jett in Valorant: Jett is a goldmine of hit-and-run tactics for those who want a speedy combatant that can get in and out of the fight in a hurry. With the power of wind on her side, Jett features an ability to boost her jumps, allowing her to reach higher areas than other players for sneaky ambushes. She can use similar powers to allow her to dash and strafe to where the action is or escape from incoming enemy fire. For both offensive and defensive purposes, Jett also has a throwable projectile that looks to home in on enemies before creating a ball of wind. Those caught in the wind will have their vision obscured and likely take damage as well. From top to bottom, Jett is a maelstrom to harness if you want to dabble in guerrilla tactics in Valorant.

Jett abilities

• Cloudburst (Q) - Throw a smoke grenade that obscures vision wherever it lands.
• Updraft (E) - Launch yourself upwards after a brief pause.
• Signature: Tailwind (C) - Dash a short distance in whatever direction you're moving.
• Ultimate: Blade Storm (X) - Wield several throwing knives that deal moderate damage and kill on headshots. Getting a kill replenishes your daggers and you can choose to throw them one at a time or throw all remaining daggers in a short-ranged burst.

Sage

Role: Sentinel

Backstory: Coming from China, Sage represents a hybrid healer and defensive character. Her abilities seem to be built towards keeping her allies alive, but also denying space to her enemies, or forcing them to pay the price for forcing their way through. A strategic Sage with a good handle on her abilities looks like it’s going to be paramount to a team’s success. You can learn more about Sage from her announcement.

How to play Sage in Valorant: Sage’s abilities seem to be split between defensive and support roles. She features healing bubbles that can heal up wounded allies when cast. She can also cast an area-of-effect field over the ground of nearby spots. Any enemy that passes through them will take damage. Finally, Sage can cast walls to be used to block areas off. It doesn’t seem to be a super tall wall, but forcing enemies to climb it will possibly set up opportunities for easy shots, or deter them from entering the area altogether.

Sage abilities

• Slow Orb (Q) - Throws an orb that creates a zone that slows any who pass through it, preventing them from jumping and emitting a distinct noise when they move through it.
• Barrier Orb (E) - Creates a large, impassable wall.
• Signature: Healing Orb (C) - Heals you or an ally over several seconds.
• Ultimate: Resurrection (X) - Revive an ally to full health after a quick delay.

Sova

Role: Initiator - Recon/Crowd Control

Backstory: Sova is Valorant’s Russian representative, and he’s also the resident recon of the game. It’s not just Sova’s sniper rifle that makes him dangerous from a distance. He can also sniff out enemies for his own attacks or give his team vital information that could lead to a strategic kill.

How to play Sova in Valorant: As the formal recon Agent of Valorant, all of Sova’s abilities are built towards exposing of foes. For one, he can deploy a flying drone that can mark targets for allies and alert them to enemy presences. He also packs a sort of sonar arrow ability. When this arrow is fired into an area, it will reveal foes within range of the arrow’s effect. It seems as though this can not only locate, but also decloak hidden foes. If you know enemies are in the immediate area, it’s a good time to deploy Sova and nail down exactly where they are.

Sova abilities

• Shock Bolt (Q) - Fires a bolt that radiates damaging bursts of static energy on impact.
• Owl Drone (E) - Use a pilotable, flying drone to scout the map and fire darts that reveal enemies.
• Signature: Recon Bolt (C) - Fires an arrow that emits sonar waves that marks and reveals nearby enemies for as long as it remains in place (can be destroyed).
• Ultimate: Hunter's Fury (X) - Fires up to three energy blasts that pierce walls and travel the length of the map. Any enemies that are hit take near-fatal damage and are revealed to your team.

Viper

Role: Controller

Backstory: Viper is the poisonous operative of the United States in Valorant. Her entire kit is all about forcing her enemies to play the map within her boundaries. This means setting walls, domes, and expanding areas of poison gas. Those unfortunate enough to get caught in Viper’s poison are unlucky enough, but worse is being forced to be where Viper wants you to be when she fires on you.

How to play Viper in Valorant: Viper’s abilities are all about defense and the control of space via spikes and cannisters of poison gas. She has the abilities to make a dome of poison gas to trap foes inside or outside, as well as creating a deadly wall of gas. Finally she has a spike which will deploy an expanding field of gas when used. It’s difficult to see through the line of gas once Viper has them set, making her game one of both visual deterrence and perilous defenses. Cross into her deadly gas if you dare.

Viper abilities

• Snakebite (Q) - Fire a projectile that creates a pool of acid.
• Poison Cloud (E) - Throw a gas bomb that emits a cloud of poisonous smoke at the cost of fuel. You can retrieve the gas bomb and throw it again after a short cooldown.
• Signature: Toxic Screen (C) - Creates a line of gas emitters that can be activated to create a wall of toxic gas at the cost of fuel.
• Ultimate: Viper's Pit (X) - Creates a poison cloud that blankets a large area, letting Viper easily pick off enemies trapped within it.

Phoenix

Role: Duelist

Backstory: Phoenix is the first Valorant Agent revealed in full, a representative of the United Kingdom. Where others can sit back and slow play the map, Phoenix is built to be a full-on aggressor. Gifted with pyrokinetics, his abilities allow him to dazzle and fry his enemies while keeping himself alive. When you’re Phoenix, you burn bright and rise from the ashes. That’s what this Agent brings to the battlefield. You can learn more about Phoenix from his original announcement.

How to play Phoenix in Valorant: As we mentioned, Phoenix is built towards full aggression. He has a fire ball that explodes to create an area-of-effect field that will heal him and burn enemies, as well as a curving flare that will flash to blind foes. When the going gets tough, he also has options. Phoenix can mark a spot, and if he dies within the duration of the ability, he will be restored at the marked location. Finally, he has a fire wall that allows him to disengage difficult situations, create choke points, and block off foes. All of it together makes Phoenix a frontline fighter and hard to kill as he lays down fire upon his foes in multiple forms.

Phoenix abilities

• Blaze (Q) - Summon a wall of fire that blocks vision and hurts anyone passing through it. The wall can also be bent when casting.
• Curveball (E) - Throw a flashbang that curves around corners.
• Signature: Hot Hands (C) - Throws a fireball that covers a small area in flames after a short wait or when it hits the ground. These flames damage your enemies but heal you.
• Ultimate: Run it back (X) - Marks your current location and starts a short timer. When the timer expires, or if you die, you respawn at the marked location with full health.

That’s all of the Valorant characters in the game as of now. Be sure to keep up on our latest Valorant coverage for more info and continue to check this list as new characters are added to the game.