As the year 2020 came to an end, Valorant wrestled away some of the limelight from other popular titles in the same genre. Riot’s team-based FPS experiment initially caught our attention earlier in the year, but quickly faded because of Warzone. Now in 2021, Valorant is flourishing.
However, for newcomers, in particular, choosing between the 15 different agents can be overwhelming. Each agent possesses unique abilities that can affect the game in many ways. Other than standard abilities, agents have special skills called Ultimates. These skills can cause massive damage, provide impenetrable defensive measures, or reveal enemy locations. Similar to standard abilities, certain Ultimates prove far more beneficial than others and have the potential to be game-changers. Here we take a look at the best choices.
10 Cypher: Neural Theft
The main objective for Cypher is recon. By using his Ultimate, Neural Theft, Cypher has 30 seconds to analyze an enemy corpse to locate the remaining enemy agents around the map. However, if an enemy moves after being alerted of his Ultimate, then they won’t be displayed any longer.
Knowing where enemies are located is a major advantage in Valorant, making the Moroccan agent’s Ultimate a solid one to have on your side.
9 Breach: Rolling Thunder
Anyone looking to cause a ruckus need not look any further than Breach. When his Ultimate is activated, Breach creates a seismic charge that knocks enemies into the air and dazes them. Rolling Thunder starts eight meters away from Breach, which increases the distance affected by the ability.
The beauty behind the Swedish agent’s Ultimate is its flexibility. If the Spike has been planted and Breach is on defense, Rolling Thunder is an effective way to push onto the site and target the dazed enemy agents. On the other hand, Breach’s Ultimate can also be an effective way to establish an early offensive position.
8 Viper: Viper’s Pit
Whether players need to defuse the Spike or protect it, there are few better Ultimates to have handy than Viper’s Pit. The American agent detonates a chemical sprayer that emits a cloud that extends out up to 18 meters wide. Enemy vision inside the cloud is heavily reduced, although enemies are highlighted for Viper to easily locate, and the cloud also inflicts Decay on enemy agents.
Viper’s Decay erodes their health at a rate of 15.25 health per second and leaves enemies who remain inside the cloud at only one health point. If an enemy is lucky enough to escape the cloud, their health re-gains at a rate of 25 health per second, but there’s an initial 2.5-second delay before the health regeneration begins.
7 Omen: From the Shadows
Omen mains know all too well the limitations in his teleporting ability. While generally useful, the lack of distance Omen can travel severely hinders its functionality. But what if Omen could teleport anywhere on the map? Say hello to From the Shadows. Omen’s Ultimate ability allows the agent to teleport anywhere, but with a small added feature for flexibility.
Omen can cancel the Ultimate before completing the teleportation if there’s danger. Theoretically, Omen can use the skill as either a means of transportation to flank enemies, plant the Spike at the opposite bombsite, or even use the skill as a recon tool. Also when activated, From the Shadows blinds the mini-map for the enemy team, rendering it useless.
6 Sova: Hunter’s Fury
Sova adopts certain features from his standard abilities to create his Ultimate, Hunter’s Fury. The archer combines the damage of his shock bolt with the enemy detector of his recon bolt. When activated, the Russian agent fires up to three energy blasts 65 meters in length that deal a maximum of 80 damage.
On top of that, Sova’s blast will reveal the enemy’s location, so whether he’s on defense or offense Hunter’s Fury can be utilized. Hunter’s Fury lasts up to three charges or an eight-second duration, so it’s advised to use all three charges quickly.
5 Raze: Showstopper
Raze keeps things simple and clean with her Ultimate, Showstopper. When activated, Raze brings out a rocket launcher and blasts the enemy into oblivion. On direct impact, the rocket inflicts a maximum of 150 damage, enough to kill instantly. The rocket also causes splash damage, so once she yells, “Fire in the hole!” start running.
Firing the rocket can also act as a defensive desperation play because the rocket propels Raze backward about five meters.
4 Phoenix: Run It Back
In terms of effectiveness, Ultimates can be valued based on their floor and ceiling, similar to how athletes are analyzed. The floor represents the bare minimum value, while the ceiling represents its potential value. If someone’s floor is high, then they can have a large impact regardless of any situation. By using those measurements, Phoenix’s Ultimate offers one of the highest floors of any Valorant Ultimate ability.
Phoenix’s Run It Back ability allows him to create a clone that’s able to shoot, kill, and use abilities just like normal Phoenix. The clone is active for either ten seconds or until destroyed, whichever comes first. While controlling the clone, Phoenix cannot take real damage.
However, there is a two-second delay when Phoenix returns to his real body, so it could be bad news if the British agent isn’t in a good hiding spot. There’s endless potential in Phoenix’s Ultimate on both defense and offense. It can be used as a recon device to scout an area or as a first wave to push onto a bombsite.
3 Killjoy: Lockdown
Flashy, offensive Ultimates like Raze’s tend to catch the attention of most players. It’s understandable. In an FPS, who wouldn’t want to have an all-powerful Ultimate to really bring on the pain train. While those types of abilities grab the headlines, it’s Ultimates like Killjoy’s that truly turn the tide in battle.
Killjoy’s Lockdown is the apex of defensive Ultimate abilities. When activated, the German agent deploys a device that detains enemies for eight seconds that are caught within the 30-meter wide sphere after 13.5 seconds. Although Lockdown’s effectiveness is at its peak defending the Spike from being defused, it can also be used in initially clearing out a bombsite due to its wide radius.
The Lockdown device can be destroyed, but players would be risking being Detained. Other agents can use their Ultimates to destroy Lockdown from afar, like Brimstone’s Orbital Strike, but that would also be in Killjoy’s favor in forcing the enemy to use an Ultimate ability prematurely.
2 Sage: Resurrection
Whether there’s a Sage ally or enemy, it’s best to keep tabs on her Resurrection ability. Just as the name entails, Sage’s Ultimate revives a fallen teammate to full health, but not full shields. While it’s advantageous to bring someone back from the dead, it could lead to a free kill for the enemy team.
Typically a teammate’s body will be in the middle of gunfire, so creating cover fire or utilizing Sage’s wall would work best with Resurrection. Also, if the formerly deceased didn’t have the bad luck of someone taking their gun, they should have the items they purchased from the armory.
1 Jett: Bladestorm
Although each Ultimate ability varies among the Valorant agents, one condition remains the same for each of them: when activated, the Ultimate ability must be used immediately. That is, everyone except for Jett.
The South Korean’s Ultimate ability, Bladestorm, allows her to wield five throwing knives that deal 50 damage to the legs and torso or 150 damage to the head. When Jett activates her Ultimate, she has the flexibility to switch between her equipped weapons and throwing knives without penalty.
On top of that, if Jett kills an enemy with her knives, the knives restock to a full five. In other words, Jett could play through an entire round and never lose her Ultimate. Due to its flexibility, damage output, and restocking capabilities, Jett’s Blade Storm takes the cake as the best Ultimate in Valorant.
NEXT: 5 Things Valorant Does Better Than Overwatch (& 5 Overwatch Is Better At)
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Upon graduating from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, Avery Feyrer experienced working as a Web Content Editor at the local sports radio station in Arizona. After realizing his true passions were in games, Avery began writing game reviews for his personal website (coffeescorner.com) before becoming a regular contributor to MP1st. Avery specializes in creating all kinds of lists, which prompted him to apply as a List Article Writer for The Gamer. You can find Avery on Twitter @CoffeeBlack_910.
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