Valorant has a new map for the launch of Episode 5, Act 1, and over the past few days Twinfinite has had the opportunity to play a dozen or so matches along with other press and content creators ahead of its full launch. So, before Pearl becomes available to play for everyone we’re sharing our opinion on who we consider the best Agents to play on Pearl.
KAY/O
10 Best Agents For Valorant’s New Map Pearl
Kayo is an Agent whose utility is pretty much well-suited to every Valorant map, and Pearl is no exception. Actually, I think he’s likely to become meta given that his knife gets excellent recon value on CT due to the layout of the map. He’s especially good on A, in my experience, where the knife is able to tag on-rushing enemies, and he can hide in awkward corners where pop flashes are extremely powerful.
Of course, the rest of Kayo’s kit is as strong as it is on any other map: molly lineups can clear angles when attacking, or defend the spike in post-plant; Kayo’s ult makes bursting onto small sites like A very easy, and it’s superb for retakes as well.
If you want to see some Kayo gameplay on Pearl then look no further than this handy little montage I put together versus content creators like Flow and Flights:
Viper
10 Best Agents For Valorant’s New Map Pearl
Viper appears as though she’s likely to become a meta controller on Pearl. Her utility is brilliant for locking down A as CT, a site that also lends itself to a strong Viper’s Pitt too. Crucially, she’s able to have an impact across the map and help take mid-control on both Attack and Defense, which as we’ve noted in our Pearl strategy guide is a very important part of the map.
The caveat with Viper is that there’s some belief amongst those with early access that double-controller might be the way to go on Pearl, given its sheer size. Viper would certainly benefit from having, say, an Omen over on B during CT to help provide better protection.
On attack, Viper is going to be clutch in a post plant as both sites lend themselves to molly/orb lineup setups. Her wall is also just as useful for taking mid-control on Attack as it is on defense, and it can also be used to make retaking a nightmare for defenders.
You can check out some of Viper’s potential in this video highlighting some basic setups:
Raze
10 Best Agents For Valorant’s New Map Pearl
Following Jett’s nerf, and given that Agents like Reyna and Phoenix are more or less useless in high elo competitive play, Raze has become the meta duelist. For Pearl, I think she’s also likely to see widespread use, where her utility will be effective in a similar way to Split — clearing angles with her Boombot, causing big damage in tight spaces with her Paintshells, and taking space with both her Satchels and Showstopper for site entries/retakes. Raze was a consistent pick during early access over the past few days, and other duelists like Neon and Jett weren’t especially effective.