valorant agents ranked by skill ceiling

not accounting learning curve, its how hard every agent is to master (aim does not count)

1. Sova. the amount of ceiling it takes to learn every single dart in every single situation is extremely high, probably the highest ceiling out of any agent
2. yoru- the outplay potential with the entire kit is insane and the flash lineups too
3. kayo- the flash lineups that are possible with kayo are endless
4. raze, perfect satchel movement, ult + satchel combos, superboost, nade = satchel combos
5. neon- slides, backward slides, ult movement, movement has a shit ton of potential
6. astra- the amount of places where you can throw ur combos with your stars has a lot of potential
7. harbor- u can do some crazy things with ur wall and cove and catch timings and play like a rat
8. deadlock- ult lineups and wallboosts, takes some time to learn and master
9. skye- just the flash u can do some different flashes, like winding it up, fake flash, hitting the floor and making it flap, recharge rate management
10. omen - be able to learn to throw all one way smokes likes its muscle memory + flash and tps
11. cypher-once again, just learn some setups, potential for trick plays with the cage tho, def could be higher
12. fade- be able to manipulate sound and eye lineups, rest are not that bad, the eye is kinda limiting tbh and pretty easy to shoot and theres not a ton of places u can throw
13. viper- really just a decent knowledge of ur ult placements and molly lineups
14. phoenix- be able to make ur flashes undogable, and backwards flashes, reverse flashes, and molly flash combos
15. gekko- just utilize ur flash and molly combos, and know how to use ur ult properly and move it properly
16. breach- just know ur timings and lineups and combos, like stun and aftershock, flash placements, etc
17. kj- learn some good steps and some ult+ molly combos but thats as far as the ceilings go
18. brim-pretty straightforward- yes u can learn every possible lineup for the molly but its not THAT useful to know and it takes a while- enemies will know where u are in postplant most likely
19. jett- aim unaccounted for, its just movement updraft and dashes and entries
20. Sage. spend a day learning the grim walls and practice, only part of the kit that takes skill
21. Vyse- i forgot ab her lol but its rly just setups bait them with ur wall and flash and razerwire
22. Clove. Just learn how to smoke and you should be fine. straightforward kit
23. Iso. Pop shield, entry, and ult. oh yea and use the vulnerable thing to hit people too
24. Chamber. Mostly just aim, TPs are basic
25. Reyna. self-explanatory, just dont flash chest level and some movements and ur all good

edit: i forgot vyse

Phoenix should be way lower cmon
Such a no skill agent
Literally reyna and iso tier

very true, i only read top 3 but i agree.

i think yoru and kayo are the hardest but sovas there too

also in general i think initiators should be higher (u alr placed them high but i think skye should be higher), it is really easy to blow your entire kit, i see a lot of ascendant or low immortal players who have no clue how to play initiator, significantly more than other roles

Kirya [#2]

Phoenix should be way lower cmon
Such a no skill agent
Literally reyna and iso tier

then you obviously havent seen the true potential of phoenix
the amount of places on maps where u can throw a molly and flash them to bait them into running into the molly is insane
the amount of knowledge required to know all of the lineups for every single place on every map is harder than u think
and no a lot of people dont know to throw reverse flashes or backwards flashes or jump peeking while flashing then turning around at the same time
i agree it could be a bit high as in top 7 tho, ill move it lower but its def not that low

kanyefan4238173 [#3]

very true, i only read top 3 but i agree.

i think yoru and kayo are the hardest but sovas there too

also in general i think initiators should be higher (u alr placed them high but i think skye should be higher), it is really easy to blow your entire kit, i see a lot of ascendant or low immortal players who have no clue how to play initiator, significantly more than other roles

yea but im talking about the absolute skill ceiling in which u use 100% of ur util to the max potential
yea ascendants or low immortal players dont know how to use util sometimes but im sayin like the absolute possible best yk

smthlikeyou11 [#5]

yea but im talking about the absolute skill ceiling in which u use 100% of ur util to the max potential
yea ascendants or low immortal players dont know how to use util sometimes but im sayin like the absolute possible best yk

ohh true, i kinda misread

skye is rlly easy to misuse but playing good isnt that hard once u try to learn it. i still think it should be a little higher. its way easier when u have rechargables like with fade or gekko

12 and 13 are who

smthlikeyou11 [#4]

then you obviously havent seen the true potential of phoenix
the amount of places on maps where u can throw a molly and flash them to bait them into running into the molly is insane
the amount of knowledge required to know all of the lineups for every single place on every map is harder than u think
and no a lot of people dont know to throw reverse flashes or backwards flashes or jump peeking while flashing then turning around at the same time
i agree it could be a bit high as in top 7 tho, ill move it lower but its def not that low

Nah his flash mechanics are rly simple and all the stuff thst u named is easy to learn
Idk about molly lineups since i only saw 2 of these on ascent but still dont think its enough to get him in top 7

skye has to be way higher
managing the lack of recharge is extreme

saebr [#7]

12 and 13 are who

gekko and vyse i think

catNmouse [#10]

gekko and vyse i think

it was gekko and viper lol
i forgot ab vyse

K4ziuHa [#9]

skye has to be way higher
managing the lack of recharge is extreme

tbh yea but its not necessarily that hard once u learn just when to use it and when to save it

Why is Phoenix taht high? Harbor below Neon? Viper below Gekko?
troll list

am i tripping or is cypher missing

Alr3adyGone [#14]

am i tripping or is cypher missing

No, Cypher is tripping. you're smoking

Astra should be higher. Also you overrate line-ups way too much. A bronze player can learn a bunch of Sova darts, but that won't make them good.

Cheasle2 [#16]

Astra should be higher. Also you overrate line-ups way too much. A bronze player can learn a bunch of Sova darts, but that won't make them good.

lineups are inherently hard though.
to have a lineup for every corner of the map from all maps from everywhere for every little mini situation is definitely hard

smthlikeyou11 [#17]

lineups are inherently hard though.
to have a lineup for every corner of the map from all maps from everywhere for every little mini situation is definitely hard

memorising stuff doesn't require any aspect of skill

Cheasle2 [#18]

memorising stuff doesn't require any aspect of skill

i would argue it takes quite a bit of skill to memorize actually

Fade, viper and cypher higher omen lower.
Fade requires good map knowledge as there are many unexpected places where you can throw yr eye and you also need a variety of lineups to avoid enemy from instantly destroying it instantly.
Viper needs to be good at managing her toxin and timing her smokes.
Cypher looks easy but has a very high ceiling as you need to have a variety of setups or else enemy would just destroy them at the start of the round making his kit useless.
Omen kits is pretty straightforward only thing you would need to learn are the 1 ways and how his tp works

NajibRazak [#20]

Fade, viper and cypher higher omen lower.
Fade requires good map knowledge as there are many unexpected places where you can throw yr eye and you also need a variety of lineups to avoid enemy from instantly destroying it instantly.
Viper needs to be good at managing her toxin and timing her smokes.
Cypher looks easy but has a very high ceiling as you need to have a variety of setups or else enemy would just destroy them at the start of the round making his kit useless.
Omen kits is pretty straightforward only thing you would need to learn are the 1 ways and how his tp works

ngl decent shouts i didnt have time to account for every single factor

Overall good list but imo:

Skye should be higher, especially post-nerf

Phoenix should be lower, its just flash swing and maybe if you care learn a molly lineup or two

Cypher needs to be a little higher, and forsure above viper. There's a lot of depth and nerdiness that goes into him, especially considering adaptations.

Gekko needs to be WAY lower, like cmon, he is so easy. The sage of initators.

Sova is up there but im not sure about #1. I think you're really overrating lineups. The best sovas in the world are not mega-lineup nerds. Besides Ascent (lineup nerd heaven) you can learn everything you need for each map in 25 mins or less.

And I have won money on Sova and been deep down the Heymrmiumiu, Johnnypkay, Tseeky, Snapiex, Draobrevoh, Valorant Lab, vladkor, etc lineup rabbit-hole, I know my lineups.

memorizing lineups is one of the lowest skill ceiling things you can do in the game and even if you memorize lineups for every single corner of the map they won't be that helpful. sova being 1 is a joke, every flash initiator takes way more skill than him

Sova is definitely not the hardest.