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Reviewed by Benjamin Barr
Riot Games’ Valorant is a surprisingly nuanced shooter. The combination of super powered characters and team-based combat make it a constant balancing act that forces players to shift their strategies to fit their team. There are currently sixteen different playable agents in Valorant, which each fit into one of four different roles: Initiator, Controller, Sentinel, and Duelist.
Duelists are probably the most-played class AKA role in the game. They’re the most self-sufficient and combat focused class. They’re expected to take the lead on attacks and play aggressively in order to rack up their kill count.
In this article, we cover each of the five Duelists in Valorant from worst to best. We’ll discuss their pros and cons before jumping into an overall guide to how to play a Duelist in Valorant.
Let’s get started!
Duelists Tier List
We’ll start out with our tier list. Keep reading for more information on each individual Duelist in Valorant, along with tips and tricks on how to use them!
Duelists Ranked Worst to Best
In our rankings below, we go into a bit more detail about each Duelist and share our top tips and tricks for each.
5/5
Yoru
Yoru isn’t just the worst Duelist, we consider him the only D-tier agent in the game. That’s because a lot of his abilities don’t really fit his class, making his exact role difficult to place. He can be useful for trying to trick opponents and solo-scout areas, but his utility is outshined by every other agent.
Tips and Tricks
- Teleport wherever your team is going, then check mid or opposite site to get a pick before teleporting back to your team.
- Use Fake Footsteps to fake a push on one site while your team goes to the other.
- While defending, set your Teleport at one site and hold the other so you can instantly defend against any incoming attacks.
- Use Dimensional Drift to push a site and ping enemies for your teammates to kill.
4/5
Phoenix
Pheonix’s ability to flash around corners is unique, but it would be better if it lasted just a little bit longer. His Run-It-Back ultimate ability is arguably one of the best in the game, but it’s hard to recommend him when Jett and Raze do the same job, just better.
Tips and Tricks
- Throw Mollies in doorways so you can hold and heal at the same time.
- Flash in the opposite direction you’re turning in so you can take corners faster.
- Use Wall to create flash points.
- Use Run-It-Back when when pushing, not defending.
3/5
Reyna
Reyna is kind of unique among Duelists. She would be the best agent in the game if Valorant were a solo PvE title and not a team sport. Her ability to drain life from her enemies and heal herself is unmatched in terms of survival. Unfortunately, she’s not much of a team player.
Tips and Tricks
- Blind corners before pushing.
- Play aggressively.
- Use Heal to recover from 1v1 fights.
- When fighting two opponents, kill one and use Dismiss to get away.
2/5
Raze
Raze has several explosive abilities, which are useful for big pushes and clearing sites. She does best in tight spaces. You could argue that she’s actually the best Duelist in the game when it comes to the more enclosed maps like Split and Bind. Breeze and Ice Box are her worst enemies, however.
Tips and Tricks
- Double Satchel jumps to take massive amounts of open space and make large vertical leaps.
- Use grenades and Boombot in tight areas and to take corners.
- Satchels deal extra damage to Sage walls.
- Use Rocket when opponents group up.
1/5
Jett
Who is the best Duelist in VALORANT? Jett is our #1 pick. She’s an all-around MVP and one of the most popular characters in the game. There’s no agent in Valorant more deadly with The Operator, as her Updraft ability allows her to take perches other players can’t reach and her Dash ability allows her to escape when she’s pinned down. She’s an S-Tier agent and our pick for the best Duelist in Valorant.
Tips and Tricks
- Use an Operator wherever possible.
- Use Updraft to hold angles enemy players wouldn’t expect.
- Use Smoke to push, and Dash to escape.
- Save your knives for “save rounds” where you can’t buy rifles.
Top 3 Most Important Things to Do as a Duelist
- Take point. Because their abilities favor quick conflict and survival, Duelists are great for leading the push into new areas. Be sure to peek around corners to avoid leading your team into areas that are full of enemies.
- Clear spaces. Duelists are great fraggers, getting more kills on average than other classes. They’re self-sufficient and not very team-oriented, so use your solo skills to clear sites and give your team room to operate.
- Play mid on defense. As their name suggests, Duelists aren’t great for defending against organized pushes (at least, not alone). Instead, they’re ideal candidates for holding the middle area while on defense. Position yourself in such a way that you can rush to either site if it starts getting attacked.
Top 3 Things to Avoid Doing as a Duelist
- Don’t be timid. Like we mentioned before, it’s the Duelist’s job to take the lead, push the enemy, and get kills. Being overly cautious will ultimately result in the death of your teammates.
- Don’t hold sites alone. Duelists really aren’t equipped for stalling enemy pushes or holding multiple points of entry. Leave that job to other classes that can hold a space alone and buy time until reinforcements arrive.
- Don’t bait teammates. This shouldn’t need to be said, but don’t make your teammates take point just to get information about your enemies’ location. This is unfortunately common and does way more harm than good.
Join the High Ground
Thanks for reading our best Valorant Duelist guide. We hope it helps you climb the ranks and start racking in those kills. Be sure to follow High Ground Gaming for guides, reviews and more lists like this one.
Happy gaming!
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