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Valorant's Pearl map is finally here. With really tight corners and multiple entrances, players will have to pick their brains to figure out the perfect strategy to take sites. This map is better suited for defenders, so attackers need to put up more of an effort to assert control.
That said, here's a list of agents who could do well while attacking along with those who'd be exceptionally good at defending on Valorant's Pearl. That said, this isn't a ranked list. All agents have unique abilities, making every approach to the map a very unique one.
Note: This article reflects the opinion of the writer.
These agents are ideal for attacking on Valorant's Pearl
1) Sova
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Sova was one of the first agents to make it to Valorant. Being an initiator, his skillset can be utilized on this map very well. Since Pearl has a lot of tight corners, the Owl Drone can be utilized to get valuable intel in close quarters. For longer and more open areas like the two different sites, the Recon Bolt is a great option.
Despite the nerf, Sova's recon bolts can provide the team with some important intel, making it easier for the attacking team to take control of the site. Sova can also use his Shock Bolts to deliver some concentrated AoE damage. Finally, talking about Sova's ultimate, Hunters Fury, he can dish out a lot of damage with these energy blasts that can pierce through walls.
Although this is useful on every map in Valorant, it's particularly deadly on Pearl because the corners are very tight, and there's very little room to dodge this attack.
2) Breach
Another initiator made it to this list primarily because of his skillset. Breach has abilities that can essentially daze and stun enemies. His signature ability is known as the Fault Line. With this ability, Breach can shoot a seismic blast that dazes enemies who are caught in the line of fire.
Secondly, his ability called Flashpoint can be shot through the walls. Given that Valorant's Pearl is such a compact map, players can use this ability to clear corners. This could potentially be used to blind multiple enemies who stay camped up in corners. He's also got an ability called Aftershock, that can be used to damage opponents through the walls.
The Aftershock ability fires slow and concentrated charges through the walls, dishing out heavy damage to anyone caught in the crossfire. His ultimate, Rolling Thunder, is quite similar to his signature skill, the Fault Line. The only difference is that his ultimate ability has a longer range when compared to his signature skill.
3) Reyna
It shouldn't be surprising to see Reyna on any list when Valorant is concerned. This agent is literally tailored to make deadly moves while attacking. Moreover, given how compact Pearl is, Reyna should be every team's top pick just for this map.
Her skillset includes abilities like Devour, which allows her to consume the soul orbs of fallen enemies. Her alternate signature ability is known as Dismiss and is similar to her Devour ability. With the Dismiss ability, she can consume soul orbs that make her intangible momentarily.
Her ultimate ability, Empress, when activated, gives Reyna a momentary boost in firing speed, reload time and weapon equip time. Every time she scores a kill while this ability is active, the duration is renewed.
However, her most interesting ability is known as Leer. When using this ability, she shoots an orb in the sky that can nearsight enemies in a certain radius. Although this isn't as effective as a flashbang, it can be used to bag some really quick kills. Interestingly enough, this ability can be shot through walls, making it really useful while checking corners in Valorant.
4) Brimstone
Brimstone is also one of the oldest agents in the game. The Commander of the Valorant Protocol can be deadly in the right hands, especially on the Pearl map in the game.
Brimstone doesn't have any fancy flashing abilities, but he does have smoke grenades at his disposal. Given that all the sites have multiple entry points, Brimstone can easily create one-ways with his Sky Smoke ability. This can effectively be used to confuse the defenders while entering sites in Valorant.
He also has the ability to deploy a Stim Beacon. Anyone standing close enough to the Stim Beacon will gain a boost to their rate of fire and weapon reload time, making this ability quite useful when entering and taking over sites in the game.
5) KAY/O
KAY/O is the only robot amidst all the other agents on the roster. He's got a fancy set of abilities that can make him very useful on a map like Pearl in Valorant. First of all, KAY/O can use a flash grenade.
The importance of flash grenades on this map has already been established while speaking about the other agents on this list. Given that it's a tight map with close corners, agents with flash grenade-esque abilities like KAY/O can be very useful while taking entering tough corners.
However, it's not his Flash/Drive ability that makes him unique. He has an ability known as Zero/Point. While using this ability, KAY/O throws a knife that attaches to a surface and explodes on impact, creating a small zone of suppression. Anyone caught inside this zone is marked and suppressed. When suppressed, the agents cannot use their abilities for a short period of time in Valorant.
His ultimate Null/CMD in Valorant has a similar effect. However, unlike the knife, KAY/O sends out pulses that suppress enemies for a short duration. Every time an agent is hit with a pulse, the suppression timer fills up again, barring them from using their abilities. While his ultimate is active, teammates can revive KAY/O without using abilities, but they have a small window to do so.
These agents are superb for defending on Valorant's Pearl
1) Sage
Sage is Valorant's resident healer. Although Skye can heal too, her healing is limited to her teammates only. While Skye cannot heal herself, Sage can. The latter can also heal her teammates in Valorant, making her a really unique agent.
Sage excels in the supporter role, but can be used as an offensive agent too. When it comes to defending in Valorant's Pearl, Sage can use her Slow Orb to slow enemies down while they're trying to take a corner.
Since Pearl has very tight corners, the Slow Orb can spread out over a moderate distance. It doesn't increase the time for which this effect is active. Since the alleys are slightly compact when compared to other maps, enemies might find it difficult to navigate through Sage's Slow Orb.
She's also got a Barrier Orb that can be used to completely seal off an entrance for a short period of time. This barrier can be broken down by players, but it takes some time and a good amount of bullets to do so. And no one likes heading into a gunfight with very few bullets in Valorant.
2) Viper
The American chemist, Viper, uses poisons at her disposal to set up traps for enemies. Interestingly enough, Vipers' Toxic Screen has a very long range and can be effectively used to block off sites without even being present at the location. Her Poison Cloud ability has a similar effect, with the only difference being that this creates a small cloud of toxic gas.
Both these abilities require fuel. When both abilities are activated at the same time, the fuel meter drains very quickly, so it's best that only one of these abilities is used at any given time in Valorant.
She's also got another ability known as Snake Bite. Using this ability, Viper drops a glass canister filled with poisonous liquid that breaks when dropped on the floor. Anyone walking over this becomes Vulnerable and can be picked off quite easily.
3) Killjoy
Valorant's resident genius is known to be able to lockdown sites with her different gadgets. The strongest gadget in her arsenal is the Turret, which also happens to be her signature skill.
The Turret can fire at targets upon sight, making it difficult for the attackers to push through to the sites where this gadget is in place. Now, enemies can destroy this Turret, but there's a high chance they'll incur some damage before they can destroy this gadget.
Secondly, her Alarm Bot and remote trigger Swarm Grenades can effectively hold down different entry points, making it difficult for enemies to enter a site that Killjoy plans on locking down.
Finally, her ultimate ability, known as Lockdown, can render enemies completely defenseless if caught within its radius on Valorant's Pearl.
4) Astra
In the right hands, Astra is a very powerful agent in Valorant. She can enter her Astral Form and then drop stars in different areas on the map. These stars can then be used as trigger points for Astra, allowing her to deploy different abilities.
Her Nova Pulse ability can be used to concuss targets close to the star where this ability is being deployed. Similarly, her ability to convert one of her stars into a Gravity Well can be used to pull enemies close into a small area, allowing Astra and her teammates to pick them off one by one.
Alternatively, this Gravity Well also explodes after a short period of time, applying the Fragile debuff to any enemy caught in the raidus of the explosion in Valorant.
Lastly, she can also raise a huge wall by using her Cosmic Divide ultimate ability. When this ability is active, no one can see past the wall that Astra has raised, making it a very effective blocking technique in Valorant.
5) Cypher
The final agent on this list is the mysterious Cypher. Despite having the ability to track targets, Cypher is a Sentinel in its crudest form. Armed with cameras and trip wires, Cypher can easily lock down a site all by himself, if used properly.
His signature ability is called Spycam. With this ability active, Cypher can set up a camera on almost any surface and then remotely control it to conduct surveillance over a specific area. Moreover, this camera can also shoot a tracking dart that tracks enemies for a short period of time.
He can also use his ability called Trapwire to set up small tripwires. Anyone crossing this tripwire can be concussed if they don't destroy the gadget within moments of being hit by it. If the device successfully detonates, the affected agent is concussed. His Cybercage ability can be used to create one-ways in Valorant's Pearl as well.
