Valorant Sentinel tier list: Which Agent is best for you?

❘ Published: 2023-12-30T04:40:40

Riot Games, Dexerto

Looking for Valorant’s best Sentinel Agent? Perfect for more defensive players, we’ve taken a closer look at Cypher, Killjoy, Chamber, Sage and Deadlock to determine who’s the at the top.

Valorant‘s Sentinel group are renowned for being silent but deadly. Focusing on a more defensive playstyle of laying traps and locking down areas through lurks and site anchoring, Sentinels are effectively the guardian angels of Future Earth.

Just because they hang back doesn’t make them easy to play though! Luring your enemies into a false sense of security is an art that requires mastery, time, and a lot of patience. If you’re more of the guns-blazing type, check out our Duelist comparison here, otherwise, let’s get into it.

Best Valorant Sentinel Agents
- Deadlock
- Killjoy
- Cypher
- Sage
- Chamber

Best Valorant Sentinel Agents: Tier List

5. Deadlock

Attack

Her ult can be a useful tool when entering a site, being able to clear out corners and back-of-site positions quite easily. However, unlike many other great site entry ults, it suffers from only being able to affect one target, and even then it’s not a guaranteed pick as enemies can easily shoot the cocoon.

Her Gravnet is a useful slow to secure space and allows you and your team to get out of an area if a push goes awry.

Defense

Her Barrier Mesh is technically a wall, however, you have to be careful when using it. Although it’s a great barrier to stop enemies from physically entering a site, they can still see and shoot through it. Although, you can also use that to your advantage if you’re brave enough to peak the wall and catch enemies off-guard.

Her Sonic Sensor can be used as a trap to guard areas in which you aren’t actively guarding. However, unlike every other trap in the game that activates upon contact with an enemy, it deploys upon enemies making sounds, which unfortunately makes it quite useless if the enemy is playing slow and aware of a Deadlock’s tendencies.

Verdict

Despite receiving buffs in patch 7.10, Deadlock has unfortunately never seen much use from the casual level to even pro play. And that’s mainly down to how easy it is to avoid her traps, her Barrier Mesh’s quirks of being able to see and shoot through it, and the fact you only get one slow, unlike Sage. Perhaps in the future when the devs retune Deadlock she’ll see more use, but for now, there are better Sentinels to main.

4. Sage

Attack

Sage used to be an insta-lock in every Valorant game, however her powers of protection have seen a significant rejig over Valorant’s relatively short lifespan. While her Healing Orbs are still useful, they’re few and far between, and the fact that her Slow Orbs affects both teammates and enemies makes it hard to rush mid if one goes astray.

What shines is her Ultimate Ability. Despite the lengthy charge time, her Resurrection is the perfect tool to bring back a deceased ally, which can turn the tide when you’re Attacking. Bringing a Jett or a Raze back to life can cause absolute chaos, and it gives you someone to help you out if you’re left in a 1 v 5.

Defense

Sadly the once-dominant Sage finds herself at the tail end of the Sentinel pool on Defense. Sage’s utility comes from helping her team which, while she can do that on Defense, leaves her heavily limited.

It might not seem that way though considering her Barrier Orb. The infamous icy wall is great for blocking off certain routes into the Spike sites, however it’s mainly there to buy time and often Attackers will choose to go through it rather than around it.

Additionally, if Sage is the last woman standing, her kit has no real power. Sure her Slow Orb can slow enemies, but it seems simply to delay the inevitable. Bringing back an ally with the res is always great, but this can be hard to execute on Defense when under heavy fire. Having to divert and pull an ally back from beyond the veil provides the Attackers easy access to the Spike while you’re distracted.

Verdict

Maybe we’ll see Sage dominate in the future, but right now she’s in need of a buff to compete with the others. Her healing and kit look great on paper, however, they just don’t quite translate into the current meta, especially when Skye can easily compensate in healing. Additionally, her abillities to stall enemies is great, however, not exactly the most useful on attack.

3. Cypher

Attack

Cypher’s Trapwire is perfect for causing the Defensive side chaos when you’re on the Attack, as one false step will reveal the Defender’s location and let the Attackers know where to avoid trying to plant the Spike, and more importantly, where there’s an easy kill.

A similar situation occurs with his Signature Ability, his Spycams. These give you visual information as to where the enemy player is, letting your team collapse upon them in an instant. This is great for picking off players, or for helping decide where the Spike may best be planted.

Defense

Just as on the Attacking side, Trapwires can make infiltrating any site a living nightmare, and his cameras are perfect for letting allies know exactly what the Attacking side are planning.

His Cyber Cage is also great on Defense. If the enemy somehow manages to sneak through, disorienting them with the cage gives your allies time to rotate or, if you’re feeling ambitious, for you to sneak in and execute the trapped Agents yourself.

Once you’ve decimated the enemy in the Cage, Cypher’s Neural Theft is the perfect follow-up to let your allies know where the remaining players are so that they can collapse. All-in-all, Cypher is about gaining information to let your team thrive, and where best to do that than on Defense where you can sit back, relax and watch the chaos unfold knowing that it’s all because of the information you provided.

Verdict

Unlike the other strong Sentinels on this list, Cypher isn’t bogged down by his range for his utility, meaning once you place your trap setups in a site, you are free to roam around the map and lurk. Which mean out of all the Agents on this list, he has the most utility gathering potential, which makes him a solid pick if you’re a brave player looking to find timings in the enemy’s back line.

2. Chamber

Attack

The latest Agent to be added to Valorant, Chamber, is easily the most offensive Sentinel yet. With the ability to summon his own sniper rifle using his ultimate and heavy pistol with his Q that allows him to aim down sights, you don’t want to across this Agent, especially on eco-rounds.

Besides the ability to pull out weapons, he also has a trap that’s similar to Killjoy’s alarm bot, ensuring you can attack without worries of a flank.

And then there’s his teleport ability, which allows him to quickly rotate between sites by placing your TP deep in a back site.

Defense

On Defense, Chamber’s heavy pistol and ultimate is much more practical. These abilities allow him to hold a long-range angle better than any other agent in Valorant, and he saves you spending all your credits on an Operator.

Ever since his changes to his traps, Chamber will be tied down to a particular area if he wants his traps to get any use, similar to Killjoy. However, it can be used to lock down a second site choke point while you guard another.

Verdict

Upon release, Chamber was so good that for all of 2022, he was the meta. To the point in which he replaced every other Sentinel and Jett as a team’s primary Operator player. Of course, he was eventually scaled back from his original dominance. However, even in casual to pro play, Chamber is still very strong.

1. Killjoy

Attack

While attacking, Killjoy’s adorable but evil Alarmbots are perfect for seeking out defensive opponents, letting allies know that something wicked this way comes. Additionally, when they explode they apply Vulnerable, making the Defensive enemy weaker and much easier to kill if Jett’s nearby and looking to pop some heads.

Killjoy’s Turrets are effective on Attack as well, as they can effectively lock down a Spike site and ensure that you and your allies know if anyone tries to breach the site. Her Ultimate, Lockdown has a similar effect. You can trap your enemies on C-Site while you decide to plant at A. By the time they get out, the game’s over.

Defense

The German Genius is certainly an Agent who shouldn’t be messed with on the Defense. Her Turrets are an easy way to lock enemies off of the site, and well-placed Alarmbots are going to make sure that you know if an Attacker is coming your way.

The issue that Killjoy’s kit has is that, after Patch 1.11 her Turrets and Alarmbots will deactivate if she moves 40m away from them, so Killjoy either has to remain close to the site that she’s locked down otherwise her robotic arsenal is effectively useless and a waste of creds. This also means cunning enemies will be able to lock down a general area of where you are based on if your utility is active.

Verdict

The German genius Killyjoy has had a rocky relationship with the balance team. From overpowered to underpowered, players are divided about the Agent’s state. However, despite the many changes, she is currently one of the strongest Sentinels, as Lockdown is an amazing ability to both defend and retake sites. And paired with her Swarm Grenades and ability to gain intel and secure areas with her turret and alarmbot, she possibly one of Valorant’s strongest Sentinel.

Of course, any skilled player can dominate on any Agent if they’re willing to put in the grind, but they can’t change the meta, they can only adapt.

As the popular Agents shift and further patches come through, we’ll make sure we update this piece with any changes. In the meantime though, jump on each of these Sentinels and give them a shot. You never know, maybe you’ll find out exactly who you like to play. Be sure to check out our other handy guides and lists: