The Best Valorant Agents for Pearl

Since Riot Games added Pearl to the Valorant Map pool, the new patch 5.0 underwater map has seen popularity skyrocket. With the patch notes detailing a Pearl only queue before Riot Games added the map to the competitive play map pool, Valorant players have been arguing about who is best in competitive play on the new map Pearl.

Especially with Riot Games temporarily removing Split from unrated and competitive queues - read more in the map pool update article Riot Games released. Replacing it with the Omega Earth underwater map, learning the best Valorant agents on Pearl could make all the difference when trying to leave your previous episode rank behind, and climb to a new rank. Who knows, maybe you will reach the new Ascendant rank!

Sage

Sentinel Sage comes in fifth on this Pearl tier list, because her Barrier Orb can wall off any area of the map. The problem is that Riot Games have given Sage simply too many areas to wall off! The map is expected to heavily revolve around Mid Plaza, meaning that on defense, Sage can wall off either A Art or Mid Doors - forcing the enemy team to rethink their strategy.

On the attacking side, Sage is very good for attacking B Site. This is similar to Sage on Icebox, as both B Sites are open sites. Sage can put her wall up for additional cover for a spike plant behind the wall.

Sage’s issue is that on defense, if she walls off Mid Doors, it won’t take long for enemies to rotate through A Art and push to A Site, or even back around through Mid Connector to B Link instead. When attacking, Sage struggles on A Site, as if she walls off either A Flowers or A Secret, there is a window that enemy agents can use to jump between the two.

Overall, Sage will be a very strong agent early in the round on both offense and defense on the new Valorant map, but this is because she will excel around Mid Plaza. However Mid Plaza is often fought around at the beginning of the round, rather than the latter, due to where it is in conjunction to the spike sites.

In addition there is a new Sage title, called Dauntless. This is replacing the old Sage title of Ascendant - so don’t get any ideas about already being the new Ascendant rank you Sage mains!

Raze

Our only Duelist to make the list, Raze comes in at fourth place. Raze excels in tight areas, and Riot Games’ new map is full of them! Whether it be a Boom Bob, a Paint Shell or Raze’s ultimate ability, Showstopper, the close quarters combat is where the Brazilian thrives.

As we said before Mid Plaza is the focal point of the map, and there are four different areas that Raze can throw her Paint Shells into! Both B Shop and Mid Doors are also without a roof, so the possibilities are endless!

Raze excels when attacking on Pearl, but on defense, she may struggle when defending B Site. This is because of the long areas around it, such as B Link and B Main, both of which her Boom Bot and Paint Shells will be seen coming.

We think Raze will be the best Duelist on Pearl, so make sure to pick her up if you are a Duelist main and want to hit your ranked target in competitive queues after the seasonal reset!

Skye

Skye comes in with the bronze medal for the best Valorant agents on the new Valorant map. Think of defending B Long on Bind. How many times have you been flashed by a Skye from B Garden? The same can be said for B Main on the new map Pearl. There are not too many places for enemy agents to hide once they start pushing, meaning you can swing for free kills!

You can also flash in unexpected angles, such as from A Art through the hole in the wall into A Restaurant and A Main.

When attacking on Pearl, Skye’s Trailblazer does especially well around the Mid Plaza area. If Skye holds back, she can use the Trailblazer to scout out enemy agents lurking in Mid Doors or A Art. Skye is third on this list because her Initator duties are narrowly overshadowed by our silver medalist.

Fade

The second best agent to play on Pearl, out of all of the different agents you can play, is Fade. Fade hasn’t been incredible since she was released, being outshone by other Initator abilities, such as Sova’s Recon Bolt and Skye’s Trailblazer - but not on Pearl! There are so many roofs of houses and buildings that Fade can put her Haunt on and locate enemy agents!

If an enemy is peeking Mid Top or even B Hall at the bottom of B Main, Fade’s Haunt can safely be thrown out to Reveal them! On a map where enemies can rotate so effortlessly, being able to scout out and track players is key, something Fade easily does.

Similarly to Skye and her Trailblazer, Fade’s Prowler is going to be a massive ability to have for Mid Plaza. If you aren’t sure whether to peek Mid Shops, then use a Prowler, and you can scout the whole of Mid Plaza!

 Unlike other Mid areas on other maps, Mid Plaza is quite small, so you can easily get intel on the whole area with just one reconnaissance ability! The small areas work wonders for Fade with her Seize, and combining this ability with Raze’s Paint Shells will guarantee a kill in the tight corners of the map.