On June 16, Riot Games sent VALORANT fans down into the depths of the sea, revealing the game’s upcoming new map, Pearl. The vibrant underwater city has welcomed players with open arms as they battle on Omega Earth, with strategists already scrambling to find the best game plans for success.
Related: Riot reveals VALORANT’s newest deep-sea map, Pearl
Team compositions are just as important as good mechanics in VALORANT, and for a new map like Pearl, people will want to figure out which agents work the best with the lay of the land beneath the waves. With a whole new set of angles and spots to catch enemies off guard, you will need to build the perfect combination to maximize your chances for victory.
Here’s the best agent comp for Pearl:
- Viper
- Killjoy
- Skye
- Harbor
- Jett
Viper
With so many different angles at their disposal, Viper is a great agent to bring along since she has one of the best vision-denying abilities with her long-range Toxic Screen. As players learn how to use her Poison Cloud smokes, she will be one of the most useful characters for easy entry to sites since she can prevent vision as her team swarms onto sites.
Viper’s ultimate can clog up even the tiniest of spaces around the map, especially on Pearl, whose sprawling design provides multiple places for players to sit and wait, hidden within the shadows of the Viper’s Pit. There are numerous angles that provide exceptional Toxic Screen lineups as well.
Killjoy
Since the nerfing of Chamber, Killjoy has reclaimed the spot of top sentinel and is a top pick on virtually every map. With her bots and turrets, she can lock down any site or entry, and her Lockdown ultimate is an A+ tool for any site execute or retake.
Much like Viper with her ultimate, Killjoy’s Lockdown can clear out sites and flush enemies out of the many hiding spots around the map. Alarm Bot and Nanoswarm are also vital on the defensive side for holding the attacking team off the B site, and they are also incredibly valuable during post-plants.
Skye
Outside of potentially KAY/O, Skye shines brightest as the quick-trigger, up close and personal initiator. Guiding Light and Trailblazer are key tools for any team looking to take space or gather info, and in many situations Regrowth is a more viable healing agent for a whole team than Sage is.
A big theme on Pearl is all the different corners and angles to camp in, so having Guiding Light and Trailblazer to clear out multiple spots at once during an execute is super useful for getting into a site.
Harbor
Harbor has slowly begun his rise into prominence in both the competitive and pro play meta, most notably as a second controller alongside Viper. Harbor just has the complete toolbox for smoking or walling off angles, allowing his teammates on attack to take space more easily while also providing deterrence on defense.
Harbor/Viper is as viable on Pearl as on any other map. They are most efficient together when taking B, given how long and wide the B main corridor is, as they can use their orbs and walls to completely cover an execute.
Jett
Jett is one of VALORANT‘s most iconic agents, with an ability kit that is tailor-made for aggressive, mechanically gifted entry players. Jett’s movement ability is unmatched, and she’s the focal point for any entry player or primary Operator wielder.
Pearl is another potential playground for Jett to thrive in. Both sites feature places where she can dash past commonly held angles and elevated spots to reach for aggressive plays.
