How to unlock agents in VALORANT

VALORANT is a game that benefits from the incredible diversity offered by its character roster. Each agent in VALORANT is unique and can shape the outcome of a match in different ways. However, you’ll notice when you log in for the first time that most of the game’s characters are locked.

Keeping the agent pool small at first allows players to focus on learning the core mechanics of the game, but sooner or later, players will want to try out other agents to see if they like them better. Luckily, there’s a way to unlock other agents—just be prepared to grind a bit.

How to unlock agents in VALORANT

VALORANT agents can be unlocked for free by using Kingdom Credits which are earned from completing matches and Daily Missions. Each agent costs 8000 Kingdom Credits, and you can only hold a maximum of 10,000 Kingdom Credits at one time. If you want to earn more, you’ll have to spend them and unlock new agents.

In addition to the Kingdom Credits system, there’s a way for new players to permanently unlock two free agents of their choice: the Free Welcome Contract. To progress through each of the Free Welcome Contract tiers, you’ll have to earn the requisite amount of XP by completing Dailies, Weekly Missions, and simply playing the game.

At tier 5 and tier 10 of the Free Welcome Contract, you’ll be granted access to a free agent unlock for whichever agent you desire.

As of episode seven, players can also earn completely new agents for free via Agent Recruitment Events.

• Agent Recruitment Events start the day a new agent is released
• For 28 days players can earn XP to unlock the agent for free
• Agents that aren’t earned via Agent Recruitment Event will appear in the agent store after 28 days

Similar to earning Kingdom Credits, completing your Dailies, Weeklies, and matches of VALORANT will earn you XP for Agent Recruitment Events.

Of course, if all of that grinding doesn’t appeal to you there’s always a much faster and more expensive way to unlock VALORANT agents.

Related: VALORANT’s new progression system, explained: Kingdom Credits, new daily missions, and more

What is the fastest way to unlock VALORANT agents?

Ultimately, the fastest way to get access to every agent in the game is to use 1,000 Valorant Points (VP) for each unlock, which can be acquired by spending real money. If you have enough VP, you can simply head over to the agent store, choose which agent you want, and buy them.

Of course, you could also take advantage of the Riot Games’ Xbox Game Pass partnership and have immediate access to every single agent. This even includes new agents as they arrive.

Fastest way to unlock VALORANT agents for free

If you don’t want to spend real-life cash, we recommend playing modes that will net you the most progress toward active agent contracts. Modes like Team Deathmatch, Spike Rush, and Escalation, for example, will give you slightly less progress for your time awarding 20 Kingdom Credits per completed game. Meanwhile, Unrated, Swiftplay, Competitive, and Premier will give you 10 Kingdom Credits for each completed round.

Which VALORANT agent should you unlock next?

If you’re also struggling to pick which agent to unlock, you can try out all of the characters in The Range to get a feel for how they play before recruiting them. You can test their abilities and even see how they synergize with each of the game’s weapons using practice dummies, but the only way to truly get a feel for their playstyle is in a real game against player-controlled opponents.

If you’re looking to grind in ranked and stay in touch with the current meta, you can check which agents we recommend for climbing the ladder. Some VALORANT agents will have a higher win rate compared to others due to their abilities, and unlocking the best ones first can allow players to increase their rank faster.