VALORANT players agree one unpopular role needs some serious attention

Besides the different shapes and attires they come in, each of VALORANT’s agents has a tactical role to play on the battlefield. Unfortunately, while the duelist, initiator, and sentinel spots mostly never go unfilled, the average lobby often misses the pivotal ‘smoker,’ leaving players having to fill it over and over again tired.

In a Reddit post dated Aug. 31, a player named MardukTheRaven highlighted the drawbacks of not playing a controller agent in their lobby, and being a controller main since my first ranked game, I couldn’t relate enough. 

“I HAVE to play as controller for two reasons,” they said, because “nobody else will,” regardless of whether they’re playing a Competitive or an Unrated match. The second reason they gave is also sadly true. “Even if some random does pick a controller, he’s got shit for brains and usually doesn’t smoke or just our entries on attacking site,” they said. 

For controller mains, smoking the bare minimum chokepoints isn’t rocket science, and having played the role forever, they are incredibly good with timing. Their team’s duelists and initiators are never left hanging in the middle of sites with gaping choke points. Unfortunately, those who fill the role occasionally aren’t versed enough. It’s safe to say that the controller role in VALORANT flaunts a high skill ceiling.

“If I don’t lock smokes, about 30% of my games, we won’t have smokes. If I wait to see what others lock, I end up filling smokes anyway. It’s exhausting,” one player shared, summing up the misery of a controller expert in agent select. 

It’s worth noting that the ‘no smokes’ problem is more likely to be recorded in low Elo games (ranks lower than Platinum). In mid to high Elo matches, players often don’t want to play without smokes. Even if you run into three duelist instalockers in Diamond+ lobbies, someone will fill the controller role, and they’ll play it decently.

Not that there aren’t any incompetent controller players in high-Elo VALORANT. It’s just a difficult job, running around offering smokes, maintaining timing, playing post-plant, being defensive to not leave your team without smokes, and whatnot.

Another player stressed the benefit of learning to play without smokes in low-Elo games and enjoying VALORANT, and it’s exactly how I used to manage. “You play the game for yourself to have fun, not be bossed around by others. In any elo below diamond, you can win without smokes,” they said. “As for your shit-for-brains smokers, either lurk the other side or tell them where you’d like a smoke.”

Related: How to play Yoru like TenZ in VALORANT

In the presence of comfortable frag-centric roles like that of a duelist or sentinel, it definitely gets monotonous to play util-heavy initiator or controller roles over and over again. To shake that off, occasionally, I like insta-locking Neon or Yoru, just for the fun of it, and frustrated smoker mains should do it too—even if it means you bottom frag once in a while.