Running into a “toxic” teammate is a common occurrence in VALORANT and, sadly, something that you can’t avoid in competitive games. It happens so much, in fact, that fans of the game have pinpointed the two agents who are most commonly played by toxic players.
Unless you’re incredibly lucky, you’ll frequently meet uncooperative allies who either disrupt your VALORANT matches, are pessimistic, or are overly critical—especially in high-elo matches. Interestingly, a recent discussion on the matter has shed light on an agent-picking trend: most toxic players seem to like playing Reyna and Jett.
In a Reddit post dated May 29, a VALORANT player named PhantomKairii pointed out how toxic participants in the game seem to play only the Mexican, soul-harvesting duelist. “I can’t explain it, but when I queue ranked and see an insta-lock Reyna I’m like, oh…oh no. They’re brutal, dude,” they shared.
The community was quick to add Jett to the list of top favorite agents among toxic players. “Reyna / Jett, then a massive gap between every other agent.” AvengeBirdPerson said.
That being said, VALORANT houses a huge player base, and every player has their own unique experience. It wasn’t long before Raze, Phoenix, and Killjoy joined the discussion alongside Reyna and Jett.
Related: How to play Reyna, VALORANT’s deadly duelist
Despite the diverse opinions, almost all players on the Reddit thread agree with the fact that Reyna is the most favored agent among toxic players and smurfs, possibly due to her incredibly self-centered abilities. “Almost all of Reyna’s abilities are selfish, so it makes sense why they would want to play Reyna in a team-based game…” a player named DuckisHope said.
With her unrivaled Operator-centric kit, Jett is also a popular agent among toxic players in VALORANT’s ranked ladder. Players also pointed out that she’s a favorite among the juniors in the player base.
On the contrary, Phoenix and Raze may be more popular among a certain section of the toxic player base: the throwers. This is because their abilities allow them to cause harm to their teammates and even deny a spike defuse on defense: all the more reason for Riot to decrease ally damage from abilities to prevent such circumstances.
While duelists in VALORANT have always had a bad reputation for being a popular toxic pick, players also mentioned having faced unreasonable Killjoy, Chamber, and Sage players.
“The problem with killjoys is they think they’re megamind cause they watch a guide before each map on their setup,” a player called hextechkhepri shared. Another player highlighted how Sage players often duo-queue with a Jett and often have the same attitude.
Initiators and controllers, on the other hand, didn’t receive much attention in this discussion, although Viper and Breach did receive some sporadic mentions.
That being said, not all Reyna and Jett players are toxic and shouldn’t be treated differently. But if you do face one, it’s best to mute them and move on. Also, report them for unacceptable behavior to help Riot make VALORANT safer for everyone.
