With the new Valorant patch 8.02 come new skins, agent changes, and events. Just like any other update, the meta is bound to shift and make some characters shine more than others.
Unsurprisingly, some agents are better for ranking up while others serve a more team-based and specific role not suited for ranked solo queue.
In this Valorant Patch 8.02 Agents Tier List, we will be ranking the best agents for solo queue and explaining exactly why some are much stronger than others.
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Valorant Patch 8.02 Tier List Snapshot
SS
-
Broken Agents
- CYPHER
S - Meta Agents
- JETT
- REYNA
- PHOENIX
- RAZE
- KILLJOY
A - Amazing Agents
- BRIMSTONE
- OMEN
- ASTRA
- SOVA
- DEADLOCK
B - Great Agents
- GEKKO
- SKYE
- BREACH
- CHAMBER
- VIPER
C - Average Agents
- SAGE
- YORU
- FADE
D - Bad Agents
- HARBOR
- NEON
- KAY/O
- ISO
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Valorant Patch 8.02 Meta Agents Tier List
CYPHER - SS Tier
Starting with the most broken character in the game currently, Cypher is by far the best agent to play. His recent buffs not only made him optimal for ranking up but also an unbeatable force on defense.
His trips are possibly the most frustrating thing in the game. His presence alone is enough to make the enemy team reconsider a rush.
JETT - S Tier
Jett is still one of the best Duelists in the game. She is an amazing agent for both attack and defense, taking space like no other agent.
Her smokes and ultimate are insanely useful but her get-out-of-jail-free card (E) enables her to get free kills without any risk whatsoever.
REYNA -
S Tier
Reyna is the king of solo queue. If you only care about ranking up and don’t want to help your team with anything else except fragging, this is your agent.
Despite her highly selfish kit and playstyle, she is still one of the best agents to play just because of how easy it is to escape tough situations and get multiple kills per round.
PHOENIX -
S Tier
He is your second choice for easily ranking up, especially in the lower ranks. No one likes a Phoenix that can take advantage of his pop flashes and highly aggressive playstyle.
If you take the time to learn how to play him, he will undoubtedly be a very useful agent to your agent pool.
RAZE -
S Tier
The best entry fragger in the game. She has outstanding mobility and can do almost everything on her own.
Learning how her satchels work and using them even outside of entering a site will prove to be a very useful way to win your 1v1s and carry your team. Her nades can also be used to easily clear Cypher traps. The only downside is that she takes some time to get used to.
KILLJOY -
S Tier
Just like Cypher, her utility is enough to single-handedly stop a rush and is easy enough to understand and play. You may need to learn some tricks to use her more efficiently and guarantee simple kills.
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BRIMSTONE - A Tier
His utility and usage is very fast and simple. You can smoke a whole site within seconds and every other ability is self-explanatory. Brimstone has the highest win percentage for a reason.
He is very easy to use and that lets you focus on other more important things like mechanics and gamesense.
One pretty big disadvantage is that he is not able to smoke across the whole map like the other smokers.
OMEN -
A Tier
Omen is one of, if not the best smokers for high elo. His ability to create one-way smokes is unmatched and no other agent can recreate this. His flash also has an insane range that can easily blind your target.
ASTRA -
A Tier
Astra is another amazing smoker that can fit into any team comp. Her abilities are a bit confusing at first and might take some getting used to but once you do, your team will thank you for it.
Very high difficulty but it does pay off to learn her.
SOVA -
A Tier
Another very good counter to Cypher/Killjoy traps. Sova is undoubtedly the most useful Initiator in the game currently.
He can scan an entire area with a single dart and can clear utility with his shock darts. His drone is a Duelist's best friend and his ult is easy enough to use.
The only problem is you will need to spend time learning lineups to make the most out of him.
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DEADLOCK - B Tier
Her new buffs were quite strong but compared to the other Sentinels in the game, she just lacks the utility to help her team in stressful situations.
Her ultimate is a free kill most of the time but that alone is not enough to make her a viable agent.
GEKKO -
B Tier
Similar to Deadlock, Gekko lacks useful utility to impactfully help your team. All of his utility is easily destroyed before getting any information or usage.
His wingman is the only good ability apart from his ultimate which lets you have an extra person guarding the plant/defuse. As for his ultimate, good communication with your teammates is highly advised to secure the kill.
SKYE -
B Tier
Skye was a top-tier Initiator but due to her recent nerfs she has suffered a major blow to her usefulness. Not being able to fake flash and her flashes not regenerating anymore is a very annoying and strong nerf.
She is still great but it is not recommended to play her in higher elo when you have better options like Sova for Initiators and Omen/Phoenix for flashes.
BREACH -
B Tier
There’s nothing bad or good about him. Useful due to his pop flash potential but there's a good chance you can still die while the enemy is fully stunned.
He is mostly played in specific maps and is not super useful on others. His Aftershock is very useful for delaying post-plants and clearing positions.
CHAMBER -
B Tier
Chamber's upcoming buffs will help him become better but right now he is just average - a shell of his former self.
His ability to teleport out of dangerous situations is good but not risk-free like Jett’s dash. The Headhunter is quite costly but it can be a lifesaver in some situations and his ultimate despite being nerfed can still be used like an extra gun when you are out of credits.
VIPER -
B Tier
Generally good but other smokers outshine Viper on every map except Breeze and Icebox. Her ultimate is also risky to use and sometimes requires lineups to get the most out of her kit.
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SAGE - C Tier
A very useful agent in lower ranks but there’s no use for her outside of that as there are much better options.
If you use her as a Duelist, she can easily turn fights with her heal and ultimate but that only works in lower ranks.
Her wall and slow orbs can be quite effective at stopping a push but Cypher and Killjoy are still the better options for that.
YORU -
C Tier
Yoru requires a lot of team communication and coordination to make him work. Will prove to be quite useful up to high elo but not after, unless you are playing in a 5-stack.
His flashes are insanely strong but overall he lacks the flexibility the other Duelists have.
FADE -
C Tier
Fade is fairly easy to use but her utility needs a follow-up like a Duelist/Initiator to truly shine. Combine her with other Initiators and she can be very useful but it's more for specific team compositions and not suited for solo queue.
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HARBOR - D Tier
A very demanding agent that needs to be paired with good communication and perfect utility usage. His orb was very useful on Pearl but since the map is not in the map pool currently he is useless.
NEON -
D Tier
Similar to Harbor, she was insanely impactful on a single map, Fracture, but outside of that, there’s nothing good in her kit unless you want to run around the map and rotate fast.
KAY/O -
D Tier
A very good agent for specific team compositions. If you have the patience to learn lineups for pop flashes and use him for the team, he can be good but never optimal in solo queue.
ISO -
D Tier
Possibly the worst agent in the game. He is similar to Reyna as to how selfish his kit is but unlike her, all of his abilities require high precision, his wall is almost completely useless, and the ultimate requires very good mechanics and aim to have a good impact.
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Games are meant to be enjoyable so before you think of changing who to play, make sure you are at least having fun.
That concludes this tier list. Hopefully, it has helped you gain more insight into which agent to try out or main for your solo queue adventures.