It’s vital to have the right tools for the job in Valorant, but sometimes those tools are the Agents themselves, which means you’re going to need to know how to unlock them. While the game is in closed beta, there’s some good and bad news on that front, so we’ll take you through everything you need to know about how to unlock Agents in Valorant below. We’ll even help you out with which ones you should unlock first.
How to unlock Agents in Valorant
© Riot Games
You’ll start with five Agents unlocked by default in Valorant, with a further five locked away. In the closed beta, you can unlock two Agents simply by completing the basic missions. You can check these on the main menu by hovering the mouse over the icons in the top left. As you work your way through the basic closed beta rewards, you’ll unlock one Agent at level 5, then one again at level 10. These are the only two Agents you’ll unlock this quickly, so pick them carefully.
After the first two, the remaining Agents can be unlocked by completing their Contracts up to level 5. To start a contract, click Collection at the top of the screen and then swap to the Agents tab. Click the Agents you want to work towards, then click start Contract at the bottom of the screen. This will put you on the path to unlocking that agent by earning XP in games. You can swap Contracts at any time from the collection menu, and you won't lose progress you made toward the other Agent by doing so.
© Riot Games
There are no specific missions to complete, you simply need to play the game until you’ve earned enough XP to reach level 5 of the Contract. That does mean that completing your daily missions will help enormously towards reaching the Contract level, so be sure to complete them as often as possible. You can check your progress for both the contract and the daily missions on the main menu by looking at the bottom of the screen, or by hovering the mouse over the icons on the top left
Beyond completing Contracts, you can also pay to unlock Agents by viewing their contact in the Collection, selecting the level you want (5) and paying to skip to that level. However in the closed beta this roughly equates to $10 or so per Agent, which is pretty steep in our eyes. We don’t know how unlocks will be transferred to the full release, so maybe hold off this option for now.
© Riot Games
Which Agents should you unlock?
Since you unlock your first two Agents much more easily, picking ones you like it important. If you’re aiming to be seriously competitive, the most competitively popular locked Agents right now are Breach, Cypher and Raze, but we’ll give a brief exploration of them all below so you can see which ones match your playstyle.
Breach
A support/attacker role, Breach is brilliant at opening up sites for the attacking team thanks to his flashbangs, detonations and stuns through walls. Most of his attacks can be launched through solid walls or even across to other sections of the map, stunning or blinding enemies for his allies to kill. His Ultimate is a brilliant site-clearing tool, emitting waves of damaging explosions in a massive area. He combines well with Brimstone and is one of the more popular competitive choices in the game right now.
Cypher
Cypher is an information character like Sova. He can place an invisible spycam which will spot any enemies in its vision, and can even fire darts to allow allies to see them through walls. In addition he has tripwires and a deployable cone which blocks vision and slows anyone who enters it. Cypher’s Ultimate reveals the location of every single enemy on the opposing team, provided he can find a body to use it on. Cypher is another popular competitive choice.
Omen
Definitely not just Reaper from Overwatch, Omen is a shadowy figure that can charge and teleport decent distances, deploy a shadowy smoke orb, or launch a projectile through walls which reduces the vision of anyone it touches. His Ultimate allows him to teleport anywhere on the map.
Raze
The source of many complaints online right now, Raze is an explosives expert with a particularly deadly toolset. Her signature ability is a grenade which explodes into a shower of smaller grenades. In addition she has a charge pack which can be detonated to damage enemies or launch her into the air, and a deployable drone which travels forward and charges any enemies it detects before exploding. Her Ultimate is a single-shot rocket launcher that deals enormous damage in a tight radius, instantly killing anyone it hits. Because of her powerful direct damage, Raze is currently picked by competitive teams, but that may change in future.
Viper
Master of toxins, Viper is a control/support character who excels at blocking off different areas of the level. She can deploy a wall of toxins across the map as well as throw down a small emitter. Both can be activated to consume a rechargeable toxin supply to wall off or block vision in areas, damaging anyone who passes through them. She can also fire a toxin canister to create a damaging surface, and her Ultimate produces an enormous gas cloud which lowers the health of anyone inside it, reduces vision, and never dissipates unless Viper leaves or is killed.
So there you have it, that’s how to unlock Agents in Valorant, as well as a bit of information on which Agents you should unlock. Want more guides, tips and tricks? Head over to our game hub by clicking here and we’ll get you up to speed.
