How to choose an agent

The wrong question is "which agent is strongest?". The right question is "which problem do I need to solve in this match?". Every agent exists to answer something: Viper splits a map with a long wall, Sova gathers information from range, Killjoy holds a site on her own, Raze creates space with area damage.

Problems come from three places:

• the map: narrow chokes or open sites, an important mid or none, long lines or tight spaces;
• the team: who has already picked what, which role is missing;
• you: what you play well, and what you are learning.

The popular list of the moment (the so-called tier lists) can tell you which agents are picked often at high level, but not which problem they solve in your match. That is why Academy has no rankings, only reasons.

Every map asks different questions. Some examples of how the map steers the pick:

• narrow chokes and small sites reward precise smokes and area damage, which make entering or holding up close hard;
• big, open sites reward players who gather info from range and who cut the map with long walls;
• an important mid rewards whoever can contest it or close it off with utility;
• three sites make fast rotations and sentinels who can hold a site alone more important.

In the chapter on how to study a map we go through the ten questions to ask for each map. Each agent page ends by saying which maps the agent shines on and why, and the matrix puts it all in one table.

The second question is the team. During agent select, look at what the others have picked before locking yours:

• is there a controller? Without smokes the attack cannot get in and the defense cannot delay. It is usually the most commonly missing role;
• is there someone gathering info? An initiator makes everything else easier;
• is there someone to go in first? A duelist creates the space the team enters;
• is there someone holding a site or a flank? A sentinel frees teammates from watching their backs.

The chapter on the four roles explains what is expected of each, and the one on compositions how to put them together.

The third question is you. An agent you have played for a hundred matches is worth far more than a "strong" agent played for the first time: you know the ability timings, the lineups, the typical mistakes, the way the enemy tries to counter it.

A good agent pool looks like this:

• a main agent, the one you play best and know inside out;
• an alternative in the same role, for maps where your main is weaker;
• at least one agent in another role, usually controller or initiator, for matches where your role is already taken.

Two or three agents are enough. Widening the pool too much means knowing them all halfway.

Each agent page shows a difficulty. It is our own assessment, meant for players deciding what to learn:

• easy: the abilities are simple to use and pay off even without lineups or precise timings. Good agents for learning the role;
• medium: the abilities take some practice (timings, positions, a few lineups), but their value shows early;
• hard: the agent only really pays off with a lot of practice, because the abilities demand precision, tight timings or good reading of the round.

Difficulty does not say how strong an agent is. It says how long it will take you to make them work: if you are learning a new role, start with an easy agent, then move on to the others.

Academy has two tools built for this choice.

On the agents page you can filter by role, difficulty, utility type and map: if you are looking for an easy-to-learn agent with smokes, or a sentinel that shines on a given map, the filter shows them with the reason.

In My agent you can set the agents you play: the guide will highlight the notes and variants written for them (in chapters, map pages and situations), so you read what you need first.

If there is no controller in your pool, this is the match telling you to learn one.