How to Carry as an Initiator in VALORANT

Valorant's one of the four distinct roles including the Initiators which holds a vital position yet, it is underestimated by some. Initiators wield significant influence in molding each map's outcome by disrupting the enemy , gathering crucial information, and creating opportunities for their team to secure round wins. These agents are just as important as the rest of the roles that running a team comp without them may put you at a drawback, especially on some maps.

Playing this role however requires understanding the role and responsibilities shouldered by initiators. But if you’re new to these agents, don’t worry as you’ve just arrived in the right place.

From understanding the role of Initiator agents to knowing how to become more useful, this guide aims to equip you with the knowledge needed to excel in the game using them. Whether you're an experienced player looking to refine your skill or a newcomer eager to learn them, we've got you covered.

Here’s a complete and in-depth Valorant Initiator guide, teaching you ways on how to become an effective initiator.

What is the Initiator role in Valorant

According to Valorant, the initiators are defined to be the ones capable of challenging angles by setting up their team to enter contested ground and push defenders away. Yep, that's their role. Initiators come with abilities that prove quite handy when on the attack, offering the precise toolkit required for making your way onto the sites. However, it's worth noting that their usefulness doesn't diminish when they're on the defense either.

Initiators have the tools to gather information about the opponents’ whereabouts, flashes that disrupt their vision and damaging-abilities that can either kill, damage or force someone to jump out of the corner they’re hiding from. Certainly, attacking any site will just be a piece of cake with these abilities.

Who are the Initiators in Valorant

Currently, there are six initiators in the game and each one of them has different playstyles.

Sova
Breach
Skye
KAY/O
Fade
Gekko

There are two types of Initiators in Valorant; the information-based and the flash agents.

Sova and Fade fall into the first type as their abilities enable you to reveal the exact locations of your opponents upon landing Recon Dart (E) or Haunt (E). Both of them also have other abilities; Drone and Prowler, allowing you to scout areas without actually taking the risk of checking it only by yourself.

The latter on the other hand involves Breach, Skye, KAY/O and Gekko. These agents primarily rely on their Flash abilities to momentarily obscure and disturb the vision of their opponents, rendering it challenging for them to land their shots.

Best Maps for Each Initiator in Valorant

When trying to become an initiator, it’s all up to you to choose which agent to use. However, the agents’ strength also relies on the map. Some may be less effective to a certain map due to its structure and layout, and some have higher chances of completely dominating it.

Sova: Ascent, Haven, Icebox, Breeze
Breach: Fracture, Haven, Lotus
Skye: Bind, Split, Lotus
Kay/o: Ascent, Pearl, Breeze
Fade: Pearl, Haven, Bind
Gekko: Ascent, Pearl, Lotus

How to become an effective initiator in Valorant

All in all, the role involves gathering important information about the whereabouts of their opponents, and at the same time disrupting them making every engagement successful. By doing so, your duelist and your team will be aware of the location of the defenders defending the site, especially the annoying Sentinels and their setups and let them use that info to successfully take over the site. Furthermore, throwing some unexpected flashes will also net you easy frags on the helpless and blind defenders.

But hey, becoming a top-notch initiator isn't as easy as it sounds and making massive mistakes can actually throw some of your rounds. But, if you're looking for a great way to kick off your experience as an initiator, check out these pointers in this Valorant Initiator Guide that can help you level up your game.

Play off of your utility

This is one of the most important things you should remember when playing as an initiator. No great initiator ends a round alive without using up all of their abilities, unless it’s not entirely needed. Abilities are there for a reason, so make sure to use them at the right timing. But, it doesn’t mean that you should use it only for the sake of it. Learn to use your abilities and that you’re able to make value out of it. Use an ability with intention to win duels, rounds and the game itself.

Throw your recon, “dog”, and drones when you’re about to enter the site so that your team will be aware of the exact position of the enemies, making it easy for your duelist to clear the site. Also, for flash agents, use flash to actually flash your opponents and not your teammates. All of these require proper timing, but if you’re new to it, fret not as you’ll get the hang of it with proper practice.

Learn how to flash

Certain initiators are known for their signature abilities that revolve around blinds or flashes. This applies the Flashed debuff which can obstruct their vision for a short period. This is a strong ability as being able to blind your opponent allows you to easily win duels or rack multiple kills from it. However, as easy as it is to dominate with this ability, it's equally easy to fumble rounds just by casting a wrong flash at the wrong timing.

All initiators flash’ except for Gekko blinds all units, even Cypher’s Spycam, Killjoy’s Turret and your teammates as well. So, be careful when casting your flashes as it might also blind your allies, causing them to be killed instead. Check your surroundings first before flashing or at least let your teammates know that you’re going to flash so that they can play around your utility.

It is also worth noting that each flash agent has flashes that work differently from the rest. For instance, Skye has the ability to pop her flash whenever she wants and it will last longer if the hawk flies long enough. Meanwhile, Breach’s flash can only be activated if it hits a surface.

Certain agents also have the ability to throw some unexpected pop flashes. Pop flash is rather deadly as it activates immediately, making it hard for them to react or dodge.

Also related: How to Carry as a Sentinel in VALORANT

Learn lineups

Sure, having good aim is crucial, but knowing your lineups can seriously give you the upper hand. Hop into a custom game and try out some lineups that you may create on your own. Don’t know how? You may also check out lineups online like the ones from Tracker.gg. Just click on it and explore a bunch of agent lineups for any map, whether you're attacking or defending.

Using these lineups allow you to gain more impact rather than casually throwing abilities. Lineups let you wring more out of your abilities than you would otherwise. Instead of randomly throwing your recon or haunt, you can take advantage of some lineups to be able to land one on spots that allow you to scan the whole site or ones that can make it indestructible.

For flash agents, you can also look for the best flash spots or lineup that may be either unexpected, hard to dodge or those that are one-way.

Communicate

What makes playing as an initiator in low elo difficult is the lack of communication. In Valorant, communication is so crucial that the team who knows how to use their voice comms to play with their team has higher chances of winning than those who do not.

Voice chat exists– use it.

When using abilities that can gather information, let your allies know how many enemies are inside the site, and the blind or weak spots that you skills cannot cover, so that your duelists would know which area to prioritize or be wary of. Also, with the information you’ve gathered, you and your team can make a decision whether or not you should rotate.

As for flashes, you must also let your teammates know when you’re about to cast it. Doing so allows your teammates to play around your flash, and avoid getting blinded themselves.

Do not lurk

Lurking in Valorant can give you valuable information that your team can use. In fact, it can even allow you to get some frags. But as an initiator, this isn't something you should do. From what is explained earlier, the initiators have team-oriented abilities. Hence, your team would very much benefit if you would play with them. Let your sentinels and controllers lurk for you, instead.

Do not make repetitive plays

This applies not only to initiators, but to all agents as well. If you’re able to pull off an insane multi-kill by casting a great one-way or pop flash, or if you manage to land a good recon, make sure not to do it every round as your opponents can simply expect that you’ll do it again next round. In this case, your opponents can simply destroy it as it lands or avoid it.

Wallbang for information-based initiators

Due to Sova and Fade's ability to cast Recon Dart or Haunt, they can simply take advantage of thin walls that actually exist in most maps like Ascent, Pearl and Lotus. Bring any high-penetration weapon like Odin and spam through the wall upon revealing opponents.

Learn at least 2 Initiator agents

If you’re trying to become an initiator main, it is best to learn at least two to three initiator agents. As mentioned earlier, certain agents might not shine on specific maps.

Take Breach, for instance; he might not be the top choice for expansive maps like Breeze but works best on a map like Fracture. Similarly, going with Sova on Split can be a bit tricky, as his recon darts can be easily avoided or finding a lineup that can scan the whole site is rather difficult. Hence, it is advisable to learn two or more, so you can adjust depending on the map you’re playing on.

Practice and Play

Lastly, opt for an agent that you feel at ease with and stick to honing your skills with that pick. You may jump into a custom game either solo or with friends to practice some lineups. Or continue playing matchmade games and try out initiator agents while putting these tips into action to steadily boost your performance.

That concludes our complete and in-depth Valorant Initiator Guide. Did this help? Let us know in the comments!

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