Where to Smoke in Valorant

When playing Valorant, you'll notice quite a few agents have "smoke" abilities. In a fast-paced shooter like Valorant, smokes can be some of the most useful tools to get the drop on your enemies. However, using them to their best ability isn't always easy. So, don't touch your ability buttons just yet and let's talk about where to place smokes before your fog-out the entire map.  

What is a Smoke?

A smoke is a visual-limiting ability that you can either throw or place on the map. It can help your team advance forward, disorient an enemy, or protect a spike implantation. While it's not as flashy as explosions, tech, or poison, smokes can be some of the most versatile and useful abilities in Valorant. After all, in a shooter game like Valorant, your sight is one of your most valuable tools. You need to be clever and thoughtful to make sure to use your smokes effectively.

Best Smoke locations in Valorant

Overall, there are two main locations in every map where you should use smokes: chokepoints and checkpoints. Throwing them out on impulse, especially in a sudden fight, is unlikely to help you. However, if you use your smokes deliberately, they can be game-changing.

For example, as an attacker, if you throw a smoke at a known defensive point (like the A cubby on Bind or the Arcade on Fracture), you'll disorient the enemy and have a better shot of dropping them before they can drop you. Pay close attention while you play to your opponent's attack and defense positions and you'll have a roster of great smoke locations.

Also, never forget that smokes can be great visual blockades when planting the Spike.

Related: Bind is returning to VALORANT competitive queue with changes

Once you've planted, another effective place to put smokes is at chokepoints where you know enemy defenders will pour in to try to stop the bomb from exploding. If you use longer smokes like Brimstone's, Omen's, or Astra's, they can last from 14-19 seconds. That gives you ample time to stall the enemy and position yourself or down an agent if they dare pass through the smoke.

Meanwhile, it's rare that smokes will work well in an open arena or at lesser-used chokepoints. Just rely on your shooting and other abilities at those locations. If you need to work on your aim, head over to Tracker Network's Crosshairs Gallery to check out how to copy pro crosshairs.

Best Smoke agents in Valorant

Throughout Valorant's roster of agents, quite a few have their own unique smokes. The list of smoke-using characters includes Astra, Brimstone, Cypher, Jett, Omen, and Viper. The way their smokes work are all different, though, so make sure to read your abilities before you throw out a Jett smoke expecting it to work like a Brimstone drop.

Related: How Long to Defuse the Spike in Valorant?

When you're looking for the best of the best smokes in Valorant, there's three options: Brimstone, Omen, and Astra. Brimstone's smokes are easy to use, and Omen's are the crux of his shadow-and-sneak kit. However, with Astra's ability dropping ultimate power, nothing is quite like her smokes. They last long, you can cast multiple at a time, and you can seize impressive control  in one monumental ability. If you want to manipulate the map with smokes, Astra would be a good agent to practice and master.