Controllers in Valorant - Strengths And Counters

If you're new to Valorant or a one-trick pony who isn't really familiar with the abilities of the Controller agents, we've compiled a summary of the strengths and weaknesses of all Smokers for you!

Sometimes, choosing an agent can be challenging, especially when you're not familiar with their abilities. Or perhaps you're wondering about the weaknesses of the Smoker agents because you want to refine your cunning strategies in Valorant matches. After all, no one is almighty. However, we have you covered!

Smoker Agents – Strengths And How to Counter Them

Brimstone & Omen - Playstyle And Counters

Let's begin by comparing Brimstone and Omen:

Brimstone has 3 smokes, while Omen only has 2. However, Omen's smokes have a 30-second cooldown and can be reused, unlike Brimstone's. Brimstone is particularly useful for stopping fast pushes with his Molly. Additionally, he can support quick pushes for his team with his Stim Beacon buff. And of course, there's his infamous Ultimate, which can literally roast you. The Ultimate can be used in various ways, such as when you suspect many enemies are in a tight space or for post-plant situations. That's where Molly lineups or a Brimstone Ultimate can be particularly nasty.

Now, how can you counter the Brimmy with the Stimmy? It's important for you to know that Brimstone's smokes have limited range. This means that if your team lacks the right utility to push through the smokes, you can simply rotate. The strategy is especially effective on larger maps. On smaller maps, it might be useless. On the other hand, Omen's smokes have a big range, making Omen strong on larger maps, like Lotus. And, as with other agents, you should always pay attention to when Brimstone has his ultimate ready (which you can see at the top of the screen).Now, moving on to Omen: his kit, equipped with teleports and a blind, has strong outplay potential. He can teleport behind or above blinded enemies or into his smokes. With his Ultimate, he can teleport anywhere and gather information or “surprise” enemies from their spawn. Well not really surprise if you already know you might have to check your spawn as soon as you see the enemy Omen uses his Ult.To counter Omen, you should have a good headset because you can hear when he teleports. You can even hear in which direction he is teleporting. If you're worried about his blind, make sure to position yourself behind a cover, but sometimes the blind catches you off guard, and there's not much you can do about that, unless you have a blind too.

Viper & Harbor - Playstyle And Counter

Viper und Harbor — Viper And Harbor - Abilities And Counter © uhdpaper

Moving on to Harbor and Viper. Both can deploy a smoke wall that allows entry even on large sites, like on Breeze. Viper's wall is static and can be activated multiple times per round, while Harbor's wall disappears and needs to be recreated later. Additionally, Viper's smoke is toxic, causing the enemy to lose HP (which they gain again after leaving the smoke). Combined with Viper's molly, this becomes a deadly combo and is useful for after-plant lineups. Moreover, the enemy becomes vulnerable and takes more damage from Viper's molly.

Especially Harbor's, smoke orb can be useful in many situations, since it's bulletproof until the opponent shatters it.

The ultimate abilities of both agents are area-denial. Often, Viper's ultimate is somewhat of a gamble for enemies, where Viper has a clear advantage because enemies lose HP inside her ult. Harbor's ult stuns opponents over a large area.Now that you know you should shoot down Harbor's dome as quickly as possible, that's already a counter. When he uses his ult, you should try to avoid being in the area. You might potentially counter Viper's lineups by flanking the enemy team if the situation allows for it, or pushing her if there is enough time.

Other than that, the walls of both agents can leave some room on the site for you where you can hide unnoticed and surprise the attackers.

Astra - Playstyle And Counter

Now, we only have Astra left to discuss. She is considered one of the most challenging agents to play. Her smokes have no range limitation, and she always has two available at a time. It's important for you to know that she has an ability that can suck you in, and she can use it after her team planted to prevent you from defusing the Spike. Just know that this ability also makes her vulnerable.To counter this, for example, you can quickly tap the Spike and then move away (and pay attention to the floor if it is deployed). It might sound easy, but in the heat of the moment, you might forget, so it's important to remember when playing against Astra.Her ultimate basically divides the battlefield into two dimensions with a purple wall. On the other side of the wall, you can't hear anything, and you can't shoot through it! However, what you should know is that you can still use abilities through the wall. For instance, you can flash and then go through, or a Phoenix can go first with his ult. But Astra's ultimate doesn't last the whole round, it has a cooldown of 20 seconds.