The tweet by ValorantUpdated which simply asked a question has indeed got everyone in the community to talk about it. “Who do you think is the strongest Agent right now, and why?” They really did not know themselves how big a discussion was getting started. Replies came and it was total chaos out there. There are as many opinions as there are people and the salt levels are metaphorically much higher than a Radiant player’s ego.
Tthe name that was named more than once right at the beginning was Clove. BLVCKBIRD71 was very confident when saying “Clove. She has a very high win rate since release and they still haven’t nerfed her for some reason.” That was indeed a good point comparing the situation to League of Legends, where even getting close to 52% win rate would definitely get you nerfed instantly. So then, why does Riot let this happen for so long?
Nikhil was even clearer with their request: “Clove pls nerf her to ground so ranked can be interesting. 😤” The frustration is really there, guys. When one agent is so dominating that it makes ranked predictable, then that is a sure sign of a balance issue.
Now, not everyone agrees with the reason why Clove is strong. clying made a reply arguing that “Her kit is fundamentally broken having the ability to create pressure with ur smokes from any where at any time.” That is the thing about Clove – she can literally create smokes from any part of the map, which, if you think about it, is kinda absurd. The other controllers at least have to be present on site to properly do their roles.
The whole debate on pro play versus ranked came up as always, which made the discussion messy. One user mentioned Viper might actually be the strongest in professional matches because “Most util spam is gone but Viper can just use it again and again.” It is true – in coordinated play, Viper’s wall and molly can completely deny the entry of the attacker through the site. Other agents just can’t match it.
But we should also keep the duelist mains that are having a meltdown of their own. Aakash Patel listed a bunch of characters: “Reyna – Unlimited ultimate. Jett – Always an OP agent, but no complaints, because she is cute. Neon – Boring ultimate and stun. Waylay – OP dash.” Okay, the Jett comment about her being cute? That’s true, we all have been in that situation at least once.
The Reyna discussion is always funny because it is the most polarized discussion ever in Valorant history. Mauricio Voto flatly called her “skill-less” while someone else said she’s “90% aim.” What is the conclusion, folks? Can’t just hold both views. Either she is a no-skill character or she is a perfect-aim character, choose a struggle.
Yoru mains also expressed their opinions with cookie_monster420 stating “Yoru, we are the strongest, our minds are the strongest” which… I have to say, you have respect for that kind of confidence. Yoru players are just different, man. They may lose 2-13 but still think that they are the best players on the server.
What is very interesting though is that the meta, according to Icyyy, has changed drastically over time: “Crazy it went from Jett Reyna in 2021 to Jett chamber in 2022 to Jett in 2023 to Raze Neon and a little ISO in 2024 to early Tejo and yoru in 2025.” That’s a history lesson right there. The game keeps changing but somehow one or two agents always remain who get the most complaints from the players.
The sentinel discussion turned quite fiery too. Chro_gg was merciless to Sage, saying “Sage is objectively the worst sentinel pre nerf. Now it’s close but with the nerf to her wall, her not having any info, her wall auto decaying, and fairly situational ult she’s still the worst.” Ouch. Mason14333 retaliated “maybe you’re just bad at sage” and… yeah, that’s how these arguments generally end up.
Breach was mentioned too for his “Almost 3-second flash,” which is very annoying when you are on the receiving end. You literally blink and you are dead without even realizing it. That’s not cool, dude!
Then, there were also some hot takes. Someone said, “All agents are weak currently,” which… what game are you playing?? And another person mentioned Phoenix and KJ, which honestly feels like they are playing a different patch entirely.
The real message here is that the balance in Valorant is extremely complicated. What works in ranked does not necessarily work in pro play, what seems OP to one player might seem balanced to another player and everyone has their main that they will defend to the last drop of blood while demanding nerfs for everyone else.
Riot will have to work hard. With Clove controlling ranked stats and Viper being the pro play supporting agent, not to mention all the other agents that people complain about, the next balance patch will have to be very carefully done. Players are clearly fed up with the same agents being at the top and they want fresh metas to play around with.
In the end, nobody wants anything but the game to be fair and to have the variety of characters available. When one agent gets a 52% win rate months after release, this is probably a sign that something needs to change. But until that happens, the same agents will be seen in every ranked game and the community will keep fighting for who is the strongest. The circle of Valorant life, I guess.
