In Valorant, the pistol rounds are always the most intense. Everyone starts with the same amount of credits, and usually the team that has the better buy wins the round. Winning the first round can be a huge confidence boost for your team which can lead to better play in future games. It can be hard to know what the most optimal buy is for each agent since there are many options. This guide will show you the best possible buy for each agent. Before I get into explaining the loadouts for each agent, it is important to understand the importance of map and vision control. The most important thing in a game like Valorant is blocking vision, gaining vison and having map information. This is why utility is very important during this first round.

Sage

Sage is a Sentinel agent, meaning she plays a supportive role, focused on blocking off specific entrances, slowing enemies and healing teammates. She has the ability to force rotations or stall for large portions of the round.

Defending

What to Buy: Barrier Orb – Light Armour.

On the defending side, Sage should get Barrier Orb which lasts 30 seconds, and Light Armour. The reason for the Barrier Orb is that it is able to block the attackers from entering and giving them two options. Their first option is they waste time shooting or knifing the barrier, which will allow the rest of your team to slowly start rotating onto site and holding peek corners. Their other option is to rotate onto another site which will waste a lot of time and you will be able to hold rotation corners, either slowing their rotation and picking them off. By putting the Barrier Orb down, you are claiming control over the map and buying time for your team.

The reason why you should also buy Light Armour is because it is important for Sage to stay alive as long as she can so she can heal teammates. The reason you play Sage is for the support and healing aspect. As such, getting killed first would affect the whole team, especially if the team does not have many self-healers such as Reyna and Phoenix. The reason why you don’t buy a Slow Orb is because it is a very situational item which you may not even use the first round and, unlike the Barrier Orb, it does not force a rotation. The enemy team can simply wait it out or slowly walk through it.

Attacking

What to Buy: Barrier Orb – Light Armour.

The Barrier Orb is also very important in the attacking rounds. On many maps, it used as a way to cover peeks so the enemy cannot shoot you as your team rushes onto site. If your whole team can rush onto site while taking cover from the Barrier Orb, it means they now have control of the site. In most maps with only two spike sites, there are usually only two defenders on each site. One defender would cover mid meaning that if a team does a rush with a Barrier Orb and takes out the two or three defenders, they will now have full control over the site and be able to get a free plant.

If you have the Barrier Orb after the bomb has been planted, you can use it block one of their rotation or peek options, which forces them to act in a certain way, granting you control over the map and the enemy team's rotations. With your remaining credits, you can either buy Light Armour or a Ghost, depending on how you want to play. I would recommend going Light Armour because staying alive is important for Sage.

Phoenix

Phoenix is one of the most aggressive agents in the game because his kit makes him very adept at pushing sites and enemies. His kit allows him to heal, blind, and block vision while causing damage. He can also self-sustain without a healer, because Blaze and Hot Hands give him the ability to erase chip damage. His Ult Run It Back allows him to make risky plays or gather map information by running through dangerous zones.

Defending

What to Buy: Blaze – Curve Ball x 2

The importance of Curve Ball is it allows to you to peek while the enemy is blinded and, during a pistol round, being blinded is the worst thing that can happen. If your aim is decent, it should be a free kill for your team. Curve Ball is also used as a way to get map information. Because it blinds everyone, you can peek relatively risk-free and gather information. During the pistol round, peeking with Curve Ball is one of your safest options.

Blaze is a fire wall that can heal Phoenix but damages everyone else. It can be useful for blocking rotations or forcing the enemy to take damage to go through the wall and not know what's on the other side. It is best used to either stop an enemy team from rushing or to block vision and allow your team to safely rotate through open areas without the enemy being able to see (and shoot) you.

Attacking

What to Buy: Blaze – Curve Ball x 2.

Curve Ball is used the same way on both sides. The importance is to peek enemies safely and gather information for your team. If you whip a Curve Ball and see there are four people on one site, you can easily tell your teammates this info and have them plant on the other site while you distract the enemy by making noise (or throwing a second flashbang).

Blaze can be used to push onto a site by blocking one side of the site, so your team can safely try taking control of one side of the site, taking duels without worrying about being shot in the back. It is similar to how Sage uses her Barrier Orb. However, keep in mind enemies can shoot through the wall of fire, though because it is a pistol round, it is unlike this wildfire will actually kill anyone.

Reyna

Reyna is also one of the more aggressive agents who can sustain herself without any support. She is one of the most used agents especially in high elo, as she has a blind, heal, and movement speed. Her attacking and defending sides are very similar during the pistol round.

Attacking/Defending

What to Buy: Ghost – Leer - Devour

The reason why Reyna needs a Ghost instead of Light Armour or more abilities is because her whole kit revolves around her getting kills. If she does not get kills, her abilities are not useful. The Ghost does more damage than the Classic and has lower recoil. If she gets a kill, then she can heal herself with Devour. If she uses Devour with max health, she can overheal until she has 150 health, which is the same as heavy shields. Her overheal decays over 25 seconds 1 health per-second. This makes Reyna one of the best agents in pistol rounds since she does not rely on other agents to play well and can heal or overheal herself, which is very helpful in soaking up chip damage during the pistol.

Her other ability, Leer, is probably one of the best blinds in the game when used. It forces enemies to shoot the Leer or retreat back. If they shoot the Leer, they are giving away their position and if they retreat, you can push onto site or at least safely peek the site. It can also be used to rush a site with your team. However, I would not recommend this unless time is running out. Reyna is the best when she takes her time.

Jett

Jet is the only agent so far who has a passive ability which allows her to glide when she jumps. Most of her abilities are also cheap, and if you are good with her ultimate you can eco on the round you use her ultimate and pick up an enemy's gun. This is especially useful if your team is behind or your eco is bad.

Defending

What to Buy: Cloud Burst x2 – Updraft – Ghost.

Cloud Burst is needed to delay them from pushing or attacking. Many times, especially in lower Elo players will wait out the Cloud Burst, especially if it is used on entrances to sites. If anyone decides to go through the Cloud Burst, it will be a free kill for your team since the enemy will have no vision on your site.

Updraft allows you to hold unique peek angles that other agents cannot hold. Updraft also allows you to peek over walls, and peek over smoke clouds and other walls such as Sage's Barrier Orb and Phoenix's Blaze.

The reason for Ghost is you will be defending and mostly starting engagements. You will want the more damage. You don’t need Light Armour because you should be able to take good peeks using your abilities.

Attacking

What to Buy: Cloud Burst x3 – Updraft – Light Armour

For the Cloud Burst, you need it when pushing in onto a site. When you push, you should throw the Cloud Bursts in front of the entrances, allowing you to sneak onto site without the enemy knowing what direction you went. You can also use the Cloud Burst as a barrier to peek enemies from the edges of the cloud. Once the spike has been planted, you can use Cloud Burst to cover elevated areas or doorways the enemy may enter from, denying them crucial information. You will want Updraft for a similar reason - each map has locations where Updraft will allow you to get unique angles, allowing you to take advantageous duels. This is especially useful during pistol rounds because having the first shot usually means you get the kill.

Sova

Sova has a pretty well-balanced kit between being able to see enemy location and cause damage with his Shock Bolts and a powerful ultimate.

Defending

What to Buy: Shock Bolts x2 – Ghost.

Shock bolts are very powerful they can do anywhere from 14 to 90 damage depending on how close they are to the main radius of the shock blast. The reason why these are so powerful in pistol round is because they do a lot of damage even if you don’t directly hit an enemy. If you assume enemies aren't buying armor, getting hit by one or two Shock Bolts can severely change the tide of the pistol round. Also, if you get map information or hear their footsteps, you can damage them without even peeking them since your shock bolts bounce off surfaces. I suggest practicing with the Shock Bolt in custom games to clearly see where the Shock Bolts land when you fire around corners with them.

A Ghost is also needed. Since your signature Recon Bolt reveals positions, you will be the best person on your team to start the engages and peek. Also the Ghost has less recoil compared to the Classic pistol. You should not need your drone in first round of defending because your signature ability will tell you enough information on which site enemies are pushing and from where. Since you don’t need to be the one pushing, drone is not that important when defending on pistol rounds.

Attacking

What to Buy: Drone – Ghost.

Drone is very important on the attacking side and especially pistol round. Since it will be your team pushing the objective, your Recon Bolt may not be enough especially because people move around after being spotted. You will be able to drone and give your team live updates before they push an objective. If you do see someone, you can then peek them with the Ghost. It's important to keep in mind that your main objective as Sova is to provide map information for your team.

Cypher

When it comes to map control and vison, there is no better agent than Cypher. He is one of the most picked agents in professional play. His signature ability Spy Cam allows him to have vision of two sites. For example, he can hold B while his Spy Cam is at A, which makes him very useful in every team comp.

Defending

What to Buy: Trapwire – Cyber Cage – Ghost.

When on the defending side, you need to get at least one Trapwire. You have many options on where you can put your traps, but the most common places are rotations so you can catch the enemy team if they are trying to rotate to another site. You can also plant a Trapwire on site so you will be aware of whether the enemy has control over a site. I suggest not putting your Spy Cam and Trapwire on the same site, because the main goal of playing Cypher is to collect information, so having them spread apart would be the most beneficial.

You also need to buy a Ghost because you can get a lot of kills with Cypher on pistol round. Your Spy Cam will allow you to know the enemy's exact location, allowing you to quickly take a clean shot. You can even use your spy cam as bait, so that when they destroy it, you can quickly peek them and kill them. A Ghost will allow you to do this from a further distance.

Attacking

What to Buy: Cage – Ghost.

You can use Trapwire to cover your flank to make sure no one from the enemy team is rotating from your back side or spawn to kill you. If you save it for after the bomb has been planted, you can use it to cover one of the entrances to site.

The Cage will mostly be used when pushing site or covering an enemy sight line so they cannot shoot you. However, don’t use it on yourself or a teammate when they are planting because then the enemy will understand that someone is planting the bomb in your Cage and will most likely shoot at it or use an ability on it. You can also use your cage near your trap wire when someone walks through the Trapwire you can activate the cage and shoot them through it since you will know exactly where they are. This is also why you go for a Ghost to get those clean, low recoil shots.

Brimstone

Brimstone is really good for establishing map control and for pushing sites that you do not have control over. If you are new to the game or still learning, Brimstone is a good agent to pick up to understand the basics of map control and map information.

Defending

What to Buy: Sky Smokes x3 – Incendiary.

The Sky Smokes are very useful for stalling time. They last for 14 seconds which is very long, and the attacker side won’t push through the smoke since it’s too risky. It’s the best to use when you see a bunch of enemies hard pushing a site, since you can just block them off with the smoke. If they plant the bomb, you can use the Sky Smokes to cover potential sightlines, forcing enemies out of their locations.

Incendiary is a very good item it deals tons of damage and lasts for 8.3 seconds, you can use it if you hear an enemy planting, you can stall them from planning for 8.3 seconds. You can also use the Incendiary to stop a team from hard pushing a site or slow them down from rotating.

Attacking

What to Buy: Sky Smokes x3 – Ghost.

You need the smokes for being able to push sites and block enemy visons so they cannot shoot you. You pretty much need it for the same reasons as defending. Covering the enemies’ vision in Valorant is one of the best tactics as I stated before especially in pistol rounds.

Raze

Raze’s full kit is made for aggressive play, since all her abilities do damage. If you are a new player or are coming from CS:GO, I would recommend playing her since her kit resembles most shooter games.

Defending

What to Buy: Boom Bot – Light Armour.

The Boom Bot is particularly good especially in the pistol round it has the potential of instant killing. However, it can also be used to check corners or sites. If the Boom Bot sees anyone, it will beep giving away the position of the enemy team. If you know an enemy is around a corner, you can put your Boom Bot in that position and once it starts beeping you can push in. the enemy will be focused on trying to shoot your Boom Bot or they will be running away so their accuracy will be bad.

Since most of your engagement will be close, using the Classic will be fine. So, it is better to go with Light Armour in case you get caught out by two enemies. However, a Ghost is still viable option depending on your play style.

Attacking

What to Buy: Boom Bot – Ghost.

You will need Boom Bot for the same reason, for map information and being able to get free kills in pistol rounds. The only reason you also need the Ghost for attacking is for the more damage since pushing sites you usually want to kill people extremely fast and it is a good combo with your Boom Bot.

Viper

Many people use Viper for her ultimate which has a decay affecting causing people to drop to one HP and can effectively cover an entire site. However, Viper is still a situational agent choice.

Defending

What to Buy: Snake Bite x 2 – Ghost.

Snake Bite is good for your pistol rounds because it slows down from enemies pushing site, lasting 8 seconds. It can also be used to stall rotations. It covers a lot of area so even if you do not have clear vision, or if the team blocks your vison, you will be able to still block their rotation.

Attacking

What to Buy: Poison Cloud – Ghost.

The Poison Cloud is useful and different than other smokes and clouds because it deals decaying damage to them if they try to push it, and is effectively reusable due to Viper's fuel mechanic. It can be used to stop defuses and hard pushes. You need the Ghost to deal damage since you are pushing onto a site.

Omen

Omen's abilities give him the chance to confuse the enemy on your location. In a way, it throws their map information out the window. Since you can teleport anywhere with your ultimate and can cover huge distances with Shrouded Step, the enemy will never be sure where you are.

Defending

What to Buy: Paranoia – Shrouded Step – Ghost.

Paranoia is very useful it can reduce the vision of enemies and it can go through walls. So, if you have an enemy pushing, you can blind them through the wall then push them. However, the Paranoia must touch them, or the enemy will not lose vision. Since you will be engaging enemies with Paranoia, a Ghost is needed to deal that extra damage and get those clean shots.

Attacking

What to Buy: Paranoia – Shrouded Step – Ghost.

I suggest going Paranoia for the same reason as defending. It is a powerful ability, so you should always try to buy paranoia no matter the round. The reason for Shrouded Step is because you can go into most sites with Shrouded Step without the enemy knowing exactly where you are. You can use this to your advantage and rotate behind enemies or catch them off guard since they will not expect to be peeked from where you are. This especially works if your team makes noise somewhere else.

Breach

Breach is another new player friendly agent. If you are new or just getting into the game, I would suggest playing Breach he has a mix of stuns, blinds, and damages for his abilities, so it teaches you how those abilities work.

Attacking/Defending

What to Buy: Aftershock – Flashpoint – Ghost.

Aftershock is really good to use on common camping spots that you know enemies usually stand. By using this ability you will either force them to take damage or they will be forced to move from their spot, which could allow your team to kill them. I would recommend letting your team know before you use this ability and where you are using so they are aware to check that spot incase an enemy pops out of that spot. When it comes to Flashpoint, it's always useful to have blinds you can use before peeking a site. Breach’s blind also goes through the wall and blinds enemies so it can be very useful for your team if you use it before they push a site. Ghost is always the best pistol to buy in pistol rounds especially when an agent has a blind.

Killjoy

Killjoy is the newest agent in Valorant. Her kit allows her to have map information and map control at the same time which makes her a very useful agent. Her signature ability allows her to know where enemies and possibly deal damage and kill, its especially strong in pistol round.

Defending

What to Buy: Alarm Bot – Nanoswarm – Light Armour.

Alarm Bot is very powerful in pistol round, you can place it on the site where they will plant or on one of their entrances to site. If they step on it, it deals damage and makes them vulnerable which means they take double the damage from all sources for a while. Meaning one shot from the Classic should be able to kill anyone with the double damage.

Nanoswarm is like a grenade that you throw and activate it deals a lot of damage, especially in pistol rounds. You should be able to kill an enemy with this if placed or thrown in the right moment. It's better to go with Light Armour since you will already be dealing tons of damage with your abilities. It's better to go some extra armour in case you get caught out or outnumbered.

Attacking

What to Buy: Alarm Bot – Ghost.

You should try buying Alarm Bot every round since it is very powerful and help your whole team out with the vulnerability. The reason I suggest Ghost is because attacking rounds are usually hard with pistols so the extra damage will help you out and possibly out-damage the enemy.

Conclusion

It is always important to remember the importance of abilities in this game. Many times, I see people buy a vandal with heavy armour then have no extra money for abilities. Abilities are as important as the guns you buy. It would be better buying a cheaper gun and having a few abilities. In silver and gold rank especially, people underestimate the power of abilities and how it can change the outcome of the round especially the outcome of pistol rounds. I also added a cheat sheet in case you need a quick look on what you need to buy.