With Riot’s recent balance changes on Chamber, there have been discussions on his place in the agent pool, and the bigger topic of what the Sentinel role even means. This article takes a dive into what makes Chamber a sentinel, and how he remains an integral piece of the agent ecosystem.
If you’ve played/watched Valorant in the past couple months, you’ll know that Chamber has quickly become the premier choice of sentinel in ranked, and somewhat in competitive play. His Duelist-esque abilities make him the perfect agent to shoot heads, while still holding map control for the team as a Sentinel. It’s no surprise that his dominance ended up getting him nerfed, with a couple changes to his Trademark ability with the release of Patch 4.09.
From VALORANT’s official YouTube
For those that don’t know, Chamber’s Trademark is a passive ability that is setup, and activated when contacting opponents. A message is sent to the team informing that the Trademark has been activated, and the Trademark will emit a slowing field if not destroyed in time. Thus, this makes the Trademark a versatile piece of utility that can watch flank or hold pushes with its informational and stalling properties. With the release of patch 4.09, Chamber goes from two of these trademarks to only one, as well as a price increase from 150 to 200 credits. It’s worth noting that the remainder of Chamber’s abilities, the Headhunter, Rendezvous, and Tour De Force were not changed.
The initial reactions to these changes were mixed. On one hand, players were excited to see a nerf to Chamber, but many had strong opinions on how he was tweaked, with many disagreeing with the exact change.
First, a large opinion was that “the only Sentinel aspect of Chamber's kit was nerfed”. This viewpoint stems from the fact that Chamber’s other pieces of utility aren’t traditionally seen as “Sentinel-type” abilities, since it seems like their main purpose is for Chamber to take more fights. This concerned players that Chamber wouldn’t have enough utility to hold down spaces as opposed to other Sentinels like Killjoy or Cypher.
Next, another opinion was that his other abilities remained too powerful after the nerf. This opinion comes from players who most likely fell victim to a Headhunter one-tap, followed by the Chamber’s Rendezvous to fall back safely.
Although these opinions may seem relatively reasonable, it’s important to take a look at what the Sentinel role means in Valorant, and how these changes make sense when you look at Chamber’s kit as a whole.
As stated by Jay Watford, Lead Agent Designer and Dan Hardison, Game Designer of Valorant: “When we think about the Sentinel role, we think about its overall ability to keep map control and defend space.” This means that Sentinels are responsible for controlling areas that are already owned by the team, whether it be through providing information about where enemies are, or direct stalling through movement inhibition.
To make these statements easier to visualize, let’s take a look at the abilities of the other Sentinels in the game. In terms of keeping map control, we think of these as abilities that give information about whether the enemies have regained control of a certain area. This includes Cypher’s Spycam and Trapwire, Killjoy’s Turret and Alarmbot, and Sage’s Barrier Orb. All these abilities have visual or audio cues to let the team know enemies are looking to take that space.
As for defending space, examples include Cypher’s Cyber Cages, Killjoy’s Nanoswarms, and Sage’s Barrier/Slow Orbs. Cypher and Killjoy’s abilities involve setting them up in areas that you have control of, and activating them to prevent enemies from pushing in. Sage’s utility isn’t set up in advance but has quick cast times so that they can be used reactively.
For Chamber, it may be less intuitive when thinking about how his utility falls under these statements. We can take a look at his entire arsenal to see how he accomplishes Sentinel duties in a unique way.
Earlier in the article, we discussed some of Chamber’s abilities. However, if you are not familiar with his kit, here are his official ability descriptions from VALORANT.
C - Trademark: PLACE a trap that scans for enemies. When a visible enemy comes in range, the trap counts down and then destabilizes the terrain around them, creating a lingering field that slows players caught inside of it.
Q - Headhunter: ACTIVATE to equip a heavy pistol. ALT FIRE with the pistol equipped to aim down sights.
E - Rendezvous: PLACE two teleport anchors. While on the ground and in range of an anchor, REACTIVATE to quickly teleport to the other anchor. Anchors can be picked up to be REDEPLOYED.
X - Tour De Force: ACTIVATE to summon a powerful, custom sniper rifle that will kill an enemy with any direct hit. Killing an enemy creates a lingering field that slows players caught inside of it.
Something you may not have noticed is Riot’s clever selection of Chamber’s weapons. Although the Sheriff and Operator are beloved weapons in the game, their single shot capabilities are what make them perfect for Chamber. There was intentional design for these weapons to be used in tandem with the Rendezvous, enabling Chamber to get an elimination in one shot, followed by a quick teleport to safety.
The purpose of this selection is for Chamber to hold areas with his body, teleporting out when in danger. We can think of this system similarly to a Cypher camera. Chamber can set up his Rendezvous such that when contacting an enemy, he can immediately teleport to safety, gaining information and preserving his life. However, a key difference is that instead of a Spycam dart, Chamber shoots bullets instead. Imagining Chamber as a one-shot Spycam makes him seem pretty deadly right?
The major trade-offs are obvious: his remaining pieces of utility are minimal, Chamber’s body can’t be in other areas, and sloppy play could result in elimination. However, playing Chamber with a high degree of discipline and strategy are what make him fit this niche. While other Sentinels give risk-free information, there is no major direct impact. Opponents aren’t going to be afraid of dying to a Turret or Trapwire but will be sure to clear every corner when up against a skilled Chamber.
This is why Riot’s decision to adjust Chamber in this fashion makes a lot of sense. They want to move him away from abilities that give safe, reliable information, and have him be the high-risk, high-reward Sentinel that holds areas by eliminating the opposition. Nonetheless, his abilities still accomplish what a Sentinel needs to do. He can keep map control by physically holding an area, teleporting out if necessary. He can defend space by eliminating opponents with a good shot. By playing Chamber at a high level, you condition enemies to stop contesting space that you play in.
There are a variety of playstyles with Chamber, and obviously, there is no single correct way to play VALORANT. However, if you want to play Chamber’s Sentinel aspect to its full extent, there are certain techniques that can be employed.
When players use Chamber, he is often utilized similarly to Jett, holding an angle and dismissing after a shot. However, a key difference is that Chamber can instantly teleport longer distances, whereas Jett’s dash has a limited range. Thus, it is more valuable to play Chamber in deeper, riskier angles to obtain the full value of his utility.
For example, let’s look at three different positions on Icebox’s B site. The first position has a player posted up near Snowman. This position is as far back as possible, with no possibility of early audio or visual information on a potential push. There is extremely low value for Chamber to play here, as any agent can easily fall back to safety. The second position has a little bit more value. It’s more unexpected for the opponents, and there’s potential in spotting out a push early. However, it isn’t the most you can get out of Chamber, as agents like Jett or Reyna can also play this position.
The third position is an example of a play that only Chamber can safely execute. By quickly pushing up into the B lobby, Chamber is at a completely unexpected angle. If enemies end up showing presence, Chamber is able to play for an elimination before teleporting out. However, if there aren’t enemies, Chamber can continue to control the space deep, waiting for any signs of enemies. Because Chamber is so pushed forward, the lack of enemy presence enables the team to stack up in other areas of the map. Additionally, if enemies return to B, Chamber can safely get early information for the team to rotate.
By taking a look at Chamber’s utility from a different perspective, Riot’s motivation and thought process behind the character become clear. Chamber has an extremely distinct way of holding space as a Sentinel, creating further depth in team compositions. By creating diversity in Sentinel agents, the meta continues to evolve with the many choices for agent combinations and playstyles. As for your day to day ranked games, think about how you can make the most out of Chamber’s kit to lock down those areas for your team.
