In Valorant, Duelist is the most explosive agent class, and it is a very enticing role for people to try. However, it can be hard to utilize a Duelist’s kit well if you are unsure how to play the role and it can be difficult to choose from the pool of characters that the class has to offer.

While there are so many amazing players that make Duelist look like such an easy role, it can often be one of the most difficult roles to play correctly and efficiently. Playing Duelist requires you to be fearless, entry fragging, trusting your team to trade you out, and so many other things the role is responsible for. These responsibilities can seem daunting for new and lower ELO players. However, when performed correctly Duelist is one of the most helpful and rewarding roles to play.

There are currently six Duelists in the game, and in this guide, we will go over each one, ranking them and going over some of the ways you can utilize them so you can start your climb!

Graph provided by Esportstales

What Exactly is Low-ELO in this case?

The different interpretations and perspectives of what “low-ELO” exactly is, can make it hard to get a basis for where to start. So how can we establish this? Well, using the charts and graphs provided by Esportstales, we can see that as of June 2022 (Episode 4 Act 3) a staggering 66.8% of players were in Silver 3 or below. That is more than half of the players being below Gold rank.

Using this information, we can safely say that “low-ELO” in our case would be anything below Gold 1. This is shown in the lower percentages of players in each rank as you get higher and higher. Now if you are in this 66.8% of players, don’t be discouraged! So many amazing players were once Silver, Bronze, and even Iron. You have to start at the bottom to reach the top after all.

So why is this important? Well, establishing what low-ELO is will mean that the ranking of each agent will be based on their skill floor and ceiling, as well as overall how good of a character they are. Just like in any other game, there are going to be characters that perform better in a lower ELO than they would higher along the ladder.

Agent Ranking For Low ELO

6. Phoenix

Agent Rundown and Abilities

Ranking in last place on the list we have Phoenix. The problem that Phoenix faces is that his kit lacks the proper mobility and self-sustain that other Duelists in the game have. His passive causes all of his damage-dealing abilities to heal him. His signature ability Hot Hands is overall decent, he equips a fireball to throw and when it hits the ground it combusts the area around where it lands, dealing damage to enemies.

With Blaze, Phoenix shoots out a wall of fire that can be turned if you move your crosshair while the ability is being used. Unfortunately, this has such a short range compared to the duration, not to mention it can still damage teammates and does not do too much damage to enemies either. His Curveball is a flash that can be thrown around corners. It is a decent pop flash but is somewhat limited since it can only be thrown at a ninety-degree angle. It can catch enemies well if used correctly.

The main thing that Phoenix has going for him in terms of his kit is his Ultimate, Run It Back, and even then, it can be easily exploited when used incorrectly. When used, Phoenix marks his location, and after getting killed or the duration runs out, he returns to the marked location. A big problem Phoenix faces is that it seems like every single ability that he has besides his Ultimate, there is another character that just has a better version.

One upside to picking Phoenix is that he is very easy to play. His kit is very streamlined for new players to learn how to play Duelist, and he is a good pick in Unrated when first starting to play the game. Now with that being said, the reason he ranks last is that after a while, he just doesn't do much for his team, and the other agents on this list can provide a lot more in terms of getting on site and entrying. Phoenix has been confirmed to receive buffs, but we don’t know how these will affect his overall place in the meta just yet.

Tips to Keep in Mind

If you are going to pick Phoenix, there are some things that you can do to make him worthwhile. His passive is nice, but don’t waste abilities just to heal if it isn’t necessary. On offense, you want to make sure you are flashing out for your team, it is super important in taking a site. Throwing out your wall and then flashing through it to catch people can be strong, just make sure you are mixing your approach up. Throwing up Blaze and then immediately swinging can be a good way to mix up your opponents if you have already conditioned them to turn from your wall to predict a flash.

Your Hot Hands is good for cutting off and clearing out common angles when attacking. For example, on Ascent B Site, throwing your Hot Hands on the staircase next to Boathouse leading to site by CT forces anyone holding the angle to either commit to an aggressive hold on site or forces them to retreat to CT and wait for their team for a retake, which can sometimes lead to a cheeky pick on the enemy. Run It Back is essentially a free get-on-to-site tool for your team when used correctly.

Playing aggressively with this is good, but keep in mind you can also use it to gather information, or fully heal when you are already at low health. Just be sure the marked location you are returning to is in a safe place because if you use it recklessly, it can lead to a knife in your back. Hot Hands is also great for slowing an enemy’s push onto site. Tossing it on the ground when they are pushing can stop approaches and cause the enemy to either slow their push down or even end up making them rotate.

5. Yoru

Agent Rundown and Abilities

Next in fifth place, we have Yoru. After his rework, Yoru gained a lot of traction from players, and for good reason. His new kit was a significant step up from his previous one, and he felt like a more complete agent when his update was released. Now, the reason he ranks down here is that he can be difficult to use to his fullest potential. He is not a bad character by any means anymore, but he can be difficult to utilize sometimes due to his high skill ceiling. His kit overall is very solid though.

Gatecrash can be a very deceiving ability. You send it forward or place it down, and then when activated Yoru teleports to the location. It can also be faked, triggering the sound cue without teleporting Yoru, marking the ground where it was triggered. Blindside is his flash, you throw it on any solid surface and then after a brief delay, it will burst, flashing anyone looking at it.

Fakeout sends out a clone of Yoru straight forward, and when destroyed, turns to the direction it was shot from and bursts, flashing anyone in a cone in front of it.

Finally, his Ultimate: Dimensional Drift. This ability is so much better after the rework. Using it to get information for your team is very good, but now that you can use all your other abilities while you are in your Ultimate it is super useful. Along with going in and gathering information for your team, you can clear angles, you can flash for your team while invisible, you can fake your teleport then end your Ultimate after a flash, you can put a clone down as your Ultimate ends, and so much more. There is a lot more versatility with this now, and it has made Yoru a lot better than he once was.

Tips to Keep in Mind

As I said earlier Yoru can be a very difficult character to master. His kit provides a lot of different approaches, and it is up to the player to make it good. Since there is so much freedom with his kit, creativity is essential when playing Yoru.

Gatecrash is a very useful ability for getting on to site, using it with a flash is a very common thing to do, so mix things up. Flashing, immediately faking your teleport, then swinging can be very good to catch opponents off guard. If you have a Sova or a Viper on your team or someone else who can send utility to another site from far away, combining a fake Gatecrash with this can be a great way to fake a push. His flash can be used in so many ways.

Flashing behind you and then swinging is one way it can be very good. Just be aware, since you are still technically in the range of the flash, you will also get flashed for a short duration, but if you do this correctly, your opponent will be flashed for a longer period, allowing you to win gunfights.

It is best to use your clone when there is already a lot going on since a lot of time people will not think to look at the map if they are caught up in a fight or if they are in the middle of defending or taking a site. Also, make sure to not always fake your clone and just walk on site, pretending to be the clone. A lot of the time in lower ELOs, they will just shoot you anyway. Make sure that you condition your opponents to certain things, and then mix it up! That is where Yoru excels the most!

4. Neon

Agent Rundown and Abilities

In fourth place, we have Neon. Neon has fantastic mobility, especially with High Gear - her sprint and slide ability. She makes getting onto site very easy when this is paired well with her team’s utility.

Relay Bolt is a very underrated ability in my opinion when attacking. You shoot out a bolt, and when it collides with a solid surface, the area is concussed after a brief delay. Combined with the speed that Neon is capable of, you can be dead in a matter of seconds if you get hit by this and hear a Neon sprinting towards you.

Fast Lane is another ability that just pairs so well with the rest of Neon’s kit. Sliding through your wall can be very good for catching the enemy off-guard, and It also gives your teammates a path to walk through as well. Just remember that Fast Lane stops when it collides with a wall or other solid surface. Her Ultimate Overdrive is very good when used correctly. When activated Neon shoots a bolt of lightning out of her hands that deals twenty-two damage per tick (more or less depending on where it hits) that falls off after fifteen meters.

This is devastating in close-range fights. It is very versatile; it can be used in many different situations and there are a lot of different ways to use it. However, making sure that you land your shots is important since the ability fully recharges off of eliminations. You want to make it count when you are using it.

The main problem that Neon encounters and the reason she ranks in fourth place is that her kit forces her to commit to an aggressive playstyle. This is very good on attack, but on defense, it can be hard at times to play passively when you have such an offensive kit at your disposal.

Relay Bolt is good for stopping pushes at times, but the ability is so fast that if it misses or is used incorrectly, it does not do a whole lot to stop a push. The same goes for Fast Lane, although it is solid for dividing up the site for a retake. High Gear is good for rotating fast, but if you rotate too fast and the enemy fakes, you are a man down on the site they end up taking.

Tips to Keep in Mind

Neon is a character that works best in unison with her team. Here are some ways to effectively utilize this. High Gear is your bread-and-butter ability. You don’t want to waste your sprint meter, so make sure your team is committing to a push then sprint in with them and the utility that they put down.

Remember, when playing Neon, you almost always want to be first, which can be a tough mindset to have at times. This is why sometimes buying a Spectre is very good when playing Neon since she is so good at closing space. However, do keep in mind that you are faster than your team, and being mindful of this and playing with them will allow them to trade you out if you get caught.

Neon is a selfless entry; she wants to get on site for her team and be a big moving distraction to draw out enemies, allowing you and your teammates to get picks. Firing Relay Bolt at common angles and dividing the site for your team with Fast Lane is essential as mentioned earlier, it makes taking site a lot easier for the rest of your team. Overdrive is a very deadly ability when used correctly, but don’t always just use it for eco rounds.

At the end of the day the main goal is to win the round, and if using Overdrive achieves this, by all means do that. Using High Gear on defense is important, if your team communicates that the enemy team is committing to a site or they see the Spike, sprinting on the rotate is a must so that you can back up your team and have good numbers when you otherwise wouldn’t. Taking advantage of Neon’s mobility on both offense and defense is extremely important.

3. Jett

Agent Rundown and Abilities

In third place we have Jett. A lot of people may think that Jett should be number one, if not then at least number two. Jett is a fantastic agent, don’t get me wrong. She has somehow always managed to remain relevant in the meta for so long after countless nerfs. It seems like she just can’t be taken down.

However, Jett has the same issue as Yoru at times, she has a very high skill ceiling. Her kit is extremely deadly in the right hands, but if not utilized to the fullest, she can become stale for her team. Jett excels at taking fights the way that she wants. Her passive allows her to slowly drift in the air when the jump key is held. This is super useful when trying to traverse to places that most agents would not be able to get to, creating off-angles.

Her signature ability, Tailwind, even after the changes that were made to it still provides Jett with excellent mobility. When you activate Tailwind, after a brief delay, you have a twelve-second window to reactivate the ability. When reactivated you propel in the direction that you are moving, if standing still, you are sent forward. Now while this nerf did do its job in taking a hit on her ability to exploit her synergy with the Operator, she still excels at taking exchanges with the enemy, it is just a matter of preemptively activating Tailwind when you are expecting an encounter with an enemy.

Updraft propels Jett upward and at first glance, this ability seems lackluster, but when you think about how advantageous holding off angles is in a tactical shooter like Valorant, Updraft becomes very valuable. If you pair Updraft with Tailwind, you can cover a lot of vertical and horizontal distance, which is extremely good for taking site.

Cloudburst is Jett’s smoke ability. She throws a smoke in the direction of your crosshair, and if the key is held it can be controlled in the air before it hits a surface. An agent like Jett having a smoke is insanely strong. Being able to play aggressive and block-off angles simultaneously is very useful when taking a site.

Finally, we have Jett’s Ultimate, Blade Storm, and when in the right hands it can be extremely deadly. Jett equips five extremely accurate knives that deal fifty damage each or kill instantly with a headshot. You can fire them individually when left-clicked or fire all of them with a less accurate burst with right-click. Just be aware that if you right-click, there is a damage falloff and the knives become extremely inaccurate. This ability is usually where the skill ceiling of Jett starts to show, the knives are extremely accurate, but many people tend to have a hard time using this both correctly and in the right situations.

Tips to Keep in Mind

When you play Jett, you want to be the leader of the team. You want to play Jett selflessly. The Duelist role needs to be played with the thought: “I’m going to entry and might die, but I trust my team to trade me out.” This is a difficult mindset to adopt, but Jett is a good character to learn this with.

Throwing a smoke and then immediately dashing into the smoke can cause a lot of chaos fast, especially when you have your team behind you to follow up. A good thing to practice as well is smoking from behind cover and getting used to controlling your smokes with your cursor. Jett’s smokes are also great for creating short one-ways on common angles since they are unique and can be attached to walls.

As mentioned earlier, her Updraft can be very good to get to places that provide off-angles. Just make sure that you do not peek from the same off-angle every single time because enemies will start to catch on. When it comes to her Tailwind, her synergy with the Operator has been nerfed quite a bit since you cannot immediately dash after you take a shot. Just make sure that if you are OPing, you want to make sure that an enemy is going to commit to a push, or you know they are there if you are going to activate your dash window.

Blade Storm, similar to how Neon’s Overdrive works, is refreshed upon getting a kill, so keep this in mind. Her knives are great for eco rounds but don’t only use them when your team is saving. They are extremely good to use in a pinch or in synergy with an OP to provide a deadly weapon combination. Using Updraft and taking advantage of your passive when using knives is also extremely important. Since the knives are one hundred percent accurate when floating and moving, you become a deadly moving target, which is overwhelming and many times difficult for enemies to react to and hit when you get the jump on them.

2. Reyna

Agent Rundown and Abilities

In at second place, we have none other than the soul-devouring empress herself - Reyna. What makes Reyna so good is her versatility in different scenarios. She works so well with her team but also can be extremely self-sufficient. She is very unique, in that two of her abilities are tied to the same mechanic.

After Reyna gets a kill or damages an enemy her teammate kills within a three-second window, they drop a Soul Orb which Reyna can interact with in one of two ways. Reyna can use Dismiss, consuming the orb and becoming invulnerable for a short duration. Using this after you or your teammate gets a pick while there are still enemies in sight is a good way to get out of a bad situation alive when other agents would otherwise die. Reyna can also Use Devour, which heals her over a short window of time, over-healing if she’s at full health, capping out at one hundred and fifty health total. Keep in mind that when this is used the orb must be in the line of sight or else the healing will get cut off.

Leer is Reyna’s blind ability, she throws out an eye that when looked at by enemies, will near-sight them. This ability is great when trying to take a site with your team. Leer can be thrown through walls, as long as where it ends up is in an open space. Just be aware that there is a brief start-up window for the blind to become active and the eye can be destroyed if shot by enemies.

Finally, we have her ultimate: Empress. While in her ultimate, Reyna has a quicker equip and reload time, as well as rapid-fire. Similar to the way her orbs work, if Reyna kills an enemy, or damages an enemy within three seconds of them dying, then the duration of Empress is reset. On top of that when Reyna gets a kill, she automatically gets healed by Devour and gets unlimited uses of Dismiss, which now turns her completely invisible.

Reyna is an extremely self-sufficient agent that works well with her team, and in solo situations. However, while she is extremely self-sufficient, this does not mean playing selfishly is a good thing. While Reyna excels in taking trades and aggressive angles due to being able to heal or escape in a pinch, this does not mean that she should be played recklessly. She can do very well on her own, but it is not good to play alone or bait teammates in return for a higher number of kills if it means the round is going to result in a loss. Being a leader and going in first just like every other Duelist is still extremely important to do when playing Reyna.

Tips to Keep in Mind

One important thing to keep in mind when playing Reyna is that she doesn’t need to get a kill to benefit from getting a soul orb, so playing selflessly with your team is extremely important since you can still benefit from your Devour and Dismiss as long as you damage an enemy within three seconds of them dying. Playing with your team is also important so that you can entry for them with your Leer.

As was mentioned before, her Leer can go through walls, and doing this can catch enemies off guard. Another thing that is important when using Leer is to throw it high in the air or in an unexpected place, not too high or far to where the blind won’t affect the enemy, but enough to where they need to flick far away from where you and your team will be if they want to destroy it.

Another thing that is important to keep in mind is that in many cases, Dismissing is better than healing with Devour. A lot of people make the mistake of instantly healing after a kill or assist, which in many cases can lead to your death. If you know that you are safe to heal, then it’s usually ok. However, if you are in a gunfight with multiple enemies or just don’t feel safe, Dismissing is the better option.

Lastly, her Ultimate only needs six points to be used. So, you will get it more often than you might think. Make sure you are not holding on to it too much and using it as much as you can so that you take advantage of its low point requirement. Don’t only save it for the one versus five clutch moments, it can be way more threatening to the enemy if you use it to take a site with a full team.

1. Raze

Agent Rundown and Abilities

Finally, ranking in first place on this list we have the Brazilian Bomber: Raze. What makes Raze so good for new and low ELO players is that her kit is very streamlined, it has a clear and concise goal: cause mayhem. Raze excels at clearing out angles and providing information while simultaneously entrying for her team, and she can do so in many different ways.

Her Paint Shells are her signature ability. Raze equips a grenade, when thrown, after a brief fuse time it explodes dealing damage and creating smaller cluster bombs that detonate shortly after the original explosion. This ability is fantastic for clearing out common angles on sites or stopping pushes from the enemy.

Her next ability is her Blast Pack. Raze has two of them, and when thrown it sticks to the first surface hit, including players. Reactivating this ability detonates the pack and deals damage to enemies hit and moves ALL players in the blast radius. Raze can also use these to propel herself in the air which can provide great horizontal and vertical distance.

Raze also comes equipped with her iconic Boom Bot. Raze sends it out in a straight line, and it can also bounce off of walls. If it sees an enemy, it locks on to them, chasing them and exploding, dealing damage if it reaches them before its fuse runs out or it is destroyed. This ability is extremely useful for gathering information and clearing corners and tight spaces, it can be propelled forward or over walls and obstacles if it is detonated with a Blast Pack.

Finally, we have her Ultimate: Showstopper. Raze equips a huge rocket launcher that has one charge, and when fired, deals massive damage to anything it collides with. This ability also does splash damage around the initial impact spot, so it can finish off nearby enemies that have been softened up by your teammates if they are close enough to the blast. What makes Raze such a great agent is her skill floor. Anyone can pick up this agent and do well, she is so easy to play. Her kit provides so much utility and leaves a lot of room for creative plays too!

Tips to Keep in Mind

Paint Shells is such a great ability, many times even if you are on a save round if you use this ability wisely, you can still get one or two kills. On offense, this is best used when clearing out areas that you know the enemy is holding. On defense, this ability is great for stopping or splitting the enemy team up when they are trying to execute a push, many times you can even score a kill if you time this ability correctly with an enemy push.

Blast Pack is an ability that has a lot of potential. Using them to propel yourself forward and enter a site is very useful on attack, but don’t always waste them trying to fly on to site. Using them defensively is also a very good option. Remember, they move all players hit by them, which can be good for halting pushes and bumping enemies out of corners and other angles.

Raze is also great at stopping spike defuses with her utility. When you hear the enemy defusing, essentially all of your utility can be used to stop them, just make sure that they are not faking a defuse and holding the angle. Boom Bot is great for gathering information, make sure you don’t waste it throwing it somewhere your team is already pushing. Use it to clear an area that you are unsure of.

Lastly, Showstopper is a great ability for a lot of different situations. It can stop pushes, it can help you clear corners, it can be used on save rounds, and it can even be used to propel yourself upward and forward with its momentum. Where it’s used best though is when you react to the enemy, don’t always use it greedily, waiting to see what the opponent is doing, then pulling out. Showstopper can be a great way to make them not want to do whatever they did again. Overall, Raze is a very easy agent to get the hang of and provides a lot of great utility and versatility for her team as a Duelist, and that’s why she’s number one on this list!

Conclusion

I hope this made you want to take a crack at playing Duelist! Duelist is a great role to learn because it allows you to gain confidence by taking fights and playing selflessly by entrying for your team. By playing Duelist correctly it will transfer skills to the other roles in the game as well. You start to get better game sense, aim, and team coordination when playing the role because it requires you to play selflessly. I hope you learned a thing or two about your favorite Duelist from this article! Now get out there and start clicking heads!