Harbor is an exciting addition to the controller category of agents in VALORANT, with the ability to bend water to his will and utility that lets him place walls and cover at a fast rate. This kit makes him perfect for anchoring fast executes on the attacker side, but there’s a considerable flaw to think about.
According to Sentinels’ VALORANT analyst Drew “DrewSpark” Spark-Whitworth, Harbor’s biggest issue is that “he’s unable to use any of his utility without giving away information,” making him more comparable to an initiator that excels in making small, quick plays rather than full site executes. He says this causes “inflexibility on attack” and makes Harbor “a weak anchor” when it comes to defending sites or holding down post-plants.
The point about Harbor’s utility giving away information is certainly true. Other controllers like Omen, Astra, and Brimstone can place smokes without directly giving away their location or other information. Even with Viper, while opponents can determine where she was when she originally placed her Toxic Screen, her ability to activate and deactivate it on a whim means her precise location can’t be tracked down based solely on her wall’s location.
DrewSpark’s point about Harbor’s lack of stopping power is one that pros first noticed way back in October when he arrived via early access. Other controllers have abilities that can damage or blind opponents to slow them down, and the slow that applies with Harbor’s Cascade just doesn’t have the same amount of stopping power.
But Sentinels’ analyst has thought of a solution: make Harbor’s Cascade an ability that can be pre-placed and activated later, much like Yoru’s Fakeout ability, while maintaining the option to instantly cast Cascade as well. DrewSpark argues that this change would provide more flexibility on the attack side, make defensive anchoring easier, and open new retake opportunities. He even drew up some potential retake/execute ideas with this mechanic in mind.
Overall, Sentinels’ analyst claims this change would still result in Harbor being a niche pick, but one that adds flexibility to both in-game strategy and overall team composition ideas. Harbor has yet to be fully adopted by pro players. He posts the lowest pick rate of any agent at NA VALORANT Challengers qualifiers with two percent and he wasn’t picked even once during the Ludwig x Tarik Invitational, according to VLR.gg.
