Grab your heavy coats and some hot cocoa—winter’s right around the corner.
VALORANT‘s snowy map, Icebox, debuts with Act III on Oct. 13. The new addition boasts tight choke points, verticality, and intricate angles, making some agents more optimal picks than others. Dot Esports was invited to test out all the Act III content early in a Riot capture event, previewing who the best agents are for stomping the competition.
Here are the top three agents to try out on Icebox.
Jett
On a map with plenty of hard-to-reach spots, it makes sense that the most mobile agent can find immediate success. Jett’s ability to move quickly in all directions makes her a must-pick.
When attacking mid, Jett players can quickly Tailwind as soon as the round starts and position themselves on top of Tube. From there, the possibilities are endless. You can peek defender’s mid ramp and tap any heads that pop up, you can take a look toward the B site for any enemies out of position, or simply fall back.
A site from attacker’s spawn features a tall ramp you can scale to get a clear lay of the land. And just like any shooter, having the high ground on your opponent is always a plus. Jett players can use the vantage point to their advantage, making sure no enemies peek out and covering allies as they push in. And since most agents would suffer fall damage from jumping down to the low ground, Jett can just slowly float herself to safety.
While using the Operator might not be the smartest decision on this map, especially after the heavy nerfs in Patch 1.09, Jett is the best agent for the job. Using her mobility to get the high ground and pick off targets can easily be viable for more experienced snipers.
Breach
Breach became a staple in many team comps after his most recent Patch 1.07 buffs, giving him an extra flash and lowering the ability’s wind-up time. His ultimate now detonates faster and moves quicker, making it harder to dodge.
Due to his great ability to control positions, Breach is the most optimal agent for defending Icebox’s B site. For attackers to get on to B, they need to pass through a tight choke point with two short lanes. This makes it easy for Breach to concuss or blind approaching enemies, easily snagging kills on overzealous targets. And if the enemy team decides to fully rush it, Breach can stall with his ultimate until allies make the rotation.
Breach would still need an ally to watch mid, however, since the opposing team can pour on to the B site from there.
The steel-armed agent is just as effective for taking B when attacking as well. Using his flash to infiltrate B, especially with its short runway, can help allies get through. And Breach players can follow a similar tactic for attacking A since blinds are more important than ever.
Killjoy
Killjoy has turned into a map-by-map decision, being efficient in some locations and ineffective on others. But Icebox is certainly a map where the sentinel can excel in.
Icebox is a map where you need to attack quickly. If you don’t, enemies can hit the flanks and take you out from behind. That’s where Killjoy comes in.
While the agent isn’t usually strong at attacking, leaving a turret behind on the right side of your spawn ramp proved extremely effective at stopping the flank. The turret is able to alert Killjoy of a flanker coming from A, B, or mid, making it quite the annoying tattletale.
When defending, setting up a turret on B site’s yellow crate is great. Players will need to aim up and jump to get it on top of the tall vantage point, but it’ll effectively shoot at any opponent trying to sneak in. You can also leave an Alarmbot in the space between both B site lanes, which will make unsuspecting enemies vulnerable for you to take out quickly.
Honorary mentions
Riot’s newest agent, Skye, comes with three flashes, a tiger that can scout and concuss, and Seekers to find their prey. She’ll certainly be a strong pick in a map with many corners and tight angles. But players will have to wait a bit more to try her out because her release will be delayed until Oct. 27.
Related: Skye may be VALORANT’s Australian Swiss Army knife, but her place in the meta isn’t quite clear cut
Raze can get on to high vantage points as well using her Blast Packs, but she’s no where near as efficient as Jett. And Cypher is always a great anti-flank pick. His traps won’t be as obvious of a giveaway for flankers as Killjoy’s turret, however.
VALORANT‘s Act III kicks off on Tuesday, Oct. 13, where players will have access to a new map, battle pass, and purchasable skin line.
