VALORANT has introduced two additional agents, Gekko and Deadlock, since the debut of Harbor. Gekko is currently just below the halfway point across all game modes, while Deadlock is currently in the top half of agents in terms of pick rate.
Follow Us
You have to tread carefully if you’re Riot Games and you’re introducing a new agent for VALORANT. On the one hand, you don’t want an agent to completely ruin the game and take control of the meta across all maps, as Chamber and Astra quickly did after their initial releases. You also don’t want a failure that is largely ignored, though.
It’s almost certainly clear that Harbor has been a failure when looking back at the most recent group of new agents. The vast majority of players have ignored the water-bending controller in all game modes, and even his slightly more frequent appearances at the professional level have not been well received. If you need more information about Harbor is the only successful Valorant Agent launch ever in the game? then read carefully, and don’t forget to share with your friends.
Harbor has consistently been the second-least chosen agent throughout the entire year 2023, just behind Astra, according to Blitz.gg, which began with the premiere of VALORANT Episode Six. Astra’s current status can be attributed to Riot’s overcorrection to make her less dominant because, at the very least, Riot thought she was a very strong agent when she first debuted in 2021 and enjoyed some popularity. However, Harbor isn’t able to rely on that because he was weak, to begin with, and hasn’t grown any stronger despite the scant buffs he’s received.
Read More African VALORANT players prompt new requests for local servers amid worsening ping problems
Due to this flaw, in a competitive setting, he is no longer even considered. In Act One of Episode Seven, as of this writing, he is the least chosen agent across the majority of ranks, including Radiant and all three Immortal ranks as well as Silver, which is the rank with the highest player count.
Since Harbor was relatively simple to use and could provide a lot of cover between his water walls and Cove abilities when he first came out, I’ll admit that I enjoyed playing him, especially on Haven and Pearl. However, he lacked any offensive weapons in his arsenal, such as an Omen’s Paranoia, Brimstone’s molly, or a Viper’s Snakebite, that could help clear out defenders who were camped out on sites during executions. And rather than being a potent ability that could change the course of a round, his ultimate seems more like a bother.
But don’t believe me; when Harbor was first released in October 2022, several professional players pointed out the same flaws. NAVI in-game leader ANGE1 noted that he was the only controller without any kind of stopping power, and Sentinels analyst DrewSpark claimed his biggest weakness is that his utility always discloses his position.
Despite these drawbacks, Harbor was occasionally used at the professional level in 2023, primarily as part of a double-wall controller duo with Viper. The two agents use their walls to partition the site into smaller sections so that the attackers can clear it out more quickly. This technique is known as the “pizza slice” strategy. It’s not the most well-liked, though; NRG star crashes called meta “boring” in an on-stage interview at Masters Tokyo, claiming it only results in more Phantom sprays through the smoke. As the screen is dominated by green and blue walls, the Harbor-Viper competition can be difficult to watch, especially if both teams are participating.
VALORANT has introduced two additional agents, Gekko and Deadlock, since the debut of Harbor. Gekko is currently just below the halfway point across all game modes, while Deadlock is currently in the top half of agents in terms of pick rate. With new agents, Riot should strive for a balance between those that are viable and meet needs but aren’t overwhelmingly dominant. Harbor is currently unable to make any significant splashes, so if he wants to eventually get to this point, he will need to drastically upgrade his equipment.
Get the latest from Sportslumo.com by following us on Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube
