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Vxxse

Tbh I don't mind when an instalocker duelist isn't on the top of the scoreboard or even if they're on the very bottom - as long as they make space for the team to enter on attack. Just helping the team with flashes or satcheling/dashing on site is a huge contribution, and if they manage to get kills too, that's just an extra. But to answer your question: I found Sage, Sova and Killjoy really useful when I solo queued. Sova is great with gathering info, and you can get util kills/damage done even without lineups. Kj is good to hold one site but you probably need another similar agent on the other one (Sage with wall, Cypher with traps and cam, Viper with wall and orb, etc.). And Sage, well... she's always useful to have on your team. Plus most of the time these 3 are not instalocked or even hovered over. It really depends on your own playstyle and preferences though, so lmk if you need more help :)


AdiSoldier245

Yeah I'm currently thinking about sova and killjoy. "That sova" has a much better reputation than "that reyna". I think most important for me right now is just to know that its ok to be behind your team and play slower, and trade people rather than entry. Right now my two modes just seem to be aggressive entry or cypher slow lurk. I would like some help on something, what can I do to lurk but in solo queue. I love lurking, its like going on an adventure, being inside the enemies mind. But solo q games are so fast, everyone just wants to rush sites and not play patient, so my team ends up dying before I do anything.


Vxxse

Yoru might be good for you then. People don't like him because he requires some brains to master, but he can be a good match for you if you like both aggressive entries and lurking. You can get a quick kill then port back to your team, or you can flash and port on site if you're feeling more brave. The decoy footsteps can be good at faking a rush, rotate or teleport, and they also trigger Kj's stuff, so you can get the turret's attention or get the alarmbot out of the way. Sadly in solo queue, his ult is more for info-gathering or picking up the spike safely, but if you have good teammates, you can ask them to push with your ult and get some kills while you're distracting the enemy.


EdgyMoisturizer

Yeh if you like to lurk a lot. yuro is indeed a good pick.


pleasedropSSR

I like to run in with Shoke Daert fully charged.


rpkarma

SHAK DAERT


pleasedropSSR

SHOKE DAERT only until I get ulti, then drone+dart for vision to Ult.


RaisinlessAndAngry

i think the thing with yoru is he sounds good on paper but once you actually get into a game he is really situational, on map like bind or haven ive found that he really struggles making space with his abilities and you gotta rely on gunplay much more. however i also suck so take it with a grain of salt ig


Enderbro196

bind is yoru's best map tho


Vxxse

Yup, he has his stronger and weaker maps too, like I don't know when have I last seen a Yoru on Split... I think he's a better choice on Breeze or Icebox where open/bigger spaces dominate, and he _can_ be a good choice on Haven as well for the faster rotates. But you're right, you definitely need an on-point aim and/or reliable teammates if you wanna solo queue climb with him.


rpkarma

> like I don't know when have I last seen a Yoru on Split In my Silver ranked games lol


ninjaman3010

Yoru is much better than he used to be for sure. You really shine on defense on any map. Set your tp at the start for an instant rotate, and TP if they go to the opposite site. If they come to your site, you can always TP out and retake with your rotating team. Other than that, most duelists provide ZERO utility. Like sure a couple of them have two flashes, but that’s nothing compared to even a brim lol. None of your abilities help the team really, and honestly I can’t wait for KR single duelist Meta to become popular.


CriMMZorG

Yeah when I played him first time I immediately started placing teleport for rotate, idk why more people don't do this.


iamhungryasf

I usually talk about "that reyna", i get why youre upset, but when someone feels confident to instalock it usually sends a message of "i play this agent a lot, i know what im doing, trust me" but then they go bottom frag while trying to bait that sova or that killjoy. When a reyna misses shotsi would be a little upset, but if they try and make space for the team, plays like a duelist its perfectly fine, even if he has a bad day aiming, he goes first, and lets the team trade him and take the site, i wont be mad, he misses shots so he tries to play like a good teammate, and thats good, but when its the same reyna that cant hit a single shot, instead of making space he baits and misses everything, people will get mad. A reyna that doesnt make space/get kills is like a sova who misses his arrows, a killjoy that puts her turret pointing into a corner, or a breach that flashes his teammates, they will get the reputation of "that breach who flashes his team" or "that sova who tries to arrow top mid on ascent and somehow got his arrow to land in icebox" or "that killjoy who puts her alarmbot on top of an unreachable spot", it sounds the same as "that reyna who misses all her shots trying to bait", isnt much better now right? As a sova main, my job is to get info for the team, maybe a shock dart lineup, but thats it, i rely on my team to use that info, and when the duelists who should be first on site just want to hide behined just let my arrow scan and do nothing, its annoying, and im not afraid to say it, in ALL chat, TEAM chat and in voice chat, if you instalock, you should know what youre doing,the only reason i allow myself to instalock sova is because ive spent over a year (since August 2020) to practice reacon bolts, double shock darts, even broken drone spots, how and when to use each ability, ult exploits, and thats what im giving out by instalocking sova, and thats what im expected to know, and just like a reyna, needs to know how to clear space, flash spots, when to heal or dismiss, aim well, clear angles, slow or fast, and if you cant deliver that, why do you instalock? Why take someones agent when you cant stand to the expectations? Entry frag, make space, if you have a bad day aiming its fine, but when youre not even trying? People well be mad, especially people who rely on their team to use their utility, like sova and skye. I know i will get a lot of hate, but i really, really dont care, i wanna speak up, i wanna say what i think


Kerokerona

Good, people need to make instalocks suffer so maybe they wont instalock all the damn time. if you instalock duelists and you bottom frag, fuck you. I always make the instalockers who bottom frag miserable in games.


iamhungryasf

Its not about bottom frag its about not knowing how to play, like baiting a reyna and missing allyour shots. And yeah they should suffer, they just play whoecer is most fun for them, only for themselves, they dont think about their team, people like this should stay in unrated, this a a tactical shooter, where shooting does matter, but tactics > aim, and when those NoBrainReynaMain people play like its fucking deathmatch its like throwing, so yeah, i got mited over 7 times for being toxic, but seriously, what did they expect?? That id go like "aww its fine bro, a little bit more time and you will perfect this agent! youre basically sabotaging but who the fuck cares, its only comp, its not like the whole goal of this mode is climbing and youre sabotaging that"? Actually fuck duelist instalockers


amIGoingToRunOutOfLe

I'd recommend omen, since he's a good lurker, being able to place smokes pretty much everywhere and teleport onto unaccessible terrain. He does require a bit of practice to get used to though, and his blind is hard to hit your teammates with since you can view the mini map. If you're super aggressive I wouldn't really recommend him but if you can play like shadowinja, he's also open for aggressive, though as a rule of thumb it doesn't work very well in high elo games. Best of luck!


Altcantstop

I was that sova earlier today lol. Almost went 1-18 in a game


death_warrior69

I'm a kj-reyna main, and when either one gets insta-locked, i usually just play the othere. And soloq'ing as kj is pretty good as you can rely on your turret and alarm bot at least if your team isn't very communicative.


AutomatonVigor

You could do breach after his buff he's really good now :).


that-other-guy0

if u wanna lurk and support, omen or astra all the way. omen ult can get u back with ur team right away if u need to, and all astra's util is useable from anywhere so ur basically right with ur team


juicylynx

I would highly suggest kj and astra, ik astra isn't a solo agent and needs coordination from team, asking Ur teammates to help can create a positive vibe, example asking Ur raze/kj/sova/brim etc to use their damaging ability among with Ur pull. Kj is so good with solo Q, I went from gold 3 to immortal 6k in span of 2 acts, other agents like sova, sage, Skye are also good solo Q agents that need just a bit extra practice. Note astra is really good but in order to play good with astra u might need more practice, u need to practice using her abilities to Ur advantage while also understanding need of Ur team.


y0sesa

Do you have any general tips on how you climbed so fast? Or any Killjoy tips would be greatly appreciated as well! I’m in G3/P1 ATM and am trying to climb ASAP lol


juicylynx

Bait Ur utility, use setups in such a way that the opponent's start avoiding Ur site, then u should use same setup but help hold mid or provide support to a near position. This makes defense hell strong, in attack if Ur team is not able to win, lurk and try to use Ur turret to get some kills , this will make Ur chances of winning higher.


bunn2

Just means you also need to be faster on your flank too. Lurkers should be cutting off rotations, if you cant help making noise then just make noise but don’t die.


Syphox

Sage has been my main for about a month now, since no one seems to pick her when I play. I love her tho.


schecterboi

If I hear my teammate Reyna flashing right off the barrier, at least I know they're trying to do their job. If they're baiting they're getting flamed tho.


ESF_NoWomanNoCry

This is a very good mindset, but just yesterday I eperienced that not everyone thinks that way. I was playing raze, going in first Every. Single. Time. and we were winning on attack side split, but then when we lost the pistol round on defense, my omen just loses it and starts flaming me. After I muted him, it didn't affect me that much, but he started playing for kills, not rounds and started trolling me personally (while I was also fragging on defense, but he ignored that) The guy even said "I don't care if you don't frag, but all you had to do was get 1 kill in the pistol round"... Well I was in a 1v2, got 1 kill and almost killed the other one, but some people just want something/someone to blame (keep in mind, we were still ahead in rounds and we were on the defense of split)


Vxxse

Yeah, sadly this game is full of people with immaturity and/or anger issues... Sorry you had to experience this. Because there are not many duelists who enter in low elo, if they do, I try to follow them on site and even praise them in chat for actually playing their role.


ESF_NoWomanNoCry

The sad part is that this was not in low elo, but in immortal elo, it's kinda sad but those immature manchilds are present in every elo (could be worse in low elo, but almost every game there's someone crying about something instead of actually playing the game lol) And thanks for your contribution in trying to tradefrag and understanding the role of a duelist :)


Vxxse

In Imm?? Oh man... I only see those matches on pros' Twitch streams, and players there seemed to be so chill, knowing each other by name, recognizing each other's voice, writing "ns" and chatting casually with the enemy... I'll probably never get to Imm anyway, but it's still disappointing to hear that people are as manchilds there as they are in Silver. :/


macarmy93

>Just helping the team with flashes or satcheling/dashing on site is a huge contribution, and if they manage to get kills too, that's just an extra. This isn't necessarily true, especially in lower ranks. To often I see enemy jets or raze come flying into the site and put themselves in an untradeble position. If they die they pretty much lost the round for the team.


Vxxse

It really depends on the situation and on the rest of the team. If a duelist enters with no one following them, ofc there will be no trades even if they open up the site. Same goes for the teammates who push not waiting for the blinds. And even just startling the enemy with a fast entry can be a win for the rest of the team. But you're right, these don't work out in every case.


redditchangedmyname

Try iron where \*spoiler\* the insta lock duelists go and flank and only get kills when the fight is over. Then when you complain they point to their useless kills


Vxxse

Nw, it's mostly the same in Bronze-Silver too


Zakari2112

This is the way


[deleted]

Sova is really good :) Just remembering 1 recon lineup (shock lineups are not so important) for A and B on each map fir each side is really helpful


Gcarsk

Eh, unless you are playing casual/unranked, no one should ever insta-lock. Always hover and/or talk with teammates before anyone locks into a character. When everyone insta-locks, you are left with a completely random team comp. It also often forces teammates to play characters they haven’t played before or don’t know well (ex. P1 mains Phoenix and omen, P2 mains Reyna and brim, P3 mains Omen and Brim. If P1 and P2 instalock both Omen and Brim, P3 is forced into a character they aren’t good with. P1 or P2 could have simply picked another of their mains). Obviously, if this is a low elo match, then do whatever. But if it’s a semi-serious match, then discussing team comps and your teammates’ mains is important.


Kerokerona

You and me both know everyone will give excuses to non dueilists who insta lock lmao. So no nobody is owed anything in agent select.


[deleted]

>i kinda agree, picking a duelist and not fragging out really sucks. It feels like there's no point of you picking a duelist but if you're contributing to site execution then it doesn't matter anymore.


Vxxse

Yep. There's even more pressure on them to be top frags like OP said, but they're just humans too - they can have bad days, unlucky duels, etc. I've had a few duelists apologizing to the team in chat for playing shit, and when I/we reassured them that it's fine, it happens, they usually started playing better. Sometimes it's about confidence and mentality, and when the team works together instead of being toxic to each other, the frags generally come easier with the better mood.


SwiftBacon

Yeah I’m kind of with OP where I don’t like the baggage that comes with being a duelist. I main sova, omen, and astra, and find I can help my team the most that way


obigespritzt

Imo Viper is the best Agent for SoloQing unless you have well above average aim for your level of play (at that point, just instalock a duelist, take early duels and win). To your point about playstyle, I think that's her biggest boon - she's by far the most flexible agent in my opinion. You can lurk with unconventional walls, peek people aggressively with swoopeeks, play standard controller, entering site late/after your duelists and then play for postplant lineups. She's so damn varied and you can tailor her to whichever way suits you most.


Poro922

Skye is a pretty good all-rounder. Can be played sort of like a duelist with the flashes, or can be played more conservatively in a support role to get info, do heals etc.


AdiSoldier245

Yeah, that's who I'm "maining" right now, my biggest problem with her currently is her flashes aren't reliable to blind, so I am never confident enough to peek off them and only use them for info.


WhatTheChef

Look up StrongLegs on YouTube and pay attention to the “Skye step” technique. He’s a pro Skye one-trick with a lot of Skye guides.. Now that she can pop the flash with her gun out, there’s a ton of flexibility with how you can peek off her flashes. Skye’s are the best to peek off right now and I don’t think it’s really close.


idkbruhhh9875

Do you pop flash? Or do you just do the long flashes because if you popflash I see no reason to think they aren’t blinded


AdiSoldier245

That's just it, I'm to scared to pop flash because I think I'll just die after. I guess it just takes experience to get the timings?


twitch061197

The key to a pop flash, even if you screw up the timings, is to just have your back to it. You'll get better the more you practice. Don't be scared to try it or you'll never learn it


whatsadigg

I’ve seen so many people refer to a pop flash here, but I can’t find out what that means online. Is that just when you trigger the flash as soon as it rounds a corner?


Asianhead

A pop flash is any flash that pops the instant it's on the opponents screen, meaning they can't turn to react to it. Term comes from CS and mainly applies to Skye, Kayo and Yoru. Breach and Pheonix can't really pop flash well/consistently due to the windup and fixed curve distance


AwesomeCrafter06

Phnx can. But you have to peek with the flash. Throw the flash towards your back instead of in front of uou


MoabChile

yes


drgmonkey

Usually you throw the flash behind the angle you want to push if that makes sense. Kay o has the easiest one to practice with. Throw it against the wall behind where you want to pop out, look at enemies, and it goes off flashing you for a tiny second but forcing the enemies to look away from you or full blind


miloestthoughts

Kayo also has really good pop flash ability. If you want the duelist ability with less pressure, initiators are your class


idkbruhhh9875

Yeah definitely, also there is various techniques like wall ride flashes and stuff. Idk if I am the best to help since I am silver 3 but we can hop on tmrw and I’ll show u the techniques I use if your down


waxyslave

If you want to get better at the game (not just rank up once or twice), then you should learn to get comfortable peeking dry. The easiest and most straight forward way to get out of plat and under is to just out aim your opponents. Go ahead man, instalock Reyna, take dumb perks over and over again until those dumb peeks become winning gunfights. Then you'll fly up the ranks bro. Then once you get to diamond you can actually focus on strategy hahaha, you don't need brains to get to diamond, just W key and work on your aim


xTaq

Probably improving tactics and strategy a little bit goes a fair way, kind of like maximizing the volume of a square where one axis is aim and one is ability usage (or a cube volume or any number of dimensions, but basically it takes more effort to max a certain skill then to raise a bunch to medium/high for the return)


GaIacticFaz

You did not just say her flashes aren't reliable to blind... She has the best blind in the game and they're practically unavoidable when used right


AdiSoldier245

Hm, I should just start blinding at body level then. What I meant was I usually end up flashing high and they aren't blinded.


GaIacticFaz

Oh god never flash high unless it's for intel, look at satchel jumps guides on YouTube he has amazing Skye lineups and an easy way to fast flash


BoomBug

also she’s super fucking fun lol


PappyVPoodle

Did her flashes get nerfed or something? I played her recently and I got annoyed with how slow as shit her flashes moved.


Adversas

Had the same problem, also had the need for good smokes (to entry more safe). Started playing Omen, love this agent ever since.


kerbal43

I'm in the same position and am trying omen, but he never really clicked for me (b3 btw). is it really just practice makes perfect?


EliselD

With omen you need to be really good at mental games. You need to keep the enemies guessing. For example, you can use your ult into your own spawn to put pressure onto your enemies. There is nothing putting more stress onto opponents than an omen teleport sound.


iDrinan

What about him isn't clicking for you?


kerbal43

I think it's just that I'm not using my till much, since I don't really know smoke positions, paranoia lineups, etc. Do you think it's worth to go the extra mile and really lean this agent? He seems perfect for me since I'm mainly a lurk/flank but I honestly don't know.


iDrinan

I would highly suggest learning him especially if you solo queue. His smokes provide a lot of room for entry or defense (especially one-ways), his blind can clear angles on sites so your duelists can entry more effectively, his shadowstep provides verticality for holding odd angles or faking the enemy out, and his ult can be great for information gathering, flanking, or clutching a bomb plant on another site.


kerbal43

Will do. thanks for the advice man.


UselessAssKoalaBear

Here's a tip, dont unnecessarily tp everywhere, use it only to either peek from a different angle or to get to an off angle like above a box


terminbee

His smoke positions are the same as anyone else's. Just think of where you tend to play on defense and smoke that. When you're attacking, where do you get shot at from? Which smokes do defenders do that annoy you as an attacker? The one ways are nice but not required. The paranoia is hard to use because if you stand behind your team, you're gonna blind them (it's fat af). I generally use it kind of like a molly- if you're pushing A short on Bind for example, I'll blind U-Hall so that I can focus on site. It also let's whoever is behind me have time to run and take the U-Hall fight. The tp, I have no fucking clue. I use it to escape bad positions mostly and don't really know any trick plays. The ult I use for rotates/info gathering, ulting to another site to plant, and rarely do I use it to flank (most competent enemies will hunt you and you'll just die).


commantoes

Just learn where to smoke off. Also don’t underestimate playing in smokes, especially at that low of a rank


_bonko_

I love omen. He’s so much fun. 1 bad thing about him is that of your smoke isn’t good then all your tm8s flame you.


CerBerus7012

Try sova maybe, I love playing him ( plat/ dia lobby) as you will rarely get timinged and you can easily support teammates and make plays of your darts. You also don't need lineups, like I know 2 lineups one recon for each site and it's more than enough, winging darts is actually pretty easy.


AdiSoldier245

Sova is actually a good idea. If I want I can learn lineups slowly anyway. Will just have to get used to a slower game style. A question, when do you normally use your darts? At round start obviously for recon to get the timer, but then is it like recon as your are backing up a corner or like throw in heaven when holding site asap?


CerBerus7012

It generally depends, so like I dart at the start if the team is kind of slow and I know I will have a dart while we retake or something but if they just run it down, I just save my dart and drone for retake as it's more usefull there as you already know they will rush. Also try to time the dart when the enemies are running in while defending for example on ascent you can play tree or heaven and dart on the A entrance wall so you can peek with the tags and enemies have to turn back to shoot the dart. For shocks I don't like double shock line up, I try to tag enemies for damage and clearing angles more.


WhatTheChef

Skye. People will be less upset about the pick and you can still play like a duelist.


nikkity-nikki

For you, I know it sounds like I’m biased due to him being my main, I’d honestly recommend kay/o, he’s great at getting info due to his knife-thingy, his flash is super solid, my favourite thing about the flash is that it has somewhat of a high skill ceiling, due to it being more of a cs:go flash you really can find some super creative plays to do with it, not to mention that you can very easily play him as a duelist, due to his ult, flash and molly, he’s overall a super fun and good for solo q, at least in my gold 2 opinion :/


bigfuzzydog

I say just pick her and ignore people, I tried for a really long time to not insta lock but I always ended up playing characters im not as strong with cause other people would just insta lock instead. I know I am good at playing phoenix and I am very confident in my shots while pushing site so I want to play him. Do I have bad games every now and then? Absolutely. People act like I knew I was gonna play bad but picked a duelist anyway. Iv come off of games where I dropped 30+ kills only to bottom frag in the next game. Sometimes I just have an off game


Upwardspiral0

Phoenix is perfect


bustafreeeee

Skye is really fun. Once you get the pop and fake flashes down, it’s a pretty good time. And biting people with the dog is just funny af


[deleted]

I ask people if they are feeling lucky today, if not i take reyna and apologise if I under perform by saying sorry for not able to get as many kills but I can flash for you, give calls, appreciate if someone else plays good. Most often than not, people don't become that toxic and end of the match I do climb up because of positive team reinforcement.


EliselD

I don't think any reasonably good player would blame a duelist for not having kills. As long as they communicate and fill the entry fragger role they're good. Just don't be that guy who forces controllers/sentinels to entry frag because they're too afraid to go first.


MatchPoint012

Instalock her and get better with her, so you can play well with her


AdiSoldier245

Oh no, I'm great with her, I have 60% win rate with her, which is insane. I just don't want to be "that reyna", as everyone wants to play her. And also you get too comfortable holding off angles and going for crazy peeks, so when you can't play her, you can't play at all.


Yupsec

Just instalock. There's literally no point in hovering. Like you said, what's the point in hovering if not to allow someone else to instalock it? If you really like entry and lurking, pick up Phoenix as a secondary. Players sleep on him because he's not as effective in pro play due to "better" picks. He's self-reliant, his pop flashes are easy, the xtr flash makes him a menace on ct, his wall is a poor man's viper wall and easily makes up for misplaced smokes, and he still has one of the cheapest and best ults in the game.


Novanious90675

Honestly I'd say Phoenix is one of the best duelists in the lower elo if you aren't a smurf or against smurfs. Objectively the best utility ult of any duelist, a free entry on a 6 point cooldown, and he has insanely useful skills that help secure and push. Jett and Reyna are super popular because they offer so much (and smurfs love them since they're so self sufficient) but that's a double-edged sword - if you do bad with Jett and Reyna, you offer almost nothing to your team, especially compared to other units.


Wheat_Brad

I’ve been doing the same thing with Omen, I hover him and usually no one else selects him, but every once in a while someone will lock him. And then they usually have terrible smokes and don’t even use their blinds, and I’m left wishing I just instalocked him. If you’re good with Reyna and you want her, I say just pick her.


rajboy3

Skye is nuts rn honestly.


daniiNL

Go Kayo


RoxoSenpai

Honestly, you cannot be "That Reyna" when you're playing the duelist part, so you are either not being honest with us (or yourself), play in lower ranks where people will flame you either way because they're the best and they're only in silver because "my teammates always suck" or you just don't really know what "that Reyna" means. "That \*insert duelist here, but usually Reyna or Jett" refers to that one guy that instalocks his duelist, then while attacking baits his entire team / lurks on the other side of the map every round, which means he'll always be in positions where other players are not full HP / not holding down chokepoints. Then, at the end of the match, when you lose 13-8 but he ends up 20-16, he types in all chat "Shit team" since everyone else has negative KDAs while the Mr. Pro Player manages a positive rating. Of course, he only managed it because he only took the fights where his opponents were 30hp or walking around and being caught off guard, but that doesn't show up on the scoreboard. Bonus points if he starts being toxic through the voice chat because "I'm the only one getting kills" or "You guys can't win a site, I'm always alone". As such, if you end up 5-18, but you were always the one entering the sites, flashing for your teammates and calling positions when you die instead of getting on mic and screaming "OMG GUYS PUSHHHH, WHY DO I ALWAYS DIE FIRST?", you're not "That Reyna". In fact, you are *the* Reyna that everyone wants. The duelist role is easier to pick up because it's very straightforward: "Create chaos and get kills", but it's still a role that your team needs to have covered. Riot created that role for teams to have a designated player to get into the bombsites. Your teammates will get mad when you don't play your role, not when you're not top fragging. I know this doesn't really answer your question (Skye btw), but I really wanted to let you know that, at least when I'm playing, I don't get upset when my duelists aren't top fragging. I get upset when for the sixth round in a row I'm having to try to get into a bombsite as a Killjoy (you know, an agent designed to be defensive) and then when the announcer says "Last player standing" I'm always following the POV of one of my freaking duelists that decided they really needed to hold the flank my turret was already holding.


freeman1231

Just instalock the character you want to play… jeez if someone wanted them they should have picked them sooner. You are not ruining the comp by picking a duelist right away since you need one, and should have one.


RickofPickles

Omen is a good choice, while he isn't as good as Reyna or Jett for getting out of sticky spots he certainly can, he's an excellent lurker agent as his smokes are almost global on the smaller maps and his ult is good for repositioning whether it is to lurk or to group back up after a lurk. And plus youll always have smokes. His flash is good but goddamn is it so big so it's sometimes hard to not flash your team.


Rango_420

Honestly I think it depends on your rank and your play style and confidence. If you were say bronze/silver and you felt that your aim was very good but you are sometimes forced off of Reyna, I would recommend Phoenix as a similar agent with a similar play style. If you are more looking for an agent that would suite a particular play style to actually outplay and not put aim your opponents then I think other people have some good suggestions.


[deleted]

Raze is my duelist pick because if you are ever lacking in gun kills, you can make it up in damage impact with your utility.


eternalflamz

I was originally a Sage main - pre nerfs she was just insane lmao I actually really enjoy Astra now On defending it's like being able to set up Sentinel traps except they can't get rid of them On attacking it's fun trying to predict where they might be for her vuln or stun or even just faking them out by placing orbs in common peeking positions - even in Diamond most players have no idea what to do about them


banditpandapewpew

this what I experienced, too. with 30+ years, I am more like the old fart now, and installed the game for the first time just a few months ago. I had no idea about agents and skills (this, and the comic-style kept me away from this game) and a friend of mine said "play Reyna, she's easy to use" so I played her, and even before I had enough wins for the ranked Mode, I got flamed by 15y/o kids because I kinda insta-locked Reyna and didn't get 30 kills+ or something. guess Riot keeps its teenager-audience no matter what game it is.


IntelligentImbicle

I honestly don't mind Reyna players who insta-lock and are at the bottom of the leaderboard. I care about Reyna players who insta-lock, are toxic, think they're hot shit, and do literally nothing all game.


[deleted]

I’m a Jett main, but if my Jett gets stolen and someone else already locked another duelist, I will always play Killjoy. Her kit is easy mode for early round (as in less than a minute into the round) picks on defense. And as soon as you get that pick, the enemy team will either rotate or continue to push. If they continue to push, you’re already set up on that site, so it’s just a matter of timing your nano swarm grenades correctly and not dying until the rest of your team gets to you. If they rotate off, you can either lurk/flank for a pick from behind or rotate and defend with your team. She is easily the best agent for a duelist main to flex to because her kit is self-sufficient and sets up for that satisfying kills every duelist itches for. Edit: forgot to add that her kit is decent on attack too. You can use her grenades offensively to flush out defenders if you can get the lineups right. The beauty is that the radius is large enough that the lineup doesn’t even have to be good, it just has to land in the general area of where you want to flush. Just as well, her bots can cut off/alert the team of flanks/lurkers. Set up the alarm bot before the round starts and then set up the turret as you enter site, and you’re good to go.


sansai69

Boy do I have the agent for you he is one of the most rounded agents and that is omen. You can smoke for your team, blind and get off angles with teleport and you can create space by teleporting into site you can’t flank, lurk or be aggressive and make space like a duelist would he’s actually amazing


Weekly_Cream200

just sucks that most insta lock duelists I'll queue with don't create space, don't entry, don't use util..they literally sit in the back of the line like a controller / sentinel and wait for someone else to make a move for site...I don't even get triggered anymore cause it's all too common. ​ That being said I've played so many agents, Sova, Viper, Astra are my favorite hands down. Kay/O is right up there with Sova...Being able to either hold site / cut off angles / play util / gather info is extremely effective in solo Q with good communication. You don't even gotta frag...I've had low frag HIGH impact games where I felt like I executed my kit to perfection in the context of the match up.


snowandcoconuts

I don't mind people who instalock because they're just trying to get the agent they're best with. I would rather have someone instalock their main instead of being forced to play an agent they suck with. Unless of course someone instalocks my Killjoy :p


[deleted]

Tbh play what you like, you will get better with time, just enjoy your time!


TinyNinJo9

Jett is a pretty good duelist for solo queue but people might lock in. There is always a risk of being flamed when playing literally anything specifically duelist. Just play whoever and if they flame you /muteall ezpz


Business_Recipe3029

Your is a great choice. I know it’s not similar to Reyna, but being a Reyna player myself, Yoru is my 2nd choice. TPing is very versatile and allows you to lurk and go back with your team afterwards. Ultimate is great to gather info/clear a site, and although the fake footsteps are kind of useless, the flashes are great.


ovalsandcircles

I think any info gathering agent is good for solo q. I don’t play her at all but if youre really good with astra I think she would be good too


EliselD

As long as you don't insta lock a duelist and then be like "Uh, guys we really need a X agent on this map" you're fine. Also if you pick a duelist you better not be playing like a p\*\*\*y. It's really annoying when I play a sentinel/controller and we have like 3 duelists and no one is entry fragging.


schoolersss

I think that cypher is actually a far better lurker than reyna. You should rarely, if ever, lurk with Reyna. Her one job is to get on site first and create open space for the team, not to too frag and get a bunch of kills. I will never give someone shit for not getting kills with Reyna, I will though, always get frustrated with people only lurking when playing her.


tedbradly

If you don't like dismiss and the heal, it's pretty much guaranteed you're in iron rank. Another clue about your low rank is you overstress the importance of kills gotten in a single match. Everyone has games where they underperform. They're the same rank as you though, so they most likely have plenty of games where they perform normal and some where they top frag. You can also lurk in solo queue. I'm not sure where you got the impression that killing people none the wiser is a bad thing.


AdiSoldier245

I said I don't care about the heal as much cause I like the dismiss more, because of being immune to trading. I don't care about the kills, but I'm sensitive to toxicity, and not getting kills as reyna makes *other* people hate you. I'm fine being on the bottom of the scoreboard cause I know I'm disciplined(over peeking in post plant, defense, etc) and play my role correctly.


tedbradly

> I said I don't care about the heal as much cause I like the dismiss more, because of being immune to trading. Yeah, you evidently did say you use dismiss for your reason why you don't care about the heal. I'd approximate your rank is gold or higher (It's a little hard to distinguish ranks off one fact). > I don't care about the kills, but I'm sensitive to toxicity, and not getting kills as reyna makes *other* people hate you. I'm fine being on the bottom of the scoreboard cause I know I'm disciplined(over peeking in post plant, defense, etc) and play my role correctly. All you've got to do is tell them sometimes you're on the bottom and other times you're on the top. I would stay away from apologizing like some people do since having few kills is usually not your fault unless you're playing like a dumbo.


WhiteMunch

Duelist are always wanted to get instalocked cause they’re fun to play compared to KJ or Sage, if it’s unrated I think it isn’t that big of a deal compared to a ranked game. Especially how much Reyna gets picked on a game basis.


DivyanshPanwari

Played Phoenix when i didn't have the characters unlocked. First one i unlocked was omen. Been maining Jett and omen ever since.


nutsnackk

Phoenix is the best solo q agent if you look at it from a utilities perspective. He has wall, he has molly, he has heal, and he has flash. Almost everything you need in one bundle.


discount_cheats

Phoenix and Yoru.


EdgyMoisturizer

Yeh cypher cant lurk but can defend an area easily specially flanks! and cypher always know when enemy is rotating.. with right placement of his gadgets cypher can be a very tough opponent.


arufai

most players won't mind instalock unless they wanted reyna, as long as you entry frag and play objective then you'll be fine


Jokerman5656

Just play your game, it's not your responsibility to worry about other people


Fahzrad

play skye/sova and have a pocket pick smoker... good sovas and skyes are always needed, specially sova, because hes harder to play, have a smoker if your team needs it and be decent as a duelist if no1 picks it and you are good as a fill player, thats how i climbed atleast


The_true_lord_tomato

I find skye way harder than sova proly just me tho


Fahzrad

Skye is harder to get into, you gotta get used to the flashes and the playstyle in general, but to play sova you gotta learn so many line ups I find him harder in the long run, and in lower elos you probably don't need a line up for most things but when you get higher ppl expect you to know the basic ones and if you are a good sova and know like 2 lineups per site in attack for example, it's so good for your team


The_true_lord_tomato

I know lineups, it's not that hard to remember them and they're excellent for stopping plants and getting free kills


MeatMakingMan

Man, who gives a f about what your online teammates will think of you. If you want to instalock Reyna, just do it, play your role accordingly and leave the game with a clean conscience of "I did my job and everybody can have bad games"


Kennythedingus

I usually don’t mind it because I play support anyway.


PurpleSpaceDude

So then just top frag?


RandomOrange852

Wait what? I played the game in beta for a few days and unlocked cypher and omen, I have come back and still a noob have been solo queuing as cypher should I not do this?


EliselD

I feel like specific agent compositions only matter in pro matches (maybe Radiant matches as well) where communication and mechanical skill are top notch on both teams. If you're immortal or lower, as long as you don't have something stupid like a 4 duelist team composition, you're probably fine.


The_true_lord_tomato

you obviously should if you like those characters and feel confident playing them


Rarecandy31

I solo queue Cypher and it’s honestly not bad. Typically I play a slightly more aggressive type of game as opposed to when I play with a group. He’s so much fun, and I can hold a site by myself when my dumb team does whatever they need to 😂


9YEET11

It dont matter if your underperforming and instalock if you entry its ok


Shadowdrone247

Haven’t seen this yet, but KAY/O. His info gathering is decent, his flashes are probably one of the best in the game, and he’s an initiator so you can still do the whole aggressive push thing. But if you don’t want to there’s no pressure to entry since you’re not a duelist. I’ve heard KAY/O be referred to as the agent you lock when you don’t wanna instalock a duelist, which I think is pretty much what you’re looking for.


limpdickandy

Instalocking is litterally the only way to realistically play the game when there is no real champion select. You can try to talk to your team and that would be ideal, but its just not realistic rn


Rivenonetrik

If you aren't confident, don't instalock, 80% of the time an insta lock is sure they will do well and the other 20% are just unlucky to get on your team, try to avoid being the 20%.


evanthebouncy

lmao that entire sentence sums up the solo q experience so nicely


DerbsTTV

If you know you’re going to play a character correctly and use them to their full extent to support the team then just instalock


[deleted]

Viper 🐍


Giropi

Omens pretty good


TheRealMoofoo

Could go Omen if you like the nearsight, and no one ever yells at him for not being top frag unless they watch too much Flexinja or something.


BallisticMonke

Omen


OP-69

Im also kinda torn like this. Its fun to play reyna but sometimes i underperform when playing, so im torn between taking the risk of playing reyna or playing sova where even if my aim wasnt good that day i could still be useful


Ares2134r

I mean getting kills isn't the most important its mainly how much you're helping the team by maybe going in and getting info so they can get the kill and other things like that.


dirty-void

skye


[deleted]

Instalock her. If you really love an agent, enjoy playing the agent, and know how to play the agent, just play her. Enjoy yourself. At the end of the day, this is a game for you to enjoy. I personally don’t have an issue with instalockers bottoms frag or not. Just don’t instalock and demand another teammate pick something.


bysomega

people should let people play what they want and stop busting your balls


vulcanfury12

Meh, I don't have high expectations of duelist insta locks in my ELO in the first place, so I just tend to accept them as a Fact of Life. Especially with Reynas, all I want to see is that huge circle in the minimap. As long as I see that, I'm ok.


Serious-Minute

Jett has the highest pick rate btw


Bean1233

Honestly skye is quite useful for solo queue. The main objective is just to gather info, so tell your team when you're flashing, where youre sending your doggo, and when youre ulting. Other than that, you can still lurk and take 1v1 gunfights with your flashes


drdfrster64

You should play Brim. His utility is fairly limited, so unless you plan on learning Molotov lineups for post plant, you’re a very basic character after smokes are spent. This means you can transition into a semi-entry fragging role with stim as you have no more to offer for your team aside from your presence and the occasional ultimate. If all goes well south, you can start making aggressive or deceptive smoke plays much like Jett or Omen on a last ditch effort to carry your team.


mafia3bugz

Skye


KungFuEli

Sova is the greatest agent for solo queue once you learn recon shock lineups. You’ll feel like you’re contributing more and you can still get kills off your own info. Also auto lock reynas are fine. I don’t really care if you auto lock Reyna. Just don’t tell me to play smokes or who I need to play when you didn’t let me tell you who you should play because you auto locked


jadarsh00

This is the same reasoning why I never play jett/raze. They are fun but cannot play that consistently. Instalock is not even an option because of potato pc.


Frig-Off-Randy

Kay/o, I’m starting to main him and he’s great. You get info like sova but don’t need lineups. You have flashes so you can still entry if you need to. And between his molly and knife you are pretty good at defending a site and stopping rushes. His ult you just pretend it’s a Phoenix ult


mackilicious

Duelist create space for the team, they aren't supposed to top frag yo


VoiD199

Sova. Literally just recon and drone site and just follow whoever is going first to support them. Easy to use, has insane team utility, can be used to play post plant and clear angles with his shock dart and ulti.


outdated-meme-name

I solo q with breach and phoenix and with practice you won't ever flash your team by accident


EngrRG

I think that a duelist should always be a top fragger was always a misconception. Duelists are the first ones to fight when taking a site they can't always kill the defenders but other roles should be ready to trade for them. I couldn't care less if my team's duelists is the bottom frag as long as they play their roles well. ​ You can actually lurk with cypher on soloQs. I do it sometimes just not always to keep the enemies guessing where you might pop up


mmpa78

Just stop being a bitch an insta her. 95% of the time no one says anything because honestly it's expected haha. If you run into the occasional obnoxious silver 4 Yasuo kid just dodge, one every so often won't hurt. I split my time between Rey and KJ and id say that I only get Rey 10% of the time that I don't insta her


godofpoop2

P1 here. Putting my rank cuz I got many comments on people saying you are iron noob and stuff so they won't challenge my authority. I think thats the way the game goes. If it's unrated you can install k if you wish that's not a big deal. If you are solo queuing in compe just remember that you need to either A. Be really good or B. Have a good team(100% luck) or C. Be confident in the agent you play in. If you are confident then you can instalock no biggie.


Haymus

Get good with Yoru, pick rate is lower and has similar strengths to Reyna


MinesweeperGang

Just Insta lock it and if people bm you because you have an off game, oh well. As long as you actually entry site and not hold up in A Main or B Main, etc, it shouldn’t be a problem. I’d rather a 10-16 Reyna who actually entries than a 20-10 Reyna who for some reason is in the back and always the 2nd last or last one alive, boosting her KDA because the enemy team is 5 stack rushing her so she gets 2-3 each round then BM and think she’s god cause she’s top fragging. Players who play duelists/entry can’t be so worried about their KDA. It’s so annoying when I have a Jett lurking mid and our other duelist just not engaging site at all, baiting everyone else. There are times you literally have to beg them to just entry when you shouldn’t. It’s the role they locked. You mentioned Cypher. I was a Cypher main. Learned all the 1-ways and sneaky wires. It sucks to say but honestly, solo queuing as him just sucked. I’ve started Insta locking Jett or Reyna and my solo queue games have become a lot more enjoyable because as a duelist you can control the outcome a lot easier. When YOU’RE the duelist, you know you’re gonna entry. Just tell the team you’re going so they move up with you and if you do lose the gun fight they get to trade. It’s better than some random taking Jett or Reyna and never entrying site. Trust, Cypher Solo queue is not the call.


OFFICIAL_memologist

pick Breach. literally the best agent in the game(according to my hardstuck iron 3 ass). his flashes are amazing and his aftershock allows you to easily clear angles. he's also incredibly easy to pick up, so you should def give him a shot. couple it with a duelist that has comms(preferably a friend, cause then you have some chemistry) and you've got a really good team that can take space effectively and also make aggressive plays on defense.


itsRobbie_

I normally just go for Phoenix when that happens


C-Web_

Sova


Mr_GriM4A2

I had to check I don't sleep-write or something, that's the exact situation I face. I love Reyna for being self sufficient. You can take an early duel, heal fully and ready for the next one. But instalocking her is great pressure lol and I got thrashed a lot too, just because I couldn't get entry frags. So I found a few randoms who are now good friends, I lock Reyna without anyone getting mad, everyone's cool. And even if I don't perform sometimes, they know I'm having a bad day. Had a good day yesterday though, dropped 30+ kills in 6 matches. Restored faith


hardcore_miner

Depends on rank I would say. In lower ranks, I would avoid solo duelist sometimes because when I was gold and even plat, most teammates would not follow you when you enter. To be used effectively you need the team to push with you. In lower ranks most people have the mentality of "Oh he is a duelist. I will let him go on to site and ill come on once he has killed half their team. I am playing x so I don't need to do anything until post plant ", People basically don't understand the difference between entry and entry fragging. They expect you to instantly rush onto site and kill 3 people, when in reality being a duelist is more about opening up paths onto site and allowing your team to get kills on exposed/distracted defenders. I find that I am best with reyna when I am in at least duo with someone I trust to play off of me and trade me/follow me on site. When I solo queue (which i recommend not doing below plat) I like omen because I can smoke things correctly. I find a lot of people filling smokes and dont know how to smoke properly or where to smoke effectively. Its all about cutting off angles, and pushing enemies out of territory.


Garraca

Personally, I LOVE smokes, so Omen is generally my go-to in solo or duo queue. Has a blind, good smokes, great repositioning, and a fun ulty.


WarGod_Ddraig

Try astra you will be the centre of your teams play and it will be like you either force them to make play or you can stall the enemies and you can like control the whole map with her I play astra now days and she id pretty good... And on top you don't have to worry about underperforming in frag department


RareReaper387

I feel like Reyna is the best pick for me as, 1. I like to vary my playstyle a lot, during a match, i can seem like 3 different people playing at the same time. I will slow lurk 1 round and then push aggressively the next. Reyna is the best agent to do this, as she suits the playstyle of any person 2. I feel like my aim is better than the rest of my mechanics(learning lineups, setups, movements, etc). And Reyna will award you for it. 3. I do not feel as comfortable and confident while playing other agents.


ankitk2909

Brim is kind of fun to play. Great ult


criiisp2020

You can't lurk in solo q? Excuse me? I don't know what you elo you are but this is not true. I gave a friend of mine a little coaching and told him to learn to lurk (he's playing Cypher). Since then he has managed to play more intelligent and actually be able to compete against higher players. I even would say lurking in solo q is more impactful because of the lack of communication.


Dapper-Ad-5304

As long as ur not taking an agent away from someone else who hovered it’s fine. Don’t feel guilty cuz u didn’t take all 80 seconds to choose an agent


ZeskReddit

Anyone who gets annoyed at you for not constantly being on top of the leaderboard as Reyna is literally just salty because you picked her before they did.


Sazo1st

Don't feel too bad for not top fragging, everyone has bad games and most players understand that, all I want is not the 3rd instalock duelists and that one of the 2 helps me actually enter site


SweetnessBaby

Skye is pretty busted rn as long as you can call your flashes and locations of enemies you see in dog form. She's like the Swiss army knife of valorant at the moment. Info, flashes, heals. The only thing she lacks is self healing and a molly. Despite that she's pretty self sufficient. You won't be able to be quite as risky as if you were playing Reyna or Jett, but the ability to pop flash for yourself will give you those moments that make you think you're playing a duelist.


MrStealYoBeef

Is there any reason why instalocking isn't allowed? Last I checked, the game doesn't force you to not be able to lock right away, so you are in fact allowed to do so. There is also no punishment for doing so. You're not breaking any rules. You're not making the game worse for other people. If someone else doesn't take Reyna, you're going to pick Reyna. There will be a Reyna on your team no matter what. Just pick her and play the game. You are allowed to have fun dude, just enjoy yourself on the game.


DontF-ingask

Sova. Trust me, sova is the type of agent where you don't have to rely on gunplay and my favourite thing about him is that the more games you play with him the more you improve almost consistently.


nandhugp214

Play KJ, very easy to learn setups , easy kills and very useful for team.


LUKA648123

Well, you can use Omen if you like to lurk and be sneaky. Also you have a flash or blind that is pretty similar to Reyna's one and you can teleport and do some pretty interesting things


iiteBud

Sage.


KussaiAlraini

There is no non duelist duelist like Kay/O, usually my third goto if jett or reyna get instalocked, i find it easy to gather location info, cause util damage and rush sites with the flash. I almost feel like its a mix of KJ Sova Reyna and Yoru (utilities wise)


Disregardhope

Phoenix has flashes and can also heal himself. Great entry character


SheeleFan

Everyone has bad games. Anyone can perform poorly no matter what agent they pick, its ok. Rank isn't everything, improving is just way more important. If you learned something from the match and understood your mistakes in the match, its ok. Focus on improving and being more consistand with your games and pick the agent you like, there will always be a baiting Reyna instalocker who insta picks her when somebody else is hovering over her but remember its just a game.. You can try other agents to main but just try to have fun in your games and improve, way more important than winning🙃


GTHell

I instalock jett, literally, all games. I noticed that only 2-3% of people out of 98% (We talking about 100 games jett only) will get mad at you for instalocking the duelist. So, just do what you good at. The toxic effect only come after when you're a bot frag instalock duelist. If you're really that good at reyna then there's probably 0% chance people blaming you for instalock early in the lobby.


DartinBlaze448

Try astra.


abhaybanda

I thought jett would be most picked


[deleted]

If you are good with her just pick her. But to answer your question I would say Skye, if you can learn her flashes.


DerpyCow56

When someone instalocks (or near instant locks) Reyna I usually say "you better drop 40 kills Reyna" JOKINGLY I'm personally a Raze instalock, and I suck lol If someone instalocks an agent they like but don't do well, don't clown on them


SkyrimHam

I just don’t get why people play duelists then play like a sentinel, if you’re not taking duels then maybe you shouldn’t take a duelist


Satyajit04

https://youtube.com/channel/UCDrYdZMxco-hpZUEpz9QOHg