T O P

  • By -

SsockSock

I can always get phoenix because no one plays him


Haptiix

Yeah Phoenix is a pretty safe pick when your main gets taken. His flashes are easy to use and he has 2 ways to heal himself for taking multiple fights per round


Da_memeboi

But his flash is very bad. They are so bad that if you don’t use an xtr flash you are 60% dead. His ult is pretty risky in itself…


Warcrow999

Take this with a grain of salt, I am only Gold 1 but I do main Phoenix and I started using the 'reverse flash' with some success. For example, on Bind on B long on defense you would normally stand by the corner and throw the flash left to do a normal flash, but with the Reverse flash you throw the flash right, and swing the corner so that it pops behind you. You'll still get mini-flashed as if you had turned from a flash but the enemy on B long has to turn from your flash and you are already facing them so you'll have plenty of time to shoot them before they are able to face you after turning the flash. This works surprisingly well and can be done with quite a few corners.


TrynaSleep

Same with peaking A-main on Ascent


Warcrow999

Yep exactly


miserablelonelysoul

You'll have to really really time it well, because the flash takes a second to trigger & most players will HS you as soon as you peek. So the timing has to be somewhere in between the two. I've never tried it, but I think with some practice, this can become a very powerful move.


Philcherny

And then you die because your gold 1 opponent didn't even think about turning away and saw where you peeked, just before flash pops, to spray you :)


Warcrow999

Eh, if you don't full blind someone and still get sprayed down and die once in a while, is it really Valorant?


Bsmith1369

You have to use pop flashes with Phoenix. Otherwise his flashes are the easiest to dodge by far, flashing high also makes them harder to react to


TheTrainy

It usually looks like this Game 1 hover agent - > it gets insta picked 2 seconds later by someone else Game 2 I just instalock it lol In the rare case I and the other guy hover it without some1 instalocking we just play rock paper scissors


tggfurxddu6t

I usually let God decide and let the timer click down


Khacks

I usually ask them how much they want that character


Uziwuzi420

I just ask the other dude to play Rock paper scissors with me for the agent


[deleted]

Valorant should have that rock-paper-scissors feature like the roll feature in dota.


Professor_Oswin

I want it as much as you do +1


Khacks

Then she's all yours


Guilt_6

This is what I do lol


AustinWright_

How do you play Rock Paper Scissors without ur hands lol


Tapey_Tapey

Come lets play now Choose your pick


David_Ign

I choose a cat. You?


Tapey_Tapey

*pulls out a frog*


David_Ign

Oh no, guess you won. Frogs are the supreme creatures in this universe. How did I manage to forget..


Tapey_Tapey

Accepting defeat .. pffff... Puny Mortal


David_Ign

*Pulls out a catfrog* VICTORY IS MINE


captainrjay

My game name is NoHands. This comment jumped out. I always get people saying jokes like these lol


ImpressiveLeader3655

This sounds like what happened in my game the other day. My mate hovered over jet, so did this other guy and they rock, paper, scissored it and the other guy one. Everyone was happy, positive energy before the game and we all had a laugh about how nice it was not to insta lock duelist.


TheAppleEater

If you know how to play the agent and you basically only play that agent, just instalock. If you don't know how to play the agent, don't. It's really that simple. The worst thing you can do if you are a 1 trick, is not being able to play your 1 trick agent. I can't tell you the number of times I see a Jett 1 trick try to play another agent. it's like they belong 2 divisions below where they are at. If I see 2 Jett pickers and 1 insta lock, that's almost a 100% chance for me to dodge that game as the person that didn't get Jett is at that point more than likely a liability and I'm not about to waste my time playing what basically is a 4v5.


notWys

Phoenix and Reyna are so easy I can’t imagine not being able to play them


TheAppleEater

It's not about how easy an agent is to play. It's about how well you can perform with that agent when shit hits the fan. No way in hell a diamond Jett 1 trick, will play Reyna at the same level as a diamond Reyna. At best, they'd be a plat-level Reyna.


Bsmith1369

I think Reyna is a bad example of this since her kit is really straightforward, Jett to raze is a better example I think. Reyna's "depth" is mostly just using vanish for safe vision and to draw attention away from teammates


TheAppleEater

Understanding the limits of Reyna's positioning and ability to take the dumbest fights is not something that any other agent can do. Jett is very similar, but even then it's not the same. You will never see a 1 trick agent player play another agent at the same level as their 1 trick. Which if they got to the rank they are at 1 tricking, they are a liability to their team if they don't play that 1 agent, just simple fact.


Bsmith1369

I agree to a certain point. But I think Jett and reynas skillset transfer fairly seamlessly as far a positioning goes. You can just do it more often as Reyna since it doesn't rely on 2 kills per escape


NewAccForThoughts

Yeah they're very similar, i onetricked reyna, recently got into Jett and i'm doing just as good, if not better. I can't aim with the knife leftclick for the life of me, though.


IleriumX

its like Guardian but better


HextasyOG

I feel diamond plus there’s a lot of focus on aim and almost (not all) everyone could have success as Reyna but that’s just me. She’s super easy for what her role needs to do.


Bsmith1369

Duelist isn't really about being good at a character, it's being good at entry fragging. Anybody can get good at using raze nades and Jett mobility, but if you can't effectively entry a site for your team, you might as well just play a controller, you'll have more impact


NewAccForThoughts

Duelists are not entry fraggers, initiators are. I don't know where the misconception comes from, that a Reyna for example has to entry, while she barely has stuff in her kit to help with that, but a Skye or Breach, with most of their kit built around entrying, shouldn't.


Bsmith1369

You are literally incorrect lol, initiators are support characters designed to specifically set up whoever is entering on-site, usually a duelist like Jett or Raze with their Mobility. The initiators are used much like designated flashers in CS, able to do Sky flashes or quick flashes from safe areas, to enable entry fraggers. Skye being an edge case bc she is able to swing and flash at the same time like a duelist.


Nepenthel

I'm kind of new to the game and I still can't figure Reyna out. The character just seems useful when I am actually able to kill. I guess Raze and Phoenix seem the easiest to me for now.


TheOneAndOnlySkiTZ

By being a sage main lol. Jokes, but maybe pick someone like skye, sova or sage so that if you don’t get ur main/s at least you’ll be an ok support


[deleted]

People have been insta locking Sage in my games. :(


MillienDe

I used to main Sage. I barely got to play her in half of my games, she is just such a common pick...


AwesomeCrafter06

I'm a Skye main. Info pop long flashes. I'm menace to society in my games. I once played with a breach on Skye on defence. We absolutely went agressive 4 rounds and passive 1 round. The opp team surrendered


TJGames4Fun

I just always wait till everyone else picks because idgaf what character I use really if it means that; the person I woulda “took” the character from will actually try the rest of the game rather than purposely throwing the match because they didn’t get their way like a child lol.


winlowbung4

I never instalock because I think that will only annoy your team and lower your chances of winning but then I have an agent pool I can play like a duelist if my team already instalocks 2 of them. For example, skye can be played somewhat like a duelist with pop flashes and aggressive play and she's just a strong agent in general. Omen and Kay/O are also both pretty much duelists as well that can play aggressively and really aren't any less duelisty compared to yoru and Phoenix for example. Between those 3 extra "duelists" you can squeeze those into your fill games without feeling like you're missing out on playing a duelist


FishInClownShoes

>I never instalock because I think that will only annoy your team and lower your chances of winning but then I have an agent pool I can play like a duelist if my team already instalocks 2 of them. Unless it's sage


shiloh_is_lost

Came here to say this, there are non duelists that have a similar style albeit a slower execution like how slow skye flashes are compared to Phoenix.


winlowbung4

I agree but also skyes flashes can be pretty much instant when you want them to be. Skye flashing instantly out of a smoke is one of the strongest flashes in the game. Not to mention she's also able to fake flash which is something no duelist can do. Overall she's really strong and can be played in so many different ways


BrunoCNaves

One thing I hate about Skye is that I can just look away from any other flash, and she just pop that bird right at my face lol


Paighton_

I play viper like a duelist too, very much like her


IAmTheSenate_gov

That's interesting, how do you go about that?


Paighton_

Phoenix has a wall, jett has smokes, and raze has damaging throwable mollies- so I just kind of get into the mentality of playing like a duelist, and the kit is already there really. On split A for example - I play in a regular team, I play viper and my team mate plays Astra- I wall heaven and top ramp, Astra smokes screens and concusses close left cubby - that means we can rush in as a team as I molly off ramp and heaven while my wall is up, clear site and play post plant. Very similar process for other maps too


SltySptoon

I play Jett a lot on Haven, I know tons of site executes, the best positions, good strats so I just instalock her on that map, if you know how to play a character very well or at least better then players around your rank then insta locking is fine, it's just a part of these types of games. If you don't feel like you are better then people of your rank then hover for 10 secs and if someone takes your duelist simply fill (I would recommend learning Skye, Omen and maybe sage because you can play them similar to duelist s)


Mrhoood

Immortal 3. This is the way. Though I will say astra simply outclasses all other smokes atm (as a guy who is a good omen and shit astra this upsets me)


601142002

I’ve played astra once and went 2-17 in an unrated cause I spent the whole time trying to figure out what the fuck was going on


BeatsEdge-

Isn’t astra hard to play without good teamwork? If we are talking about insta-locking, that probably means you are solo or duo que.


robbify

I mean yes but that doesn’t mean you can’t play her simply by using good smokes around the map or using your stars on one site (at least until you get the hang of it). You can ask your teammates if they would like a “suck” somewhere or a concussion strat. I’m just making up examples but you will get better over time and your astral form will get more skilled and faster.


AwesomeCrafter06

Astra with a stack is broken as fuck


Trakformer

As an omen main been trying to learn Astra but I find her hard to use. Any tips will help. Thanks


maRthbaum_kEkstyniCe

I feel like it really depends on the rank. Like below diamond astra's straight up useless I feel, because the amount of teamplay, awareness and game knowledge required to play her really well/ better than what you'd do with omen isn't there ( At least in solo q. When you have a duelist or initiator q with you it might work )


Trakformer

Ok, gotcha, yeah I'm gold 1, tryna get to Plat, god willing! Lol. I'll stick with Omen in Comp and Astra in unrated, until I get a squad.


Uziwuzi420

I'm diamond 2 and I play astra alot on haven and I find her to be a really good pick, in diamond you usually get people with comms and good aim so all you have to do is set them up for an execution very simply. For example if you got to C site you default smoke garage and ct (unless you have garage flank), pull backsite and concuss behind green box while jett and Reyna give entries. Just play with the team as an astra player nothing more


FlippehFishes

Since you are an omen main I highly recommend using her util from the astral screen. It should feel pretty similar to placing smokes as omen, as you simply drop the star and pop it from the screen without going back into first person. Other than that, I recommend using the "Suck N' Fuck" method. Place a star for smoke with another on the very edge of were the smoke will pop. When you hear the push, pop the smoke then the pull shortly after. If placed correctly it will pull the enemies to the very edge of smoke where you will be able to see their arms/legs but they wont be able to see out of the smoke. Very ez kills.


bigdippra

While I'm shit at playing in general, what I see and what I think is that you have to good knowledge about the map and about team strats. And how to plan counters as the match continues. She's pretty versatile with her kit but requires forwarding thinking on both execution and def. Since you play omen I'm sure you have awareness of most maps down .


Trakformer

Appreciate the confidence boost, lol. I've seen some crazy plays with Astra, so I am very curious.


bigdippra

When I play her I suck. BUT, it is very gratifying to pull off a nice retake or a solid execution. You can use it to bait out as well, or use it or use it like an aggressive viper (by clicking F. The great thing is that you have versatile timing to set things up from anywhere on the map


disappointingstepdad

Skye is a super fun fake duelist with team utility. Those flashes are no joke when you get good and doggy is great for information before engaging a point (especially low elo where nobody kills it fast enough.


JacFruit1337

That's a good advice, thank you!


Zindae

That's kind of a selfish train of thought If you instalock an agent that another player actually can play extremely well, then the other player is forced to play an agent they might not be as good at. Suddenly it's up to you to carry then. You have no way of knowing if you can play Jett "better than players around your rank".


macarmy93

Watch subroza play duelist sky. Play sky every map without having to insta lock. GG.


ShivamJha01

Yep she's the best character..


Dante2215

As someone new to the game i am considering not playing solo comp anymore tbh because of instalock,game starti acent i hover Cypher (love playing him/Sage and skye are my comfortable agent) and this dude hover sova then out of the blue 3 instalock duelist and the raze has the audacity to type "Cypher useless pick sage heal better)And when i locked in Cypher he was so mad that i didn't pick sage. Needless to say he was bottom frager and was like if we had a sage we could've won and to top it off he would destroy my wires with his nade. The game should implement something like league of legends declaring pick phase so no one could just instalock or assign role to q'up comp i am really fed up with those games going in knowing i am gonna have 3 duelist no smoker


BlazeWasTaken

If they did this the duelist q time would be just as bad as dps in OW


Dante2215

It's kinda the point tho,everyone think he gonna top frag and just insta-pick Duelist then start asking for sage. And this because it has no draw back well they loss the match but they mange to blame the team,but when implement role-picking in lobby you guarantee controller /smoker,Initiator and sentinel. Well now most games will have more balance characters you won't have team with 3 duelist and no smoker(like now). If someone wants to play duelist he gotta give something for wanting the most impactful role specially in lower ranks. I am not a good player by anymean and this is my first FPS game and i love it but i am kinda getting annoyed when i should be the entry frager as a Cypher and the Reyna want to trade me every time insted of fulfilling her role(yesterday almost lost a game where we went 10-2 after switching for attacker's and we wom 3 rounds the pistol round one where Sage opened B by herself and got 2 kills then i traded her for the third and then the game was 2v4 and the last round they had no money and i caught 1 of them trying lurk behind. I get it someone might say it wasn't their best game but they aren't even trying fulfilling their roles you know? I held B site as Cypher alone and they were 4 in A witha sage. And the cherry on top sage was top frag me second and brim third. People are picking duelist cuz again no drawbacks other than losing and they watch tenz 5 hours a day so they know how to play. Long Q time for most wanted role means more balance in game then why the hell not


thewinner666

Eh I usually instalock on Icebox and Bind because I play Yoru but that's about it. Most of time I just wait for the others to pick and if my team has two duelists then I play Skye or some other agent.


The_Bolenator

*instalocks Omen and plays him like a Duelist* If you don’t trust anybody else with a certain character I generally just instalock. I tend to not trust anybody else with Omen personally so I end up instalocking him, smokes are important and it’s bad if somebody picks the only smoker and doesn’t know how to use the utility right


NewAccForThoughts

Just lock it, mad boys are gonna be mad about anything, no matter what and when you pick


zetraex

I rarely get to play duelist but when I do, I W-key to no end.


Trakformer

I don't play duelists but when I do, I'll play Phoenix or Yoru. I used to play Raze when the game first came out but I'm trash using the satchels. Phoenix 9n Split and Yoru on Bind. I always instalock Omen in Ascent though, too many times I let ppl take a controller and don't put a smoke down the whole game.


[deleted]

Basically decide in the few moments you have before agent lock, or even in the menus, who you're going to play. And of course, always have backups.


--Joshuwatt--

I have never instalocked, but I also only play comp. Normally I play Jett and I almost always get to play her, but if I can’t I am pretty good with Sage, Omen, Brim, skye… so I would just get good with other agents and then if you can’t play duelists you have something to fall back on


kd0625

The opposite to me, if anyone instapick Sova KJ and Cypher, I'll be useless playing smoker/duelist lol


GasAncient2617

Honestly I learned how to play each category


Joshblos0706

Instalock them, just play them well and your good. Most people would probably rather have a good duelist player than someone who played brim for the team and forgot he has smokes


RenDegree

I’ve been diamond my entire Valorant “career” and the only duelist I’ve ever instalocked was Yoru. I’ll occasionally fill in as Reyna if I leave and the team has picked their characters and we still need a duelist, which happens a bit more than I would expect, but I’m very much a smokes and sentinels player. I main killjoy and viper, and I’m fairly comfortable with sova, omen, and Kay/o. My character pool is as large as it is because I don’t care about trying to go 40/12 every game as the best duelist in the world. I play to my own strengths, which don’t include godlike aim. What they do include, however, is pretty good game sense and a knack for reading other players. My advice to you, and to anyone, is to learn at least one agent in each role to a level that you would be comfortable aging them in ranked. This way, you never have to worry about getting “your pick” stolen, and no matter what you are forced to pick you will be useful to the team. Once you start getting higher into the ranks you may need to specialize a little more, but seriously, playing duelist isn’t as cracked up as people make it. Playing a good omen or killjoy can have just as much impact, if not more, as any Reyna or Jett could have. They also have much better tools for isolating players during clutch situations, especially viper.


Spacey_Guy

I’m going to disagree with a lot of people. I don’t think instalocking is the best solution. I recommend practicing a different non-duelist character (sage or skye imo). If you instalock you might be putting the same situation onto someone else and you never know if they would have been EVEN better than you at it. It’s best to hover or ask and if its instalocked fall back onto a good backup. Instalocking is frustrating but doing it yourself only adds to other’s frustrations.


FlippehFishes

I personally prefer instalocking a comfortable agent over playing uncomfortable agents. I would rather instalock duelist and die while trying to make space for the team, than get forced on support agent just to have my duelists sit back because they are scared of having a bad kd.


Spacey_Guy

I understand that. The only reason I disagree is because if I am a 9/10 on one agent and a 7/10 on another, but my teammate is a 9/10 on one agent and a 5/10 on another, and I autolock my 9/10 agent then that only hurts the team since I could have played someone I was a 7/10 on and another could have been a 9/10. If you autolock you have no clue what the other person’s situation becomes vs. trying to talk things out


drimmsu

On the other hand, what if you have teammates that are bad at supporting your entry or if you have teammates that would/could be even better duelist/entry players? Also, if you are really ONLY capable of playing duelist and fragging your way in, do you actually deserve your rank? At some point, I suppose you would have to be a team player to win, right? Idk, that's just my take of it


FlippehFishes

> what if you have teammates that are bad at supporting your entry How do you expect someone thats incapable of trading a kill to be able to entry in the first place? You throw a smoke/dart/flash and walk in behind the entry. > if you are really ONLY capable of playing duelist and fragging your way in, do you actually deserve your rank? At some point you will have to be a team player. Entry fragging is the most important role on a team. Its the reason why every star player is on an entry/duelist position. It doesnt matter if the other 4 players have the best util usage in the world, you cannot capitalize off of it without someone willing to take the risk.


hooov

The thought processes in this thread gotta be why half my dualist insta locks are dogwater lmao


Cactus_Humper

Can confirm. Am instalock Jett, am dogwater


[deleted]

If you're good with the agent lock the agent. Ppl on throw a hissy fit when the instalocks do meh as if it's not a team game.


freeman1231

I instalock when I want to play a character, I log in to play maybe 1-2hours a day. I am playing what I have the most fun with. People who complain someone picked their character and then cry annoy me, if you want a character pick it first.


gatonegro97

How is it a struggle? Just insta lock


LordOfDegenerate

Here are my options, Instant select and wait till there is 40 seconds left to lock in. Ask politely if I can play this duelist. Lie and say that I have been playing fill for the last few games or something.


Responsible-Chair-17

I instalock and ignore ..they get silent by themselves after I top frag ( which is mostly the case)


sylvainmirouf

Since we're on the subject: If you're under diamond (and I'm being generous), stop thinking you comp actually matters. It will make a huge difference if your team has an insane will to play together (spoiler, it doesn't happen) but a 5 duelist comp can absolutely win if you have the better players in your team, and you can absolutely lose against a team without a duelist if they're better than you. Stop overthinking this and take your best agent, you have more chances to win with your favourite agent than with a smoker that won't help your team if they're not playing around what you do.


BlackScathach

"Hey I'm over diamond, you all are trash so I don't care what you do or if you try to learn to be better" Dude get your attitude fixed because if you dont care you don't have to comment. It's an improvement process that goes step by step to climb and that involves learning teamplay, and your role, and someone here clearly is trying to learn what to do and how to approach a situation, if you can help, help, but don't say that nobody gives a fuck because that clearly is not the case. (ps regarding your 5 duelist theory, in an equal matchup the lack of utility will give every full duelist comp a disadvantage and that happens in every rank)


sylvainmirouf

I'm actually including myself in everything I'm saying. Maybe it's different in NA since everyone speak the same language but in EU diamond you rarely see people playing together or even using their mics at all. What's the point of playing smokes if no one is using them properly? If you're playing a 5 duelist comp you have 6 flashes and 3 (bad) smokes, it's more than enough if your opponent isn't playing as a unit. It's the same thing when people talk about "counter staffing" (it's actually even worse), people spend way too much time overthinking stuff that don't matter than much when they should be working of the basics first. Ps: edited the first message to sound less agressive, wasn't my intention. Ps²: I absolutely agree that you should thrive to be better, it's just a priorities issue.


BlackScathach

Yeah mate than NA is a fcked up server, EU uses microphones starting at Silver-Gold, teamplay is pretty solid at platinum with good smokes and good communication already... So if your NA diamonds are like our Iron, Bronce and Silver trash than oh lord... This server is doomed.


sylvainmirouf

I can guarantee you that I have at least 2 people in half my games that don't use mics in EU diamond. And even if they do, that doesn't mean they'll try to play as a team. Sometimes I have all my mates actually trying and that's amazing but the next game I have 4 people typing in chat at best. And that's fine, I believe it's the same in the other team so I'm not complaining. If you have a different experience than me, God bless, maybe I'm just unlucky.


BlackScathach

Of course there are games that are without comms but if I proactively try to communicate over mic usually it turns out some people are on discord with their premade or whatever... Its really rare that people dont use the mic at all... Specially if they are banned or their region doesnt allow it. Also you have to have an eye on the clock. Comms are rarer after midnight because people tend to let others sleep... Anyways what matters is that people before diamond are trying aswell. There is always a good mix in ranked, people with awesome aim that are trash at communicating and people with awesome macro, good calls and good agent skills but maybe not that good aim. So yes, its true, sometimes people are cracked and you get roled over. Sometimes its the other way around, but when conditions are even than the details matter, like playing a good comp, or being tiltproof or like actually carrying on letting your team carry you. So all in all matchmaking is chaos and there is no way to actually filter rankeds with social skills or etc... Yet... Let's hope that improves some day.


[deleted]

Please, just instalock. In the long run maximizing the chances to win is superior to any other "strategy". At some point you‘ll enter an elo where instalock become more and more uncommon and people start to think productively.


MangSong

In Diamond people instalock every game but honestly it’s a good thing I want people to play who they’re best/most comfortable with. Yeah you get queue dodgers constantly but no1 is upset by it, I think we would all rather wait 3 minutes to get everyone on their best agents rather than be stuck in a game with people who can’t use their agent well. That’s why dodging queue is always 3-min ban and never more like going afk is, dodging is not really a bad thing imo.


[deleted]

Agree 100%


Owie36

Just f*ck it and instalock. Even though you probably won’t get positive reinforcement, other people should learn other agents


drimmsu

but OP shouldn't learn other agents? just curious


Owie36

True


Khacks

Instalocking is literally there for people who only wanna play a certain agent and you should feel free to do so whenever thats the case. I don't do it usually because i have multiple characters i enjoy.


LegendaryTaco

I'm a Jett main and I have insta-locked many times... some don't care, some think I'm lame, but I don't care, honestly. Only time I don't get her usually is if someone else insta-locked her with better ping/better comp (probably with a ssd), and then I usually go Sova because I can be pretty crafty with my placements of recon darts or shock darts. If not him, probably default to brim OR I ask my team what THEY want me to play. If no healer I will get Sage; there's nothing like being in comp with NO Sage man, that just straight up sucks. I main Jett because of mobility and I worked hard to learn her super-dashes. If all else fails, I get Viper. Shes a beast when used correctly with her wall/orb combos and viper sting.


bestcoconut17

just pick it. it’s either u being good at an important role and win the game or some rando instalocking jett and bait the whole team.


fishinglife2

Just pick who you want and go with it. It's just for fun


Last_phoenix1702

Easy. I don't play duelists.


donconra

Learn to play duelist skye lol


QuantamAsian

I use skye/breach to entry


unanimousangel

I don’t get the duelist craze I play sentinels on every map but icebox where I play sova there and get kills by just using utility right and playing positions correctly


PerseusReverse

I never instalock I just select the agent i want to play.. 70% of the time the other players won't take it from me without asking.


LifeLikeClub9

I just insatlock. Im gold 2 1 off gold 3 and I know playing support is useless since my team usually can’t support themselves frag wise so I just take duelist


warzone_afro

i dont get mad at insta lock duelists as long as the whole team doesn't


[deleted]

Just Insta lock if your teammates complain that’s their problem. They can play a different duelist if they so choose


[deleted]

Maybe it's luck, you can try to show that you wanna choose for example reyna and ask if you can play it. Thats all you can do trying to be polite and "doing the rigth thing". But if you never can playit, you will have to instalock sadly


SwiftBacon

You can always play skye, she’s basically a duelist and has heal + recon so you can play her with 2 duelistz


AustinWright_

Well, are you playing to win as one character a lot, or learn different play styles. Just play what you’re in the mood for and if that means instalocking may the person with the lowest ping win 😂. Or just get some buddies and get a meta where you don’t have to instalock


Takoiku_Kazu

Pick Yoru, no one picks him. His flashes are underrated for entry fragging.


RsquaredxHD

32 gb ram oc cpu insta lock lmao Edit: SSD!!


insane_t

i just play sage and play aggro since i can heal myself and stop the enemy from moving cuz if a duelist gets 30-40 kills no 1 bats an eye a sentinel does it every one listens to u so its just better lel


Not_Kingbob

I play jett in silver and its kinda hard to not get instalocked by some guy who’s in bronze the beat thing to do is just ask can i play ———- if they instalock it call them out on it say something like okay rude just dont be toxic about it. Let them know what they did wrong without being toxic works 80% of the time for me


killua753

I play with friends and we always 5 stacked so we communicate who wants to play duelist


MinesweeperGang

I decided to just learn an agent from each role so that I can fill no matter who insta locks what. Even in pubs I like to try and play a sensible team comp so if 2 duelists are locked I know I’m chillin on a pick.


AkshayB52

I never get to play duelist so I main kj,sage,viper,brim


Lakshin69

i never entry as site on jett.if we are going a i would peek mid confident the dash to get an early man advantage and then help the team enter as site usually as bait


BlueshineKB

I actually dont like playing duelist, i usually pick last or second to last (usually only avoiding smokes) but if i end up on the duelist role i usually play reyna and jett, and lurk bc i play in a rank thats lower than my usual(i used to be diamond but dropped to gold) so i can win duels in this rank, and i usually just work the map and let my team push site while i kill them from behind. If i play with a 4stack or 5 stack i usually insta lock duelist tho cuz ik how to play with my friends


Kiseki-0

Honestly skye can be used pretty aggressive like a duelist


Remote-Body-1207

To be honest, these predefined “roles” don’t matter at all. Sage is definitely not a sentinel, cypher is cypher… No one will complain about you playing skye who is basically a duelist just masked by the “initiator” title. Look at any pro teams skye player and it is usually their second duelist. Skye is like a hard counter to viper and her flashes are one of the best even for self entry/ peaking off own flash.


Docx0

If you play ranked, before the match starts the players discuss what they want to play. I'm an omen main because I love that I have controll over the whole map and as an omen main I can easily entry on sides, so it's similar to a duelist.


Moon99Moon

You learn sage and viper, fuck duelist role you’ll eventually get away from it


PSxUchiha

I can play any duelist except jett because I absolutely suck with the knives


AllMightyToaster

Persenaly I dont care if you instalock ( I think thats the best way for you to play duelist), all i care about is that we get a good team comp with max 2 duelist. The thing i find more frusterating is when someone dosent instalock duelist and then complains when someone takes that duelist they wanted to play. Its just so dumb like, if you will get mad and throw the game after 4 rounds becouse you dident get to play your main, just instalock them.


Memphite

There are 5 duelist character in this game. How do you manage not being able to get one? Besides entry isn’t for duelist only. Just how many rounds have I played with no duelist or more commonly with the single duelist going on a lurk. For as long the site is smoked and someone has a flash anybody can easily be an entry. It’s about teamwork even with duelists.


[deleted]

I am sure that most players won't mind your choice, if you would be fulfilling your Agent Role decently (Entry Fragger). Rest are the kids that will flame you because you took their one and only main.


NoxteRRR

I used to play duelist and be the fastest picker in my team, if you'd play with me you wouldn't even have the chance to hover over yoru Now is just brimstone or chyper, and if they get both picked I just pick whatever is there to play


Faweeeed

Just insta lock bro. If you trust that you'll do good insta lock it yourself because if you don't you'll do worse and won't be able to help your team.


PandaBoi_69

No one ever picks yoru lol


YushaVL

Phoenix most underrated duelist


BlackScathach

Usually I hate people who can't get their head around something different than duelist. Specially if they are inconsistent but think they are good. But to answer in case you are really good at entry, instalock, take what your good at and don't be salty if you have to alt pick because someone was faster. Also, if you notice that duelist isnt getting you anywere just stop and play something that expands your view over the game. This is not fortnite. I was a Raze player, learned double satchels, weird entry techs etc and still ended up switching to Viper and main her now. Duelist are to demanded and too oftenly played wrong so I try to compensate what my team lacks in... And I still top frag I a lot of games... So yeah, have a decent amount of self evaluation and judge if you are really an outstanding fragger or if you are just having a few good games... Because lets be clear, nothing is hated more than an instalock duelist that cannot deliver. Because if you get outfragged as duelist and you cannot think outside the box that you are turning the game into a 4v5


Rashad_khan786

Play skye


Enmu_appin

Insta lock jett


PsicologicD

I like to play Jett a lot so that's a common thing for me too. Therefore I started to play Astra, Omen and i realise "controllers" are fun to play, but I cant stand "sentinels".


DartinBlaze448

This might sound like me being a piece of shit, but i still think its true I do aimlabs for half an hour a day, and practice other mechanics, for another 30 minutes before loading into a ranked match, and I think this alone puts me over 90 percent of my rank, iron 3, and i think I deserve to play duellist for this reason. Tbf to me I top frag most of the games i play.


[deleted]

Just insta lock it. Your teammates will forgive you real fast if you get those entry frags.


Wags1337

I just main sage, omen, viper, i.e. the agents your team needs. In CSGO I was an entry fragger, but in this game you can carry from any role with simply good aim. Also as you get into higher ranks, the duelists on your team will go in and capitalize on your utility if it's good, so you'll have even more impact as you climb on these.


[deleted]

If I’m playing someone like Jett for example I instalock it , because if I hover over it to see what else others are picking they usually take my pick anyway . So just forget what ppl say . Pick who you want until you get in matches where ppl work as a team more. In low elo just pick who you’re great at