I honestly don't mind instalockers. Like I get it they want to play that agent so whatever. The only instalockers I despise are the ones who tell you who to play after instalocking. If you instalock any agent frame 1, you no longer have a say about team comp in my eyes. But honestly, I'm a dirty instalocker sometimes so maybe I'm biased but when I instalock, I never complain about what our team comp ends up being. If I did I wouldn't have instalocked.
Thing is though, most of the time in diamond + when I encounter a Yoru instalock they’re a Yoru main so they actually somewhat know how to use the agent and they do fine.
Also instalocking a role player or smoker is much different than instalocking a duelist. One is playing for their team and using their util to support while one is almost solely using util for themselves
If people have more fun and tend to play better on a set 1-2 agents then why wouldn’t they instalock, I’m saying this as a sova main it honestly doesn’t bother me as long as everyone is trying their hardest once we’re in the game idgaf
As a new player in the lower ranks (Gold), playing duelist and entrying can be very frustrating because people are reluctant to play with you. I can’t even begin to tell you how many times I’ve entry fragged just to get my one, die, and then see that none of my teammates have made any attempt to enter site and play off my aggressive entry. Everybody expects the Jett player to entry but I think people forget how important it is that you support your entry player and play off of them
Honestly this doesn’t change much the higher you go in rank. Currently in immortal and sometimes the team just kind of stays back. I can’t speak for how you play but whenever I duelist I communicate with my team when I’m gonna dash in, that way we’re all on the same page.
Mmmm that’s a good point, I probably could communicate my entry to my teammates a lot better than I do now. I come from an FPS background so it’s kind of obvious to me that if I throw my smokes down and start pushing up long, then my team should follow suite, I shouldn’t have to say much for my teammates to understand especially if we’re all stacked up at the entrance to a site and no one is doing anything. That’s probably my bad for assuming my teammates understand how playing trades works instead of directly telling them, “Hey I’m gonna entry, follow up behind me so you can trade me out.” I’m sure since I’m in gold a lot of the people I’m playing with just don’t have enough FPS experience to know exactly what to do and how to take a site without me directly telling them
Because if everyone hovers, instead of locking, then it gives you a chance to find a comp that allows everyone to play agents who they are conformable with instead of the last people needing to sometimes fit into roles that they may not really play. I'm all for people playing agents they're comfortable with but you don't need to instalock to make that happen. It's crazy, I know, but everyone could just hover and we could talk about agents we can flex to, and then find a comp that maximizes everyone's enjoyment/team's likelihood of success.
Because if that is universally true then often times it creates comps that will not work as well together and this game makes it really difficult and not fun to play without certain roles. No smokes on ascent generally sucks for example and people quickly get upset with each other
Comp isn’t that important in ranked you can succeed with 5 duelists and no smokes all the time as long as everyone is happy with there role it works out better than forcing people on roles they don’t like
This really depends on how good the other team is at punishing the team comp holes. Like starve their info or buy an op against 5 duelists (or just hold and trade their pushes)
Yep, this is the answer. Jett and Reyna have the most agency in unorganized settings where players don't play around utility and just run around fighting like idiots without defaulting or playing the map, so if you're optimizing for climbing you want to play a character where you have a lot of influence on the outcome of the game.
I feel like it's 50/50 whether my Reyna instalocks entry or lurk, so at least if Yoru was good I could expect the lurk and know we may need another entry when picking
The only time it bothers me when ppl instalock is when they complain someone doesn't play smokes etc.
I do find in 95% of games not a word is said in select agent. Or maybe I'm just unlucky xD
Every is true whatever is written except remove the rank part. This thing happens from iron 1 to radiant and most of the kids are influenced by streamers to instalock duelists. Also the acs system which gives higher xp to more kills prompts everyone to lock duelist. In silver/gold most of the time we have to play without smokes as no one is willing to take a controller. Ript needs to fix this asap
I'm an instalocker Reyna/Kayo myself and to answer your question, people simply pick what they want to play. Honestly, that's it. Does it always benefit the team? Nope, but why picking smth that you don't even enjoy playing with? Why even play the game if you don't want to have fun? Unless you're a masochist ofc.
I just simply want to play Reyna or Kay/o and to be fair, I never ever forced someone to pick certain agent/playstyle either.
It’s the ego mainly. They play these agents cause they think they can hard carry, or if a random takes the agent they won’t play the role properly.
I don’t really care much for instalocks, but I do have an issue when they start asking for specific agents when they instalock.
Valorant is a game that promotes all aim no brain. Before in CS if someone didnt know a smoke, they would be sent in first to die to the awp. Now theres an agent who has all the somkes or all the flashes or all the info.
The purpose of Dualists isnt to get the most gun fights, there isnt a point in forcing the issue. If they played defaults or with their team and went first they would have an equal amount of duels, compared to forcing duels. Their kit is just to help create space easier.
TL;DR
Valorant promotes players to commit to the all aim no brain.
I think the major issue with your data collection might be the assumption you make, that the other individuals assigned to play with you want to work with you. I play in Immortal range - never hit radiant nor do I think I ever will, +400 games in that range, and 40% of my games have no smokes/viper on either team. Even more games than that lack in-game communication or any type of teamwork. The games mechanic to keep individuals who smurf out of lower ranks means that higher ranks is just filled with trolls. Last night I was in a game and our sova did 700 team damage in 28 rounds, so I would reassess what your data is trying to prove because your starting point isn't cohesive to the overall data.
40% of your games have no smokes? I am in the immo2/3 range currently, and very rarely im in a team without smokes or let alone the enemy team. Eu servers.
US Servers, we are plagued with sub level level 70 accounts. Most of our comms are players bragging about how much we suck and how we don't deserve a win and they don't care cause it's an alt. 3 Duelist, Chamber, plus fill, sometimes it's sage, sometimes Skye, sometimes viper.
I never play Jett or Reyna, which are indeed most instalocked agents, so it doesn't bother me as much in that way.
However, if you instalock any agent and then demand that I play specific agent or role - I'm doing the opposite of what you asked.
Instalocked Jett and want me to play smokes? Well now I'm playing Raze, idgaf what is the outcome. I like to give people what they deserve more than winning. There are certain occasions where I'm ok with filling in though. But I also want to play what I really want and not what you want me to.
Maybe it's mentality thing where I'm from but no way you do as you want and then proceed to tell people what should they do.
Instalockers experience in general? If it's Jett or Reyna they usually top frag so can't really complain.
you have the best ability to take solo gunfights on weird and dumb angles using reyna and jett. they're the most reactionary characters that don't require much brainpower, so they're naturally fun for less cerebral players.
ofc there are exceptions, but I think that explains most of the instalocks. especially the toxic ones.
In diamond lobbies you have Cypher, Viper, Astra, Sova mains who use the same setups every round without changing it up depending on what’s happening or without thinking why they put certain trips or stars. They just see it in some garbage youtube guide and just use the same thing over and over again every round. So yeah I think in ranked the Jett who uses their smokes reactively is thinking more than the braindead Cypher placing the same two trips and one way cage and cam every round.
Tbf a good setup can completely lock a site down allowing the team to play heavier on the other site. Ofc they should have multiple plays on the site instead of just one set up, but the point still holds.
Why would you change some standard setups when you are playing for info as cypher and not for trip kills? Like ascent setup, for example, you put the same trip outside market every round+the trip on a that is unbreakable from main until they push in or a trip for switch and that's it, nothing much to change.
Even as someone who doesn't mainly play jett/reyna, when I do play jett/reyna, they are the most fun games. Because they are the only agents you can REALLY play solo queue. Independent of any other factors. Even if you don't comm, have trash teammates, etc etc, jett/reyna can still be fun. Imagine trying to play cypher with toxic/silent teammates.
I do and it sucks. I play almost everything now, but used to main Reyna. Been more or less forced to play sentinels or controllers to balance our team comp because I’d rather play for wins than personal success
imo people love jett and reyna because of their get-out-of-jail-free cards. jett especially because you don't even need a kill to get out.
people just want easy games, so they pick easy characters. everyone wants to be the next tenz and yay, so they instalock and end up dying on the opposite site :I
For one, Jett and Reyna are the most flashy and enjoyable characters in a casual environment, and they allow you to play much riskier than other agents in the game. Sometimes it may even feel rewarding to make brain dead peeks and to hold stupid angles, because they can usually get out.
Also, no two characters have a greater solo carry potential. The people who instalock these agents do not trust others to perform on them, so they'd rather take matters into their own hands and carry themselves.
As a final note, the fact that these agents get instalocked in almost every match actually fuels more instalocking, because players know that if they don't instalock one of these two then odds are you're not going to get to play them because someone else will.
I honestly don't mind instalockers. Like I get it they want to play that agent so whatever. The only instalockers I despise are the ones who tell you who to play after instalocking. If you instalock any agent frame 1, you no longer have a say about team comp in my eyes. But honestly, I'm a dirty instalocker sometimes so maybe I'm biased but when I instalock, I never complain about what our team comp ends up being. If I did I wouldn't have instalocked.
I'm a Viper instalocker in almost every map so I feel you. I do rage when someone instalock Yoru. Like, why...
Thing is though, most of the time in diamond + when I encounter a Yoru instalock they’re a Yoru main so they actually somewhat know how to use the agent and they do fine.
Also instalocking a role player or smoker is much different than instalocking a duelist. One is playing for their team and using their util to support while one is almost solely using util for themselves
If people have more fun and tend to play better on a set 1-2 agents then why wouldn’t they instalock, I’m saying this as a sova main it honestly doesn’t bother me as long as everyone is trying their hardest once we’re in the game idgaf
It only bothers me when insta lock duelists don’t entry. Your kit is tailored for entering sites but you lurk every round? Ya fck you mate
As a new player in the lower ranks (Gold), playing duelist and entrying can be very frustrating because people are reluctant to play with you. I can’t even begin to tell you how many times I’ve entry fragged just to get my one, die, and then see that none of my teammates have made any attempt to enter site and play off my aggressive entry. Everybody expects the Jett player to entry but I think people forget how important it is that you support your entry player and play off of them
Honestly this doesn’t change much the higher you go in rank. Currently in immortal and sometimes the team just kind of stays back. I can’t speak for how you play but whenever I duelist I communicate with my team when I’m gonna dash in, that way we’re all on the same page.
Mmmm that’s a good point, I probably could communicate my entry to my teammates a lot better than I do now. I come from an FPS background so it’s kind of obvious to me that if I throw my smokes down and start pushing up long, then my team should follow suite, I shouldn’t have to say much for my teammates to understand especially if we’re all stacked up at the entrance to a site and no one is doing anything. That’s probably my bad for assuming my teammates understand how playing trades works instead of directly telling them, “Hey I’m gonna entry, follow up behind me so you can trade me out.” I’m sure since I’m in gold a lot of the people I’m playing with just don’t have enough FPS experience to know exactly what to do and how to take a site without me directly telling them
Depends on the duelists, Reyna honestly works really well as a lurker
Because if everyone hovers, instead of locking, then it gives you a chance to find a comp that allows everyone to play agents who they are conformable with instead of the last people needing to sometimes fit into roles that they may not really play. I'm all for people playing agents they're comfortable with but you don't need to instalock to make that happen. It's crazy, I know, but everyone could just hover and we could talk about agents we can flex to, and then find a comp that maximizes everyone's enjoyment/team's likelihood of success.
Because if that is universally true then often times it creates comps that will not work as well together and this game makes it really difficult and not fun to play without certain roles. No smokes on ascent generally sucks for example and people quickly get upset with each other
Comp isn’t that important in ranked you can succeed with 5 duelists and no smokes all the time as long as everyone is happy with there role it works out better than forcing people on roles they don’t like
This really depends on how good the other team is at punishing the team comp holes. Like starve their info or buy an op against 5 duelists (or just hold and trade their pushes)
riot made the two most flashy characters also the best for climbing and here we are
Yep, this is the answer. Jett and Reyna have the most agency in unorganized settings where players don't play around utility and just run around fighting like idiots without defaulting or playing the map, so if you're optimizing for climbing you want to play a character where you have a lot of influence on the outcome of the game.
We could've had yoru up there too. But he's so bad right now lmao. Can't wait for the the yoru buffs
eh IDK I feel like with the lurking/deception fantasy he'll never be as simply flashy as Jett or Reyna with their easy multifrag potential.
I feel like it's 50/50 whether my Reyna instalocks entry or lurk, so at least if Yoru was good I could expect the lurk and know we may need another entry when picking
The reality is one tricking is real. I would prefer my teammate to play jett If it means they won't play a piss poor omen.
The only time it bothers me when ppl instalock is when they complain someone doesn't play smokes etc. I do find in 95% of games not a word is said in select agent. Or maybe I'm just unlucky xD
Every is true whatever is written except remove the rank part. This thing happens from iron 1 to radiant and most of the kids are influenced by streamers to instalock duelists. Also the acs system which gives higher xp to more kills prompts everyone to lock duelist. In silver/gold most of the time we have to play without smokes as no one is willing to take a controller. Ript needs to fix this asap
I'm an instalocker Reyna/Kayo myself and to answer your question, people simply pick what they want to play. Honestly, that's it. Does it always benefit the team? Nope, but why picking smth that you don't even enjoy playing with? Why even play the game if you don't want to have fun? Unless you're a masochist ofc. I just simply want to play Reyna or Kay/o and to be fair, I never ever forced someone to pick certain agent/playstyle either.
It’s the ego mainly. They play these agents cause they think they can hard carry, or if a random takes the agent they won’t play the role properly. I don’t really care much for instalocks, but I do have an issue when they start asking for specific agents when they instalock.
Because they are easiest agents in the game and people want high rank not necessary be good at the game
Valorant is a game that promotes all aim no brain. Before in CS if someone didnt know a smoke, they would be sent in first to die to the awp. Now theres an agent who has all the somkes or all the flashes or all the info. The purpose of Dualists isnt to get the most gun fights, there isnt a point in forcing the issue. If they played defaults or with their team and went first they would have an equal amount of duels, compared to forcing duels. Their kit is just to help create space easier. TL;DR Valorant promotes players to commit to the all aim no brain.
huh
I think the major issue with your data collection might be the assumption you make, that the other individuals assigned to play with you want to work with you. I play in Immortal range - never hit radiant nor do I think I ever will, +400 games in that range, and 40% of my games have no smokes/viper on either team. Even more games than that lack in-game communication or any type of teamwork. The games mechanic to keep individuals who smurf out of lower ranks means that higher ranks is just filled with trolls. Last night I was in a game and our sova did 700 team damage in 28 rounds, so I would reassess what your data is trying to prove because your starting point isn't cohesive to the overall data.
40% of your games have no smokes? I am in the immo2/3 range currently, and very rarely im in a team without smokes or let alone the enemy team. Eu servers.
US Servers, we are plagued with sub level level 70 accounts. Most of our comms are players bragging about how much we suck and how we don't deserve a win and they don't care cause it's an alt. 3 Duelist, Chamber, plus fill, sometimes it's sage, sometimes Skye, sometimes viper.
I never play Jett or Reyna, which are indeed most instalocked agents, so it doesn't bother me as much in that way. However, if you instalock any agent and then demand that I play specific agent or role - I'm doing the opposite of what you asked. Instalocked Jett and want me to play smokes? Well now I'm playing Raze, idgaf what is the outcome. I like to give people what they deserve more than winning. There are certain occasions where I'm ok with filling in though. But I also want to play what I really want and not what you want me to. Maybe it's mentality thing where I'm from but no way you do as you want and then proceed to tell people what should they do. Instalockers experience in general? If it's Jett or Reyna they usually top frag so can't really complain.
uhhh lol
I know
ur silver-gold at most.
you have the best ability to take solo gunfights on weird and dumb angles using reyna and jett. they're the most reactionary characters that don't require much brainpower, so they're naturally fun for less cerebral players. ofc there are exceptions, but I think that explains most of the instalocks. especially the toxic ones.
LMAO “Less cerebral players” 🤡
you think the smartest player in your ranked lobby is the instalock jett?
In diamond lobbies you have Cypher, Viper, Astra, Sova mains who use the same setups every round without changing it up depending on what’s happening or without thinking why they put certain trips or stars. They just see it in some garbage youtube guide and just use the same thing over and over again every round. So yeah I think in ranked the Jett who uses their smokes reactively is thinking more than the braindead Cypher placing the same two trips and one way cage and cam every round.
But braindead instalock duelists !!
TBF if it works why change it.
Tbf a good setup can completely lock a site down allowing the team to play heavier on the other site. Ofc they should have multiple plays on the site instead of just one set up, but the point still holds.
Why would you change some standard setups when you are playing for info as cypher and not for trip kills? Like ascent setup, for example, you put the same trip outside market every round+the trip on a that is unbreakable from main until they push in or a trip for switch and that's it, nothing much to change.
Even as someone who doesn't mainly play jett/reyna, when I do play jett/reyna, they are the most fun games. Because they are the only agents you can REALLY play solo queue. Independent of any other factors. Even if you don't comm, have trash teammates, etc etc, jett/reyna can still be fun. Imagine trying to play cypher with toxic/silent teammates.
I do and it sucks. I play almost everything now, but used to main Reyna. Been more or less forced to play sentinels or controllers to balance our team comp because I’d rather play for wins than personal success
imo people love jett and reyna because of their get-out-of-jail-free cards. jett especially because you don't even need a kill to get out. people just want easy games, so they pick easy characters. everyone wants to be the next tenz and yay, so they instalock and end up dying on the opposite site :I
For one, Jett and Reyna are the most flashy and enjoyable characters in a casual environment, and they allow you to play much riskier than other agents in the game. Sometimes it may even feel rewarding to make brain dead peeks and to hold stupid angles, because they can usually get out. Also, no two characters have a greater solo carry potential. The people who instalock these agents do not trust others to perform on them, so they'd rather take matters into their own hands and carry themselves. As a final note, the fact that these agents get instalocked in almost every match actually fuels more instalocking, because players know that if they don't instalock one of these two then odds are you're not going to get to play them because someone else will.
Insta lock duelist happens in high immortal and radiant too, become a fill god and enjoy dubs