VALORANT’s Sage is a monk healer from China. Considered a “support” agent, there’s more to Sage than what meets the eye.
VALORANT’s closed beta is now underway and we finally had a chance to take a closer look at Sage, one of the agents in the game. In the previews, Sage was presented as a support with abilities that are reminiscent of Mercy from Overwatch.
Right off the bat, the community complained about having a resurrection ability in the game. But after a day of play, we can say that Sage’s ultimate isn’t precisely what makes her a strong agent.
Abilities
Slow Orb: The orb detonates upon landing creating a field that slows down players. It affects both allies and enemies, it also reveals enemies through the sound of footsteps.
Barrier Orb: Creates a solid wall, Sage decides the angle of the wall. It can be destroyed.
Healing Orb: Actives a heal-over-time effect on Sage or her allies.
Resurrection: Sage resurrects an ally with full health.
Game plan
Sage’s true strength lays in her crowd control and not the resurrect ability. The slow orb is a good option to slow down enemies, but it should be used at the right time and not on the allies’ path.
A solid wall sounds like good protection, but it’s more than that. If placed correctly, the wall can create paths so the allies can safely rotate. It can also be used to force enemies to move through another path. Last but not least, it might reveal the enemies on the other side when they try to shoot the wall down.
The healing ability is useful, but considering how fast-paced the rounds can be, Sage might not get the chance to use it. Sage is vulnerable while she casts any of these abilities, though. That means that for a couple of seconds, Sage is a sitting duck, so she might require help from her teammates.
Resurrection, Sage’s ultimate, isn’t available in every round and it can’t be bought from the store. Sage requires seven points to use the ultimate. The agent gets one point per round just by playing. Sage can get points by killing enemies or collecting some of the orbs that are available on the map. Like all the abilities above, it takes a couple of seconds to be cast, so Sage needs to be careful.
