One of VALORANT’s most densely populated competitive ranks, the Gold tier, surprisingly hosts only five agents with positive win rates at this time.
Gold has always been a critical tier in the tactical shooter, infamous for housing the most stubborn VALORANT players and incredibly difficult to climb out of. But does locking these successful agents guarantee a win? Unfortunately, it isn’t that simple.
According to Blitz.gg’s stats page for Episode Six, Act Three, the agents with win rates above 50 percent in the Gold Three tier are Brimstone (51 percent), Phoenix (50.6 percent), Reyna (50.5 percent), Sage (50.4 percent), and Killjoy (50 percent). And all these characters have one thing in common—independence.
VALORANT is heavily team-based, but most players happen to queue solo. Solo queuers are no strangers to communication gaps and inconsistent coordination. That being said, there are some agents you can pick to eliminate the need to constantly share your plan with the team.
Brimstone, Phoenix, Reyna, Sage, and Killjoy are perfect picks for solo queuers who lack consistency but, on good days, are capable of leading their team to a glorious victory.
Brimstone is an incredibly strong controller agent if you know what you’re doing. He can place three instant Sky Smokes and buff his teammates with combat stim to support an aggressive, non-methodical approach—a common strategy among Gold-ranked players. Plus, he can easily win critical rounds with his Incendiary molly line-ups and potent Orbital Strike ultimate without having to depend on his teammates.
Phoenix and Reyna are two of the most uncomplicated duelists in VALORANT and also the only ones who can heal themselves. Again, their kits are perfect for aggressive players who tend to take fights without discretion. Both of their ultimates—Reyna’s Empress and Phoenix’s Run It Back—are feared by most players: You’ll often see your teammates avoiding a Reyna or Phoenix with glowing outlines beyond and under Gold.
Sage and Killjoy are incredibly versatile sentinels, offering multiple ways to anchor sites and control post-plant situations.
Sage is popular among Gold players due to her healing ability, so get ready to see a lot of pocket Sages. Jokes aside, her Slow Orbs and Barrier Orb are incredibly strong as well, not to forget her ultimate ability can resurrect a dead teammate.
Killjoy’s Nanoswarm-Alarmbot combo is a must on certain maps like Ascent and Pearl. Her Turret can tackle flankers and anchor sites, and even get some kills for its owner. Lastly, her Lockdown ultimate needs no justification: It’s one of the most overpowered ultimates in the game.
Killjoy’s borderline positive win rate is closely followed by that of Raze, Gekko, Astra, Sova, and Jett. As you may have noticed, none of the initiators have made the cut for positive win rates right now, possibly due to their heavily packed team-centric kits. Notably, KAY/O has the lowest win rate on the list, at 46.2 percent, followed by Yoru with the second-lowest (46.4 percent).
Needless to say, agents like Jett, Astra, Skye, Sova, Gekko, Viper, and others aren’t as solo-queue-friendly as the ones in the top five. That being said, there’s no such rule that guarantees a win in VALORANT if you pick an agent with a positive win rate.
Creating a team composition featuring Brimstone, Phoenix, Reyna, Sage, and Killjoy will not assure a win in the Gold rank, either. You’d be lacking an initiator like Fade or Skye, who can get you valuable information on enemies and support the team with game-changing utilities.
This doesn’t mean you cannot win a VALORANT match without having an initiator on your team: You’ll need to coordinate and communicate much more without an intel-gatherer and play around your team’s strengths.
To win more VALORANT games and reach the sweet rank of Platinum and beyond, you must focus on coordinating and communicating your moves and pick an agent you’re comfortable with while keeping your team’s needs in mind, instead of picking an agent with the highest win rate and expecting things to fall into place.
