As a new player, the first agent I gravitated towards was Phoenix. As I began playing him, I constantly heard "Why would you pick Duelist if you won't entry?" I didn't understand what this meant. I simply wanted to play this character I thought was cool, but because of his role, I was playing him wrong.

So, allow me to breakdown agents' roles, the purpose of that role, and how you should play those people.

Duelist

•Jett

•Reyna

•Phoenix

•Neon

•Yoru

•Raze

Duelists are your entry fraggers. They have tools in their kit that allow for quick entry onto a site, such as Jett's Dash, Phoenix's Flash, and Raze's Boom Packs. The goal of a Duelist is to get their team onto site. Abilties like Reyna's Dismiss and Yoru's Teleport allow them to quickly disengage from any unfavorable situation. Contrary to popular belief, a Duelist's job is NOT to get kills. It is to give their team opportunities to take and hold a site by making first contact. However, a Duelist cannot do this completely by themselves. They require the help of their team to really have an effect, otherwise they're setting themselves up to become an easy pick for the enemy team.

Sentinel

•Killjoy

•Cypher

•Sage

•Chamber

Sentinels are great team players that are useful on both Attacking and Defending rounds. On Defense, Cypher's Tripwires and Sage's Wall can stop, or at the very least stall, the enemy team pushing onto site. Sentinels should lock down a site, and play off of their utility, rather than playing aggressive (with the exception of Chamber, whose Teleport allows him to hold an aggressive angle without putting himself in too much risk). On Attack, Sentinels have great tools that help them watch the flank, like Killjoy's Alarm Bot and Chamber's Slow Trap. As a Sentinel, you still want to lock down the site once the spike has been planted, and again, play off of the information your abilties give you. Sentinels should play behind the team, and not get stuck in sticky situations. Sentinels can also be great lurkers once they've set up the site.

Initiators

•Sova

•Breach

•Skye

•Kayo

•Fade

Initiators, much like Duelists, also have amazing ways of entrying a site, such as Kayo's Flash and Breach's Concuss. However, rather than rushing site, an Initiator's main goal is to gather information. Sova's Drone, Skye's Wolf and Fade's Eye can give great information about who on the Defense is holding a site and where they are. While Defending, these tools can also be used to see if the Attackers are pushing a site. Once information has been gained, Initiators should work together with the Duelist to enter onto the site, using their ultimate abilities, like Fade's and Kayo's, or with the other tools in their kits, like Skye's Bird and Sova's Shock Darts. Initiators offer great support for their teammates.

Controllers

•Astra

•Brimstone

•Omen

•Viper

These are your Smoke agents. All of them have some form of Smoke that can cover a Defender's line of site, and prevent them from holding common angles. Smokes are also very good while playing Defense, as it can cause the Attackers to push a site without having good vision of who is actually holding it. Opposite of Sentinels, who should play off of a site after setting it up, Controllers should play from the site. Viper and Brim's Mollies can deal quick damage the enemies, while abilities like Omen's Blind and Astra's Concuss can put the enemies at a heavy disadvantage. Controllers can be amazing lurkers, and should also play behind the rest of the team.

At the end of the day, play whoever YOU want to play. But, by using these agents and their kits the way they were intended to be used, you can have an amazing impact on your team and the rest of the game. Nobody likes a lurking duelist :3 /s