Why you can't compare smokes to each other

Posted by Steve

Friday, November 4, 2022 12:02 AM

Idk why but a lot of my friends have been saying omen isn't a good smokes agent. There really isn't such a thing as a 'bad smokes agent' or 'good smokes agent'. Currently, these are the maps omen is picked the most on (Champions 2022):
Ascent- 65%
Haven- 84%

Compared to brimstones:
Bind- 85%
Fracture- 65%
Basically the same pick rates, except for different maps.

Why does this matter?
Of course, the smokes you go on each map are basically pre-determined. You always have a viper on breeze, almost always a brim on bind, etc. You don't go omen on breeze because viper's wall is the only way to cover so much ground (yeah harbor but he hasn't been seen in pro play yet). All the abilities of the smokers are entirely different. Viper is based on weakening enemies, omen can take space on his own, astra is based on teamwork and big brain plays etc.

Therefore, the only thing you can compare is the smoke ability itself. We can argue that brim probably has the worst smokes, due to
a) short range
b) non rechargable

(but of course, we have arguments like
"cant pick up viper wall what if its on the wrong site??"
"hollow smokes=not good")

But wait. All smokes agents are picked a lot on at least 2 maps, except Astra.
This is because if you think about smokes only, astra is quite similar to omen. Both have 2 smokes, rechargable, and both cost 150 stars. Astra of course has that further range, but omen has a slightly longer smokes, and you can make one ways. However, when you factor in the other abilities, omen is better: A flash that supports the team, and a TP to make plays, and omen is not as teamwork reliant, and Astra's plan can be ruined quite easily.

Ok so whats the point?
I just made this to show that you can't compare one smokes agent to another, as their playstyle is very different from one another.

References

  • https://www.reddit.com/r/VALORANT/comments/ykzbol/why_you_cant_compare_smokes_to_each_other/
  • https://reddit.com/ykzbol

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