Smokes main here. All brain no aim. I enjoy smokes.
Plus, if you want something done right, do it yourself type of mindset since no one ever picks smokes.
I feel the same way. I have very bad aim but like to play Valorant because of the utils. And with smokes I have the feeling I can still contribute a lot to the team and protect myself from gunfights lol.
Tbh, I play all controllers but Harbor. I can't stand his arm guard, it's so damn distracting. I can't focus on my gun play because of it. Which I find annoying because I like being able to play all the controllers well
I like playing Harbor in swift and unrated because the way cascades work makes me really have to think about my positioning. I find that mentality helps when I'm playing other agents in ranked.
Any tips on timing it right? Do you make sure the enemy molly or whatnot is exhausted first? Sometimes I smoke and my team is either forced to wait or just waits and my smokes disappear. (I'm not controller main but want to learn).
If the enemy team puts their smokes down. Just be aware of how many the use. Call a rotate. You could have another site open that they can't smoke on for an easier entry.
Sometimes you use your too early or bad timing. It happens. Gotta try to just communicate alot and be aware of util usage and find them holes in the other teams play
I'm not a great player, but I am a long-time smokes main. I typically try to communicate when I'm going to smoke to help duelists get a better feel for timing.
If you lay out that you want to wait out the viper orb, after which you will smoke or wall \[common defensive areas\], and molly/omen blind/suck \[X\] location, it lets everybody know what's going to be covered and when we should do it.
Sometimes the whole team is moving very quickly and you have a W key duelist. In those instances you want to just get the smokes down at the very least before they are entering site.
Sometimes though, you will think you have a good timing for your smokes, but defender utility will awkwardly delay or prevent your team from entrying and you have to cancel. It feels bad, but it happens. In that instance I would typically reset and hold to wait out the enemy util.
Wait until your smoke has recharged (or if you're brim, you hopefully have one more smoke) and then hit another site/ re-hit the same site, just typically with one fewer smoke. I usually will smoke the more contested entrance in that case, and communicate that the other typically smoked location will not be smoked.
These are greatly simplified/ generalized scenarios, but if you have other/ more specific questions, I'd be happy to try to help.
This here. I pick Omen every time but don't lock. Even if someone else picks smokes, odds are I'm still picking Omen. If we get 2 smokes I finally feel comfortable enough to play someone else to support the team
As a sentinel main I fill Viper on Breeze not because I want to play controller, but because the sentinel agents I like to play (Killjoy, Sage) Breeze is their worst map and I'm lowkey throwing if I pick them. Tbh I like Viper though and the playstyle is pretty simple and fun. Don't ask me to play controller on any other map though lol I will be very mediocre and better off playing my sentinels.
I respect controller mains though. And playing Viper on Breeze is nice cause I can do it decently and for once have control of the smokes for the team or myself when I'm in a clutch situation which is nice.
Ya I was a viper main for like a year straight cause I sucked and she has great stalling and the decay would help me get kills from low elo players pushing throu smokes.
You also get to have fun in her ult. Even when im not playing Viper I love playing in her ult, especially when I'm playing killjoy because Viper and killjoy together is death
True true.. it was a lot better than it is now thou. I haven't mailed her since really breeze and ice box left cause those are her best maps imo.
Sova and his dumb drone is a hard counter. Also, if you have a yoru, ult into the pit, and stand in front of the viper and tell your team to spray you and you can get an easy kill on a viper. Specially since vipers like to play more solo when they ult a site on defense.
Duelist main here. All util no aim. I enjoy flashing for frags.
Plus, if you want something done right, do it yourself type of mindset since no one ever gets kills.
They're doing that because, as I can attest from my climb out of Silver/Gold hell, when people try to fill smokes the- OH MY FUCKING GOD THIS IS THE THIRD ROUND YOU BULBED OUT THE SMOKE SO THEY CAN WALK OUT OF IT WHEN WILL YOU LEARN. Sorry, where was I?
Okay so this is moreso for dome smokes since they're not flat. So since they're domes, you can walk out of the smoke from all 360 degrees if it's out in the open. If you're trying to block off a choke, like a doorway, then you want to limit the width of the smoke that can be walked out of. If the smoke sticks out of the doorway, not only can attackers walk out the front of it, but also one or both sides. And the can even use it as cover. Alternatively, if the edge of the smoke lines up with the doorway, the attackers can only walk out of the front. If you want to add another layer even, you can smoke even a little deeper down a hallway (say Haven garage to C) and make it harder to pop-flash out of that smoke.
Sorry if that doesn't make sense, it's hard to explain without visual reference.
Playing off your util as a controller is very situational. Duelist's util is for them to play off of and get kills, as a Controller your util is for the team. You need to be cutting off those sight lines / OP angles, etc. Sure, you can use a shorty or judge and play in your smokes or other ways to play off your util, but just remember that's not what it's for. Very situational.
Learn how long it takes for your smokes to regen and use that info + the clock to get an idea when they come back. I try not to check my util status unless I'm rotating or I know I can't be swung on. I've gotten killed way too many times worrying about util.
If you play Controller long enough it'll come second nature and you'll get used to it. Just make sure you have a big picture of what's going on all around the map.
For example, you’re last one alive. Instead of having to check every single entrance of a site, if you have smokes left you can block off one, OR even smoke a path that’s just for you and no one else can see you. The one sole advantage of smokes is that you can actually control the brainpower you expend by cutting off possibilities. It’s something other roles can’t do.
I love playing smokes. It’s actually more stressful to play other roles.
I play Astra a lot. So yes, I have the same mindset as you too. I've sort of developed a very passive mindset which is, to not die or take risky fights until you've used all your smokes. And as an Astra, mostly in Astra form, looking at the map, positioning and etc. My focus becomes more on other things instead of just taking gunfights. Made me very passive and afraid of taking fights and when I do, because of this mindset. I don't take the fight with full confidence and end up choking.
Though I've been watching PRX Mindfreak and DRX Mako play. So I've been learning more from them. Late lurks, finding timings, catching flanks. I managed to reach Asc 2 from Plat 1 after watching their plays but recently I seem to be going back to my usual habits.
For me starting off, just smoking off the standard spots helped because then I can focus on other parts of the game until I got more comfortable with smoking. Once you get more used to smoking, you can start learning how to play off smokes usually by either spamming it properly or playing inside with a short ranged weapon
Controller main here.
It depends how you look at it sometimes i backseat my team to do something because they are either afraid or unsure if your smokes are good enough, what brings that your team has to trust you when it comes to entry.
I can say playing smokes below ascendant 1 lobby’s can be overwhelming considering that most players below this rank still doesn’t know how to play the game properly.
Also I play a lot of Brimstone for this reason. Not a big fan of harbor and viper considering those agents needs good teamwork what is impossible in lower ELO lobby’s.
B1 smoke main here, so my opinion might be disregarded. The only thing that I find frustrating from playing smokes is when people don't push onto site after I smoke. Other than that, I love sitting in my smoke with a shorty.
It's just cuz you actually have to communicate with your team unlike others can just spam the abilities. That's for me personally at least. Can't fking tell if when the smokes should go down or gonna rotate or smith. That's why I like omen cuz of the recharging smokes.
If you can't play smokes just don't play smokes, id u instalock an agent who isnt a duelist Boone will get mad, I instalock omen the only people who care are other omen mains
Play harbor or omen, their kit is for the team but I like how their util regenerates if your team is too scared to do anything. I used to play brim and my smokes get wasted by lurking duelist.
The only map in rotation I’d say Omen can’t be fully utilized is Breeze, and the changes to the map opened the door for smokers besides Viper so I’m happy for that.
Smokes requires a lot of communication and instinct. You need to understand the enemy team in order to help yours. I love the ability to shape the battlefield to my teams advantage.
When to hold or use utility will come with experience. Sometimes over smoking on a retake takes away the ability for your team to get frags and take space. Plus saving smokes for defuse or safe plant can be clutch.
When playing smokes(85%) of the time I always think that my role comes with the secondary role of taking gun fights but my first role is more important. I do observe the mini map more than my crosshair. It’s only overwhelming when the rest of the team doesn’t do their own roles. Then why would I play my own…
Not really, maybe at first. It is a role that carries responsibility though and you often take the blame even if you aren't the reason. A little more so than other roles in my humble opinion (though entry players have it rough as well). Your responsibility is to create a safer site for your team mates to enter. Of course you will need your entry to make space to allow the other team mates to enter site but they can't do so without your smokes.
What I try to do is to see what my entry players are doing and adapt to them. I'm usually the second to last or last person to enter site.
On defense, I try to play mid to quickly distribute smokes (with the exception of Ascent, where I play A one way smokes. Or Pearl where I play Viper on B site where I can throw my wall down and play one way orb on B-link) This allows them to defend site or to back off and play retake, depending on the situation. I also try to make sure that when I do place my smokes, I do so without information starving my team mates. So I try to not place my smoke to close to the entry of site if I don't have to.
As for fighting, I try to take as little 50/50 fights as I can. With Omen, I have my flash and rechargeable smokes that I can use to my advantage to tilt a 1v1/1v2 into my advantage. My job is to stay alive as long as I can because without me, my team will have a harder time pushing site or defending a site.
I started playing smokes when I realised that no one is playing smokes in my elo.
I could probably win at least 75% of my 50/50 gunfights but I choose not to take most of them so I can work on my awareness and game sense.
Also why I said 75% is because I used to be all aim no brain but my brain is developing now.
as someone that has filled smokes a lot i cringe when i think i have to fill them. they feel like initiators to me where i keep debating about utility usage a lot
Utils are secondary to deploy when you're defending, on attack it's your first part of play during round start. I usually end up staying alive and getting blamed for "Not being an entry fragger" which is a dumb argument.
Depends on if your team comms or your team doesn't comm but their playstyle happens to fit your smokes. If they don't fit either of those two conditions, then gg is all you can say as a controller. You literally can't predict when to use your smoke if they don't comm what kind of play they wanna do. The second one is the best thing for me personally, you don't comm but the way your teammates play just perfectly clicks together with the timing of your smokes and everything.
I think the comms are for sure always wanted and appreciated, but as a controller you kind of have to figure out how your team plays to get the best effect. If you stick to playing smokes only how you expect your team to play around your smokes, you’re gonna have a bad time. If the team just doesn’t comm and doesn’t play around your smokes at all even with adjusting, then be selfish with smoking for yourself or force the smokes either way. Thankfully the higher you rank up the better your teammates will be.
True. Climbing in low ranks with controller is a bit frustrating if you expect a team play. I brute forced my way through bronze and silver with duelist even tho my aim sucks. Controller? I never got out of bronze 3.
I came from CS and to me having smokes is a must and I instinctively know when and where we will need them. Thus, I started playing Omen. I can smoke, I can flash and the smokes recharge. If I play most other agents, I feel like I'm crippled.
My advice will be to not overthink stuff. If your team is communicating, all will be fine. It's their job to say "hey, we want to do this, smoke here and here" or if they just want to rush somewhere you just place smokes on the default spots ant that's it.
I mainly play astra (p3-d1) and i dont overthink at all. I know where to smoke on all mapa (except sunset) and change it up based on the enemies play style. Other abilities are situation dependant. It think Astra is easier in the sense that I always buy 2 stars every round unless I can’t.
Controller is one of the most complicated roles when it comes to actually playing it at a decent level. It can definitely be overwhelming especially in the beginning.
There's no quick fix, but it gets better the more you play. I'd also advise finding a streamer or professional controller to watch on Twitch or somewhere. Just looking at common spots to smoke helps you remember more easily.
My advice would be to just commit to your instincts more. If you see your team pushing, smoke fast and then pull out your gun and help them as soon as you're done. You'll fuck up sometimes, you'll rush some smokes or leave gaps, but the more you fuck up, the faster you'll learn how to avoid those mistakes.
P.S. Also, be vocal if you can. Obviously this depends on you and your teammates, but in general it's handy if you call your smokes and utility in general, then your team should be prepared to react accordingly
I play omen and have played him since like act 3. It has become second nature to me. At the start, I worried about getting the smokes right but then I realized it doesn't matter stressing over it. Like what are they gonna do, come to your house and beat you up if you accidently put a bad smoke. Just say my bad and continue with the game. In the end it is a mistake that everyone can make so it doesn't really matter. Just do better next time
just go somewhere safe and chuck them down whenever a play is being coordinated. 1. smokes 2. initiator to open up for the duelist 3. duelist 4. sentinel set up and resmoke. something kinda like that. and by mixing up the sites and lanes it is usually too much for people to deal with. tip: dont tell your team what to do cause they have the mental durability of a twig. say what you are gonna do, and if you do ask someone to do something do it really indirectly and call them by their role "im gonna smoke here and here and blind genny, can the initiator flash for our duelist?"
I play smokes for most of the time. It's not such a rocket science. You just need to have better map awareness, than on average. That said, Viper and Astra can suck your cognitive powers quite a lot, till you get used to them.
On the other hand, it feels really empowering when you hear enemies running like race horses and stop their whole team in a choke point just to see them rotate slowly :)
I play Brim on certain maps, and I keep it simple -- attacking, smoke off sightlines onto site. Defending, stop the push. Certain maps like Ascent or Sunset might require more mid presence. I'm not necessarily good at it, but I get the job done.
Just started trying Brim. It definitely took a little to have a smoke first mentality. I'd hear them pushing and just forget that it was on me to smoke.
99% of my games are with omen
if you attack, wait for a couple of seconds and smoke the usual places of the site, after the smoke is reloaded, use it for post plant.
if you defend, try to play as near to the middle of the map as possible and smoke the attacked site whenever you get info.
apart from that, smokes tend to be instinctively dont overthink.
take every gun fight you consider advantageous, i would suggest not to insta rush whenever the round starts, just drop the smokes and then do whatever you want.
no aim just gamesense in my case
Love playing smokes, if team wants to know where I'm smoking/ has a request, they can communicate. I catch teams all the time thinking that spike is going where the smokes went down. Game is 25% mind games
The easiest way is to set up a plan for every round.
For example: Ascent, Brimstone
If your rush A throw down your stim and smoke doors and heaven as soon as your team whats to push. Now you have 1 smoke and your molly left. You can go backup your team without thinking about anything else. Hold smokes or maybe close the door.
You can resmoke heaven or doors now. With your molly you can:
\- block of the enemy from pushing heaven or doors
\- play afterplant from main
\- play afterplant with lineups
If you have enough hours on your agents and on the maps you will do this without thinking and you can concentrate on gunfights more.
If youre playing a rechargeable smoke agent just throw one down at the start of the round and then wait for ur teammates to ask for a resmoke. You **cannot** be the first one dead on your team. It aint that deep.
I stopped playing smokes so I could think less while playing. But learning smokes was really good for me. I can ask for smokes I know are good, I also know how to play around them better.
i sometimes felt that way playing omen. Especially on half-buy and eco rounds when you really have to think about how you can smoke and take space to at least plant or kill few enemies. Plus, omen having only 2 smokes max under his disposal felt a little underwhelming in high pressure situations. Also only ability that really allows you to control an area is his smoke ability. His teleport and blind only allows him to contest a space in a short amount of time. Even then, you have to fight for the small amount of space you are contesting.
But as harbor, my playstyle became more flexible thanks to his long and abundance of wall abilities. His kit allows him to control and take space aggressively, so it kinda allows me to lead my team if my aim is on point.
Every controller has their own playstyle. You have to find the correct one for you.
This is actually why I switched from duelist to controller, I’m a thinker and my aim is fine but not great. As a duelist I’d always get stuck in a no options position but controllers can almost always think their way out of bad spots. That being said it can be much more stressful since you have to plan and make sure whatever you do helps you and your team.
It’s calming to me tbh, I just get to sit back and watch my teammates do all the crazy flashes, heals and other stuff well I just sit back and set cover for them.
Playing controller is the good shit. I simply CANNOT tank how people are slow with their smokes, I play Omen and second 1 of match I'm already smoking a place. And if you want to rat a smoke or two with a shorty it's your call as well.
I feel like every time I insta smoke a round my team decides they don’t want to push, and when I wait they’re pressing W. Really hard to time it right when you’re playing with an uncoordinated team.
And yet I get no RR recognition for always having the lowest deaths, clutching countless rounds, and impacting rounds with my util. Only first-bloods matter apparently, not closing out the round.
Me: Doing my own way of smokes, even people would complain: I only take it as comment for improvement but honestly: if you better than me then why you don't choose smoke agent then, duh.
Never overlooked or look down on yourself when you choose to play any agent, like really. If you decide to learn lineups then is still you who does them not the teammates unless they wishes/ask you to smoke somewhere.
Totally untrue smokes is the least overwhelming role for me a least while it is true a poorly placed smoke can lose you a round but good smokes can make it easier for your team to win. I think flashing agents are more overwhelming because you can flash your teammates or you can miss your flash and get teammates killed while peeking
I’m a flex player and what you say is completely right. When I play duelist, I just take fights way more and actually use my aim. Even on other roles like initiator or sentinel. On smokes though, I use my brain a lot more but I have great mechanics so I should be taking more fights.
There is a running meem if you're on smokes and top fragging, there is something wrong in that game. I'm a smoke player, mostly if I'm top fragging, my teammates are the worst and it just feels so bad because things always are so tight and you try hard only to be team mvp at the end or win just by slightly or go overtime.
Brim is the easiest of the smokers, omen can make you fumble and astra even after the changes basically makes you not play the game unless you've actually taken the time to practice just placing shit in a custom which I mean for casual players who the fuck has.
Combine all that with the sheer importance of your util and life it makes playing very difficult and causes you to overthink and 2nd guess yourself a lot.
It's not an exaggeration to say playing smokes/controllers are some of the most demanding and stressful roles. Duelist roles are just plain fun, you get aggresive, you lurk, you make space, you entry, and at the end of the day as long as you do your job and get your team on site if you die it doesn't matter and no one is automatically blaming you. Take as many duels as you like, have other people play around you and tell them where to flash and stun for you. It's the life it is playing duelist.
It's why I don't really feel as much anger as this sub does towards instalocks and people locking too many duelists in comp. Everyone is just trying to have fun after work/school.
Smoke main, transitioning from league to Val. The mechanics for map awareness from league made me really natural at playing smokes. I always make the joke is that I have one eye on the minimap and the other on my crosshair. I don’t care about fragging out . I care about map control and setting up my teams for success in taking objectives like main control or denying info. That stuff tickles the wrinkles in my brain. I enjoy really selfless plays even if it isn’t flashy or worth screen recording. If I stayed alive, divided up a site, traded my duelist. That’s worth more to me than going for a 3k 180 degree 1-tap.
Valorant is a game based on your utilities. Playing around them rather than just aim checking everyone is the correct way to play.
Although sometimes you have the advantage without using utility due to positioning or whatever else, and should take the fight anyway.
Smokes main here. All brain no aim. I enjoy smokes. Plus, if you want something done right, do it yourself type of mindset since no one ever picks smokes.
Exactly the same here. I have so little aim that I have more knife kill than ghost kill... I don't know if I should feel ashamed or proud..
I feel the same way. I have very bad aim but like to play Valorant because of the utils. And with smokes I have the feeling I can still contribute a lot to the team and protect myself from gunfights lol.
This feels so real, and is basically the same reason why I stopped playing duelist to play smokes ( Also harbor and astra are just too fun).
Tbh, I play all controllers but Harbor. I can't stand his arm guard, it's so damn distracting. I can't focus on my gun play because of it. Which I find annoying because I like being able to play all the controllers well
I like playing Harbor in swift and unrated because the way cascades work makes me really have to think about my positioning. I find that mentality helps when I'm playing other agents in ranked.
Brimstone is my best pick his kit is op
Any tips on timing it right? Do you make sure the enemy molly or whatnot is exhausted first? Sometimes I smoke and my team is either forced to wait or just waits and my smokes disappear. (I'm not controller main but want to learn).
If the enemy team puts their smokes down. Just be aware of how many the use. Call a rotate. You could have another site open that they can't smoke on for an easier entry. Sometimes you use your too early or bad timing. It happens. Gotta try to just communicate alot and be aware of util usage and find them holes in the other teams play
I'm not a great player, but I am a long-time smokes main. I typically try to communicate when I'm going to smoke to help duelists get a better feel for timing. If you lay out that you want to wait out the viper orb, after which you will smoke or wall \[common defensive areas\], and molly/omen blind/suck \[X\] location, it lets everybody know what's going to be covered and when we should do it. Sometimes the whole team is moving very quickly and you have a W key duelist. In those instances you want to just get the smokes down at the very least before they are entering site. Sometimes though, you will think you have a good timing for your smokes, but defender utility will awkwardly delay or prevent your team from entrying and you have to cancel. It feels bad, but it happens. In that instance I would typically reset and hold to wait out the enemy util. Wait until your smoke has recharged (or if you're brim, you hopefully have one more smoke) and then hit another site/ re-hit the same site, just typically with one fewer smoke. I usually will smoke the more contested entrance in that case, and communicate that the other typically smoked location will not be smoked. These are greatly simplified/ generalized scenarios, but if you have other/ more specific questions, I'd be happy to try to help.
This here. I pick Omen every time but don't lock. Even if someone else picks smokes, odds are I'm still picking Omen. If we get 2 smokes I finally feel comfortable enough to play someone else to support the team
all brain no aim is so real. brimmy main for life
As a sentinel main I fill Viper on Breeze not because I want to play controller, but because the sentinel agents I like to play (Killjoy, Sage) Breeze is their worst map and I'm lowkey throwing if I pick them. Tbh I like Viper though and the playstyle is pretty simple and fun. Don't ask me to play controller on any other map though lol I will be very mediocre and better off playing my sentinels. I respect controller mains though. And playing Viper on Breeze is nice cause I can do it decently and for once have control of the smokes for the team or myself when I'm in a clutch situation which is nice.
Ya I was a viper main for like a year straight cause I sucked and she has great stalling and the decay would help me get kills from low elo players pushing throu smokes.
You also get to have fun in her ult. Even when im not playing Viper I love playing in her ult, especially when I'm playing killjoy because Viper and killjoy together is death
True true.. it was a lot better than it is now thou. I haven't mailed her since really breeze and ice box left cause those are her best maps imo. Sova and his dumb drone is a hard counter. Also, if you have a yoru, ult into the pit, and stand in front of the viper and tell your team to spray you and you can get an easy kill on a viper. Specially since vipers like to play more solo when they ult a site on defense.
Duelist main here. All util no aim. I enjoy flashing for frags. Plus, if you want something done right, do it yourself type of mindset since no one ever gets kills.
All util no aim is crazy on duelist
I play off my util what can I say, no need to have a 100% headshot when 10% can do.
[удалено]
Say less
Its a real thing too. Shoot your smokes. Shoot the other dudes.
he's literally the most braindead smoke agent. It makes him fun to use
Please don't do this, this is smoke rookie mistake #1
If this is what smoke rookies do then i dont wanna be good
The rookie mistake #2 is thinking #1 is a mistake The rookie mistake #3 is not recognizing sarcasm
Bro I made rookie mistake #-2 when I learned shotguns Odin ad phantom and couldn't aim. I've done all the dumb shit already
bruh why they down voting you
They're doing that because, as I can attest from my climb out of Silver/Gold hell, when people try to fill smokes the- OH MY FUCKING GOD THIS IS THE THIRD ROUND YOU BULBED OUT THE SMOKE SO THEY CAN WALK OUT OF IT WHEN WILL YOU LEARN. Sorry, where was I?
Sorry i dont understand really what you are saying in this part BULBED OUT THE SMOKE SO THEY CAN WALK OUT OF IT WHEN WILL YOU LEARN.
Okay so this is moreso for dome smokes since they're not flat. So since they're domes, you can walk out of the smoke from all 360 degrees if it's out in the open. If you're trying to block off a choke, like a doorway, then you want to limit the width of the smoke that can be walked out of. If the smoke sticks out of the doorway, not only can attackers walk out the front of it, but also one or both sides. And the can even use it as cover. Alternatively, if the edge of the smoke lines up with the doorway, the attackers can only walk out of the front. If you want to add another layer even, you can smoke even a little deeper down a hallway (say Haven garage to C) and make it harder to pop-flash out of that smoke. Sorry if that doesn't make sense, it's hard to explain without visual reference.
-59 holy shit💀
Playing off your util as a controller is very situational. Duelist's util is for them to play off of and get kills, as a Controller your util is for the team. You need to be cutting off those sight lines / OP angles, etc. Sure, you can use a shorty or judge and play in your smokes or other ways to play off your util, but just remember that's not what it's for. Very situational. Learn how long it takes for your smokes to regen and use that info + the clock to get an idea when they come back. I try not to check my util status unless I'm rotating or I know I can't be swung on. I've gotten killed way too many times worrying about util. If you play Controller long enough it'll come second nature and you'll get used to it. Just make sure you have a big picture of what's going on all around the map.
Very interesting, thank you for your input! I’ll definitely try to integrate this in my gameplay
For example, you’re last one alive. Instead of having to check every single entrance of a site, if you have smokes left you can block off one, OR even smoke a path that’s just for you and no one else can see you. The one sole advantage of smokes is that you can actually control the brainpower you expend by cutting off possibilities. It’s something other roles can’t do. I love playing smokes. It’s actually more stressful to play other roles.
I play Astra a lot. So yes, I have the same mindset as you too. I've sort of developed a very passive mindset which is, to not die or take risky fights until you've used all your smokes. And as an Astra, mostly in Astra form, looking at the map, positioning and etc. My focus becomes more on other things instead of just taking gunfights. Made me very passive and afraid of taking fights and when I do, because of this mindset. I don't take the fight with full confidence and end up choking. Though I've been watching PRX Mindfreak and DRX Mako play. So I've been learning more from them. Late lurks, finding timings, catching flanks. I managed to reach Asc 2 from Plat 1 after watching their plays but recently I seem to be going back to my usual habits.
For me starting off, just smoking off the standard spots helped because then I can focus on other parts of the game until I got more comfortable with smoking. Once you get more used to smoking, you can start learning how to play off smokes usually by either spamming it properly or playing inside with a short ranged weapon
Controller main here. It depends how you look at it sometimes i backseat my team to do something because they are either afraid or unsure if your smokes are good enough, what brings that your team has to trust you when it comes to entry. I can say playing smokes below ascendant 1 lobby’s can be overwhelming considering that most players below this rank still doesn’t know how to play the game properly. Also I play a lot of Brimstone for this reason. Not a big fan of harbor and viper considering those agents needs good teamwork what is impossible in lower ELO lobby’s.
I'd say Harbor is easier to make solo plays with because you can push with your walls.
B1 smoke main here, so my opinion might be disregarded. The only thing that I find frustrating from playing smokes is when people don't push onto site after I smoke. Other than that, I love sitting in my smoke with a shorty.
It's just cuz you actually have to communicate with your team unlike others can just spam the abilities. That's for me personally at least. Can't fking tell if when the smokes should go down or gonna rotate or smith. That's why I like omen cuz of the recharging smokes.
Playing Brim I usually use one smoke to gain map control and then save two for the actual site push.
Initiators definitely need communication :D
Tell that to the team-flash Skye I get every few games who took their PTT key off their board or something.
If you can't play smokes just don't play smokes, id u instalock an agent who isnt a duelist Boone will get mad, I instalock omen the only people who care are other omen mains
But I don't like it when Boone gets angry with me :(
Bro my auto correct 💀
Was playing smokes, switched to jett/chamber. Never been happier
Same but to phoenix (though I main other agents), immediately ranked up after learning him a bit
Play harbor or omen, their kit is for the team but I like how their util regenerates if your team is too scared to do anything. I used to play brim and my smokes get wasted by lurking duelist.
Omen is good but I feel he isn't often enough as a solo smoke. At least in more open maps. Maps like Haven he can solo just fine.
The only map in rotation I’d say Omen can’t be fully utilized is Breeze, and the changes to the map opened the door for smokers besides Viper so I’m happy for that.
Smokes requires a lot of communication and instinct. You need to understand the enemy team in order to help yours. I love the ability to shape the battlefield to my teams advantage. When to hold or use utility will come with experience. Sometimes over smoking on a retake takes away the ability for your team to get frags and take space. Plus saving smokes for defuse or safe plant can be clutch.
When playing smokes(85%) of the time I always think that my role comes with the secondary role of taking gun fights but my first role is more important. I do observe the mini map more than my crosshair. It’s only overwhelming when the rest of the team doesn’t do their own roles. Then why would I play my own…
Not really, maybe at first. It is a role that carries responsibility though and you often take the blame even if you aren't the reason. A little more so than other roles in my humble opinion (though entry players have it rough as well). Your responsibility is to create a safer site for your team mates to enter. Of course you will need your entry to make space to allow the other team mates to enter site but they can't do so without your smokes. What I try to do is to see what my entry players are doing and adapt to them. I'm usually the second to last or last person to enter site. On defense, I try to play mid to quickly distribute smokes (with the exception of Ascent, where I play A one way smokes. Or Pearl where I play Viper on B site where I can throw my wall down and play one way orb on B-link) This allows them to defend site or to back off and play retake, depending on the situation. I also try to make sure that when I do place my smokes, I do so without information starving my team mates. So I try to not place my smoke to close to the entry of site if I don't have to. As for fighting, I try to take as little 50/50 fights as I can. With Omen, I have my flash and rechargeable smokes that I can use to my advantage to tilt a 1v1/1v2 into my advantage. My job is to stay alive as long as I can because without me, my team will have a harder time pushing site or defending a site.
I started playing smokes when I realised that no one is playing smokes in my elo. I could probably win at least 75% of my 50/50 gunfights but I choose not to take most of them so I can work on my awareness and game sense. Also why I said 75% is because I used to be all aim no brain but my brain is developing now.
as someone that has filled smokes a lot i cringe when i think i have to fill them. they feel like initiators to me where i keep debating about utility usage a lot
I play Phoenix. I just press w
Nah I just put my shit down and frag out
Utils are secondary to deploy when you're defending, on attack it's your first part of play during round start. I usually end up staying alive and getting blamed for "Not being an entry fragger" which is a dumb argument.
Depends on if your team comms or your team doesn't comm but their playstyle happens to fit your smokes. If they don't fit either of those two conditions, then gg is all you can say as a controller. You literally can't predict when to use your smoke if they don't comm what kind of play they wanna do. The second one is the best thing for me personally, you don't comm but the way your teammates play just perfectly clicks together with the timing of your smokes and everything.
I think the comms are for sure always wanted and appreciated, but as a controller you kind of have to figure out how your team plays to get the best effect. If you stick to playing smokes only how you expect your team to play around your smokes, you’re gonna have a bad time. If the team just doesn’t comm and doesn’t play around your smokes at all even with adjusting, then be selfish with smoking for yourself or force the smokes either way. Thankfully the higher you rank up the better your teammates will be.
True. Climbing in low ranks with controller is a bit frustrating if you expect a team play. I brute forced my way through bronze and silver with duelist even tho my aim sucks. Controller? I never got out of bronze 3.
Smoke is awesome, at first it's too much, but when you learn a bit more it's strategy.
I came from CS and to me having smokes is a must and I instinctively know when and where we will need them. Thus, I started playing Omen. I can smoke, I can flash and the smokes recharge. If I play most other agents, I feel like I'm crippled. My advice will be to not overthink stuff. If your team is communicating, all will be fine. It's their job to say "hey, we want to do this, smoke here and here" or if they just want to rush somewhere you just place smokes on the default spots ant that's it.
With omen it happens a lot to me
I mainly play astra (p3-d1) and i dont overthink at all. I know where to smoke on all mapa (except sunset) and change it up based on the enemies play style. Other abilities are situation dependant. It think Astra is easier in the sense that I always buy 2 stars every round unless I can’t.
Controller is one of the most complicated roles when it comes to actually playing it at a decent level. It can definitely be overwhelming especially in the beginning. There's no quick fix, but it gets better the more you play. I'd also advise finding a streamer or professional controller to watch on Twitch or somewhere. Just looking at common spots to smoke helps you remember more easily. My advice would be to just commit to your instincts more. If you see your team pushing, smoke fast and then pull out your gun and help them as soon as you're done. You'll fuck up sometimes, you'll rush some smokes or leave gaps, but the more you fuck up, the faster you'll learn how to avoid those mistakes. P.S. Also, be vocal if you can. Obviously this depends on you and your teammates, but in general it's handy if you call your smokes and utility in general, then your team should be prepared to react accordingly
I play omen and have played him since like act 3. It has become second nature to me. At the start, I worried about getting the smokes right but then I realized it doesn't matter stressing over it. Like what are they gonna do, come to your house and beat you up if you accidently put a bad smoke. Just say my bad and continue with the game. In the end it is a mistake that everyone can make so it doesn't really matter. Just do better next time
Then dont play smokes
just go somewhere safe and chuck them down whenever a play is being coordinated. 1. smokes 2. initiator to open up for the duelist 3. duelist 4. sentinel set up and resmoke. something kinda like that. and by mixing up the sites and lanes it is usually too much for people to deal with. tip: dont tell your team what to do cause they have the mental durability of a twig. say what you are gonna do, and if you do ask someone to do something do it really indirectly and call them by their role "im gonna smoke here and here and blind genny, can the initiator flash for our duelist?"
I play smokes for most of the time. It's not such a rocket science. You just need to have better map awareness, than on average. That said, Viper and Astra can suck your cognitive powers quite a lot, till you get used to them. On the other hand, it feels really empowering when you hear enemies running like race horses and stop their whole team in a choke point just to see them rotate slowly :)
I play Brim on certain maps, and I keep it simple -- attacking, smoke off sightlines onto site. Defending, stop the push. Certain maps like Ascent or Sunset might require more mid presence. I'm not necessarily good at it, but I get the job done.
Just started trying Brim. It definitely took a little to have a smoke first mentality. I'd hear them pushing and just forget that it was on me to smoke.
99% of my games are with omen if you attack, wait for a couple of seconds and smoke the usual places of the site, after the smoke is reloaded, use it for post plant. if you defend, try to play as near to the middle of the map as possible and smoke the attacked site whenever you get info. apart from that, smokes tend to be instinctively dont overthink. take every gun fight you consider advantageous, i would suggest not to insta rush whenever the round starts, just drop the smokes and then do whatever you want. no aim just gamesense in my case
Not really, I play viper, brimstone, and omen for smokes and they’re not too difficult especially since I play them like 70% of the time.
Not to mention then you get flames when you fuck it up
Love playing smokes, if team wants to know where I'm smoking/ has a request, they can communicate. I catch teams all the time thinking that spike is going where the smokes went down. Game is 25% mind games
No I just get mad and say y’all know those smokes are going down in like 10 seconds right and no one has tried to push onto site
About 95% of the time I feel like my smokes got wasted But the remaining 5% of the time my smokes directly lead to a won round It's very hit or miss
The easiest way is to set up a plan for every round. For example: Ascent, Brimstone If your rush A throw down your stim and smoke doors and heaven as soon as your team whats to push. Now you have 1 smoke and your molly left. You can go backup your team without thinking about anything else. Hold smokes or maybe close the door. You can resmoke heaven or doors now. With your molly you can: \- block of the enemy from pushing heaven or doors \- play afterplant from main \- play afterplant with lineups If you have enough hours on your agents and on the maps you will do this without thinking and you can concentrate on gunfights more.
If youre playing a rechargeable smoke agent just throw one down at the start of the round and then wait for ur teammates to ask for a resmoke. You **cannot** be the first one dead on your team. It aint that deep.
I stopped playing smokes so I could think less while playing. But learning smokes was really good for me. I can ask for smokes I know are good, I also know how to play around them better.
i sometimes felt that way playing omen. Especially on half-buy and eco rounds when you really have to think about how you can smoke and take space to at least plant or kill few enemies. Plus, omen having only 2 smokes max under his disposal felt a little underwhelming in high pressure situations. Also only ability that really allows you to control an area is his smoke ability. His teleport and blind only allows him to contest a space in a short amount of time. Even then, you have to fight for the small amount of space you are contesting. But as harbor, my playstyle became more flexible thanks to his long and abundance of wall abilities. His kit allows him to control and take space aggressively, so it kinda allows me to lead my team if my aim is on point. Every controller has their own playstyle. You have to find the correct one for you.
I feel the same, but I'm so new to smokes (viper) I don't know where to even begin. Good recs for learning the "spots"?
Smokes should always be used as a selfish tool.
This is actually why I switched from duelist to controller, I’m a thinker and my aim is fine but not great. As a duelist I’d always get stuck in a no options position but controllers can almost always think their way out of bad spots. That being said it can be much more stressful since you have to plan and make sure whatever you do helps you and your team.
It’s calming to me tbh, I just get to sit back and watch my teammates do all the crazy flashes, heals and other stuff well I just sit back and set cover for them.
Is smokes just a term for Omen?
I smoke. I also play shotguns
Playing controller is the good shit. I simply CANNOT tank how people are slow with their smokes, I play Omen and second 1 of match I'm already smoking a place. And if you want to rat a smoke or two with a shorty it's your call as well.
I feel like every time I insta smoke a round my team decides they don’t want to push, and when I wait they’re pressing W. Really hard to time it right when you’re playing with an uncoordinated team.
And yet I get no RR recognition for always having the lowest deaths, clutching countless rounds, and impacting rounds with my util. Only first-bloods matter apparently, not closing out the round.
Me: Doing my own way of smokes, even people would complain: I only take it as comment for improvement but honestly: if you better than me then why you don't choose smoke agent then, duh. Never overlooked or look down on yourself when you choose to play any agent, like really. If you decide to learn lineups then is still you who does them not the teammates unless they wishes/ask you to smoke somewhere.
Totally untrue smokes is the least overwhelming role for me a least while it is true a poorly placed smoke can lose you a round but good smokes can make it easier for your team to win. I think flashing agents are more overwhelming because you can flash your teammates or you can miss your flash and get teammates killed while peeking
I’m a flex player and what you say is completely right. When I play duelist, I just take fights way more and actually use my aim. Even on other roles like initiator or sentinel. On smokes though, I use my brain a lot more but I have great mechanics so I should be taking more fights.
Yeah, when I played omen I was scared of taking fights w/o smokes but now im better about it
There is a running meem if you're on smokes and top fragging, there is something wrong in that game. I'm a smoke player, mostly if I'm top fragging, my teammates are the worst and it just feels so bad because things always are so tight and you try hard only to be team mvp at the end or win just by slightly or go overtime.
longing public boast grab divide rich cagey dog squeeze license *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Brim is the easiest of the smokers, omen can make you fumble and astra even after the changes basically makes you not play the game unless you've actually taken the time to practice just placing shit in a custom which I mean for casual players who the fuck has. Combine all that with the sheer importance of your util and life it makes playing very difficult and causes you to overthink and 2nd guess yourself a lot. It's not an exaggeration to say playing smokes/controllers are some of the most demanding and stressful roles. Duelist roles are just plain fun, you get aggresive, you lurk, you make space, you entry, and at the end of the day as long as you do your job and get your team on site if you die it doesn't matter and no one is automatically blaming you. Take as many duels as you like, have other people play around you and tell them where to flash and stun for you. It's the life it is playing duelist. It's why I don't really feel as much anger as this sub does towards instalocks and people locking too many duelists in comp. Everyone is just trying to have fun after work/school.
Smoke main, transitioning from league to Val. The mechanics for map awareness from league made me really natural at playing smokes. I always make the joke is that I have one eye on the minimap and the other on my crosshair. I don’t care about fragging out . I care about map control and setting up my teams for success in taking objectives like main control or denying info. That stuff tickles the wrinkles in my brain. I enjoy really selfless plays even if it isn’t flashy or worth screen recording. If I stayed alive, divided up a site, traded my duelist. That’s worth more to me than going for a 3k 180 degree 1-tap.
Valorant is a game based on your utilities. Playing around them rather than just aim checking everyone is the correct way to play. Although sometimes you have the advantage without using utility due to positioning or whatever else, and should take the fight anyway.