The growing number of Valorant agents: How many is "Too many"?

With the anticipation of a new agent announcement on the horizon, the Valorant community is buzzing with the age-old question: how many agents are too many? The player base's opinions are as varied as the agents themselves, and the recent discussion in the Valorant subreddit has highlighted the debate surrounding the optimal number of agents in Riot Games' popular tactical shooter: is there a point at which the agent roster becomes too crowded, potentially impacting game balance and enjoyability?

1) Embracing the diversity

Some players champion Riot's consistent addition of new agents, believing it injects freshness into the game. They contend that even if new agents serve similar roles as existing ones, the variety is essential to maintain an engaging and dynamic meta:

"I think they’re gonna be steadily adding agents for a while, it keeps the game fresh and at this point its totally ok for multiple characters to be added that basically serve the same purpose."* - u/piracyisnotavictemle

2) The pace of innovation

Another perspective suggests that the pace at which new agents are introduced matters. By comparing this to the expansive champion roster of League of Legends, where the influx is rapid, some players appreciate Valorant's more measured approach, which is less overwhelming:

"If they keep the current speed, I think that's perfectly fine. Even as someone who only plays occasionally, you can still keep up." - u/OkOkPlayer

There is no doubt that League of Legends is an example to NOT follow in Valorant agent creation (credits: Rivalry)

3) The agent redundancy question

The conversation turns to agent redundancy as the roster expands. Some players argue that as more agents appear, there's a risk of introducing agents with abilities that closely mirror those of existing agents. Nevertheless, they contend that Riot has room to continue adding new agents by exploring innovative mechanics and abilities without necessarily replicating what's already in the game.

"I don't think there's really a limit to what they can do, honestly. A lot of agents can just have a smoke and still feel unique from the ramifications of that particular smoke and the kit they have surrounding it." - u/Aurora428

4) Balancing agent viability

Recent agent releases have sparked discussions about the relevance and balance of certain agents, especially within the Controller and Sentinel roles. The debate centers around Riot ensuring that every agent has a meaningful role in the game, without creating agents that are virtually useless in the hands of the majority of players.

"They are gonna have to add more agents that people actually play before it matters. Controller and sentinel players got absolutely f***ed by the Harbor and Deadlock releases." - u/real_but_incognito

Deadlock is still struggling to find her place in the competitive meta, reinforcing players' concern around agent relevance (credits: Riot)

5) Managing the agent roster

One player introduces a long-term perspective by suggesting the concept of an "Agent Pool." They argue that agents may eventually become repetitive and uninspiring. This view highlights the importance of keeping the agent roster dynamic and exciting while avoiding redundancies.

"I hope in the far future we will have an Agent Pool thought. A lot of the agents (controllers and Initiators at least, Duelists and Sentinels are based upon creativity) will dry out eventually." - u/AndrewFrozzen30

6) Comparisons with other games

The discussion also includes comparisons to other popular games. One of the arguments is that games like Overwatch, with around 40 heroes, haven't suffered from having a large hero pool:

"IMO we don't know what the 'too many' point is because it's never been hit in a popular game like Valorant before... Overwatch has near 40 heroes and the game didn't suffer from the complexity of how many heroes exist." - u/PPatBoyd

Valorant is still 16 agents behind Overwatch and players believe that 40 Valorant agents is a viable amount (credits: Fierce PC)

In summary, as Valorant continues to evolve, Riot Games must navigate the agent roster carefully to strike the perfect balance between variety and game integrity. With the future of Valorant promising to be an exciting one, players eagerly anticipate what Riot has in store for their beloved tactical shooter.

Featured image credits: Riot Games