Twitch star Michael ‘shroud’ Grzesiek revealed he’s got a few concerns with Valorant’s new agent, Astra, when it comes to using her in ranked games or solo queue.
Since Valorant launched back in June, Riot Games has been adding to their roster of agents every so often.
These new agents bring different abilities to the party – ranging from Killjoy’s ridiculous turret to Yoru’s clever fakeout ability.
In Episode 2, Act 2, Astra was added to the fold and has quickly become a popular agent. However, Shroud has got a few concerns when it comes to running her in ranked games, given how much she benefits from good teamwork.
The former Counter-Strike was using the new agent in a solo queue session of Valorant, and while he noted she would be “really, really good” if teammates communicate and have good callouts – but that often isn’t the case, at least for him.
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“If your team is listening and playing well, I’d imagine she’s pretty good. But [in] most ranked games, people play for themselves,” Shroud said. “[They] don’t play for the team. they don’t play for the others around them. Nothing wrong with that. It just hurts when you play a character like this because [she] shines the more coordinated [a team is].
“If I have [an] idea that my teammates want to push through a certain area, I can help them from the other side of the map. So it’s really cool in that regard… as long as they’re communicating and letting people know what they’re doing.”
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While the devs can make tweaks to the agent, ultimately, how good she is will depend on how she’s used in matches. Shroud initially suggested she’d be “broken” and overpowered but that now doesn’t appear to be the case.
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If Astra slips down the usage ranks, she’ll get changes, but if people continue to play her – and play her poorly because of their teammates – she likely won’t get too much help.
