Valorant has been in a closed beta for a few weeks now, and players have been coming to grips with each of the ten characters, or Agents, in the game so far. Each Agent fits into one of four roles, all accomplishing whatever it is their role excels at in a different way.
Sage is one of two Sentinels currently included in the Valorant beta. She is an excellent character and, so far, probably the character with the highest pick-rate. Let's take a look at some tips for getting the most out of Sage in each round.
10 BARRIER ORB STOPS PUSH
One of Sage's abilities, the one most players are going to immediately think about when they think of Sage, is her Barrier Orb. This creates what is basically an ice wall that must be destroyed in order to bypass, or else left to decay naturally after quite a bit of waiting.
This wall can do a lot to halt an enemy push for a few seconds, even if they immediately start breaking it down, giving the rest of your team time to get in position.
9 BARRIER ORB FOR VERTICAL ANGLE
Creative use of the Barrier Orb can give you an angle that the enemy is likely not going to expect, at least the first time you pull out the strat.
Either Sage of another teammate can be in the spot where the wall shoots up out of the ground, putting them on top of the wall and giving them a crucial element of surprise for the next engagement, more often than not creating a free kill on the first unlucky soul to walk around the corner.
8 BARRIER ORB FOR NEW COVER
The Barrier Orb can also create cover where none would otherwise exist. This can really throw an area into absolute chaos, with the dynamics of the entire place being thrown out of whack because there's cover where there wasn't before.
This can help create an easy Spike Plant opportunity, or create a new strong angle that the enemy is going to have to contend with.
7 SLOW ORB THE ENEMY PUSH
Another ability Sage has is her Slow Orb, which blankets the ground where it explodes in a kind of blue goo, slowing any who try to trudge through.
Much like the Barrier Orb, this can do a lot to slow an enemy push and give your teammates time to get in position to have your back. It can also really throw off an enemy in a gunfight, preventing them from moving how they want to/usually do.
6 HEAL THY TEAMMATES
Sage also has the ability to heal teammates with her Healing Orb. This can go a long way in helping teammates win multiple gunfights in one round, giving them that health edge to survive that one extra bullet.
It can also really throw off enemy callouts; if someone dies to one of your teammates but is supposed to be on low health, other enemies might push for an engagement with them thinking that they're about to get an easy kill, only to be surprised at a very healthy player waiting for them.
5 HEAL THYSELF
Sage can also heal herself with the Healing Orb. It's basically a good rule that if you're fighting a Sage, always assume that they're at full health.
This way, if you're surprised by anything different, it's a good surprise, instead of the worst kind of surprise.
4 EVEN THE ODDS WITH REVIVE
Sage's Ultimate ability allows her to revive a dead teammate. This can go a long way towards evening the odds of a particular round, giving you the player-advantage
You can also even the numbers back up, or at least making the situation a little less dire.
3 DON'T WASTE THE REVIVE
While the revive can be a tool that makes the game better, it's also very easy to completely and utterly waste it. If your team already has the player advantage and has the momentum, there's no real need to revive a teammate, is there?
At the same time, if your team is getting trounced this round, do you really think reviving one teammate is going to make all the difference? The revive is super important, but getting value out of it is more important than using it just to use it.
2 DO NOT DIE EARLY
Sage has a ton of incredible abilities that the entire team can make great use of, making her one of the most valuable Agents in the entire game (if not the most valuable). To that point, try not to die early as Sage.
She's not suited to be an aggressive character, especially in the early round, and if you die in the early going, you're hurting your team in a lot more ways than them simply losing one gun.
1 DON'T LONE WOLF
More onto that last point, Sage really shouldn't be left to defend something on her own, provided there are teammates still alive. Sure, her Healing Orb can be used on herself, and she gets the same value out of the Barrier Orb as her teammates do, but she's still best suited as a support character.
After all, if she's out running around on her own, who's she going to bring back from the dead?