Reviewed September 4, 2026. Build an agent pool that covers useful team roles and gives you clear skills to practice. The examples below are grouped by role.
Start with Riot's official agent roster for available agents and ability descriptions. Use the examples from four roles below to find a main pick and a backup that suit your team.
Choose a job before choosing an agent
Ask how the team will gain information, cross exposed angles, enter a site and watch a flank. Different compositions can cover those jobs. Pick an agent you can use for the role the team actually needs, and check the maps available in your queue.
Duelist examples
Practice taking space with a plan for your teammates to follow. Opening a route can be useful even when it does not produce an immediate elimination.
Jett
Work on choosing an entry route and knowing where you will finish the movement. Mobility is not an exemption from checking angles or coordinating utility. Practice the ability timing shown in the client after changes.
Raze
Use Raze to practice combining movement and area pressure with a teammate's timing. Rehearse an entry in a custom game before trying it in ranked. Opponents can avoid or counter utility, so plan beyond the first explosion.
Reyna
Reyna is an option for players who enjoy taking duels, but a team still needs information and space. Consider what happens in a round where you do not secure an early elimination. Pick her for a practiced role, not a promise to carry alone.
Controller examples
Smokes and other vision tools help decide which angles a team must face. Learn placement, timing and the cost of using utility before the team is ready.
Omen
Practice smoke placement that supports a specific crossing or fight. Before trying a teleport play, account for nearby opponents and your team's need for utility. A flexible kit still needs a clear round plan.
Clove
Consider Clove if you want to practice supporting a fight while staying close to the action. Learn the restrictions on each ability directly in the client. Discuss utility with teammates instead of assuming it will make an unsupported push safe.
Astra
Astra is an option for players who enjoy planning utility across a round. Practice communicating a trigger, such as a teammate reaching an angle, before activating a setup. Start with a few reliable plans rather than trying to control every fight at once.
Initiator examples
Use information and disruption to help a teammate clear space. A revealed or displaced opponent still needs to be handled; utility works best when someone is ready to act on it.
Sova
Practice scouting routes and a small set of useful recon placements on maps you actually play. Report what you confirmed and what remains unchecked. One dart or drone does not establish that an entire site is empty.
Fade
Use Fade to practice timing an information tool with a push. Learn where opponents can destroy or avoid your setup. Recheck lineups and interactions when a map or ability changes.
Gekko
Gekko offers practice in managing utility across multiple moments of a round. Plan when retrieving a tool is worth the exposure, and protect teammates who are working on the objective. Do not assume utility can replace checking an angle.
Sentinel examples
A defensive setup should give you information or time to react. Vary it when opponents adapt, and be ready to leave equipment behind when the round needs a rotation.
Cypher
Riot describes Cypher as an information-focused Sentinel on his official agent page. Practice trap coverage and camera positioning that answer a useful question about an approach. Devices can be checked and destroyed; they do not provide complete map knowledge.
Killjoy
Practice setting up equipment so you can respond to the information it provides. Consider the distance and timing required to help your team elsewhere. A strong setup on one site should not prevent you from adapting to the round.
Practice combinations, not guaranteed combos
- Information plus an entry: Agree on when the entry player will move and which angle the information tool is checking.
- Smokes plus a site push: Place utility before the crossing and call any gap or expiration that changes the plan.
- Defensive equipment plus a response: Decide who will react when a trap or camera confirms pressure.
- A backup for your main: Learn enough of another role to contribute when your preferred agent is taken. Do not treat a tier label as a substitute for practice.
Review after a balance change
Check ability descriptions, map geometry and timings in a custom game. The advice here is about decisions to practice; exact damage, costs, durations and map-specific rankings need fresh verification.
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