How to Unlock Agents in VALORANT

VALORANT differs from a lot of popular FPS games, in that before jumping into a game players get to choose from a myriad of special Agents, each possessing unique skills, which can impact the game in various ways. Different Agents excel at different parts of VALORANT’s gameplay, which allows players to maximize the strong suits of their own game, and by that helping their team secure the victory. This element of creative customization is why a lot of gamers gravitated towards VALORANT as their new favorite competitive shooter. However, not all Agents are instantly available when you first load up the game. The VALORANT Agent-acquiring system has recently been overhauled, so keep reading to get yourself up-to-date on how to unlock Agents in VALORANT.

Agent Recruitment Events

Agent Contracts have been removed from the game in favour of the brand new Agent Recruitment events. These events begin when a new agent is introduced to the game, and last for a 28-day period. In order to unlock new Agents, a player has to gain 200,000 XP over the course of the particular event, which can be achieved through playing a lot of matches. Once the event comes to an end, the Agent can not be unlocked through this method.

Kingdom Credits

Riot decided to add a new free currency to Valorant, which is Kingdom Credits. Kingdom Credits can be earned through playing games and are awarded at the end of the match, along with XP and AP. These new credits can be used to acquire Agents, as well as Agent cosmetics which were previously available in Agent’s contracts. On top of that, Kingdom Credits can be used to get cosmetic items from previous battle passes, which include player cards, sprays, titles, and gun buddies. Unfortunately, weapon skins present in former battle passes can not be acquired using Kingdom Credits.

All Agents are available for purchase once their designated Agent Recruitment event comes to a close. It’s important to note that you can have a maximum of only 10,000 Kingdom Credits at one time, so do not hesitate to spend some on your favorite Agent.

VALORANT Points

If you don’t have the time to grind XP during Agent Recruitment events, or you just can’t wait to get into the game with your dream Agent, using VALORANT Points might be the way for you. VALORANT Points, or VP, is VALORANT’s in-game currency, which can only be acquired by spending real money. Each Agent is priced at 1000 VP, which would cost you $9.99. This is the fastest way to get yourself an agent, but remember to be responsible with your money and carefully think through all your potential in-game purchases.

XBOX Game Pass

Due to Riot partnering with Microsoft, VALORANT players with an XBOX Game Pass subscription are provided with exclusive benefits, such as all current Agents being unlocked, day-one access to every new Agent as they are released, and a 20% Match XP Boost. To receive all those benefits, link your Riot Games account to your XBOX Game Pass account, provided you have the XBOX Game Pass subscription. However, remember that once you cancel your subscription, all agents you unlocked as a result will become locked again, unless you’ve earned enough XP when their Agent Recruitment events were active.

Conclusion

Having most (if not all) of the agents unlocked in VALORANT is very important. If you’re a one-trick pony and your agent gets locked, it pays off to have other options available, and sometimes certain agents are meta and basically can’t be avoided, so it’s definitely a good idea to know all the various ways to unlock agents in VALORANT.

Lars

Reviews, Community, FPS

Former semi-pro gamer turned writer, product reviewer, and community manager.