How to Valorant: Breaking down the tech of controller Astra

Amongst those hallowed few in the VALORANT protocol, few are as powerful as the queen of the cosmos. Codenamed Astra, the second newest controller released by Riot for their tactical FPS, Valorant. Making use of manipulated stars, she controls the battlefield through innovate power. This is a guide to the agent who changed the game.

Abilities Breakdown

Much like every other agent, Astra has four abilities available to her. Unlike every other agent, that is where the similarity stops. Among Valorant agents, Astra’s kit is unique and revolves around her passive, Astral Form. It allows players to place Stars in any location around the map. After selecting a location, the Star forms after a brief delay.

Stars are able to transform into three different pieces of utility: Gravity Well, Nova Pulse, and Nebula. Moreover, players also have the option to retract a placed star. Doing so briefly forms a fake Nebula that lasts a second. Stars are visible to all ten players on the server (line of sight).

Gravity Well creates a whirlpool that pulls all players within the area towards the center before exploding. Players caught in the explosion become Vulnerable (double damage from all sources). Nova Pulse charges a star briefly before detonating. Players caught in the detonation become concussed (slowed movement, reduced fire rate, greyscale vision and crosshair/FOV wavers slightly).

Nebula forms the core of her identity as a controller, creating a Nebula (smoke) at the Star’s location. Like Omen’s Dark Cover and Harbor’s Cove, the inside of the smoke is hollow. Astra’s ultimate, Cosmic Divide creates a vertical plane that divides the map across two selected locations. Vision will be obstructed (as per a regular wall), bullets are blocked, and audio is heavily dampened. Players and utility can still pass through regularly.

Playstyle

Astra plays an integral part of many compositions, with her variety of utility making her the crowd control specialist for the team. Astral Form allows her to access any part of the map and support teammates from anywhere, making her extremely versatile in both positioning and playstyles. However, because of the nature of Astral Form, there are brief moments of vulnerability each time Astra enters it.

Most typically, the two playstyles Astra players will assume are, backline support, and flanking specialist. Unlike other controllers, she has no limitations of range. Moreover, her utility, such as Gravity Well allows Astra to delay pushes cross map without needing to rotate.

Team Comps

Astra has found strength in virtually every map. The two maps she tends to struggle on are Breeze and Fracture by virtue of their large open spaces. That said, both maps are still viable for her, however, her impact will feel lessened typically. At the height of her powers, Astra dominated the meta, and was present on every team composition. Her Gravity Well and Cosmic Divide especially were game changers, delaying pushes, and denying information/entries.

Tips to Level up your Astra game

Astra’s strong utility, if placed ahead of time, allow a player to pilot her more aggressively as well. Well-timed Nova Pulses and Gravity Wells can offer up easy kills for skilled Astra players. Moreover, the vast majority of new Astra players tend to not maximise her passive, allowing her the incredible map-wide range of control. She can be anywhere, and yet still supporting her team.

Communication is one the key aspects of her kit however, and it is what allows her to operate at max efficiency. One of the drawbacks of her passive, is Astra may not be there physically. Timing the utility without second-by-second information is incredibly difficult, hence the need for communication.

Lastly, timing is everything. A well-timed Gravity Well can not only kill a push, but also combo with other damaging utilities. Pre-placed Stars are information relayed to opponents. Placing with speed and accuracy at the last second allows for better execution.  

Image credit: WIW Ferrera