Valorant’s status as a competitive FPS game means that Riot Games has to constantly tweak its roster of playable agents to ensure things are fair for everyone. Every agent should be usable, and even a single weak link on the roster must be fixed. Because of this, Harbor’s abilities received a major rework to remove him from his long-standing spot as the least-picked agent in Valorant. Here’s how you can utilize Harbor’s new and improved abilities to stack wins.
What Harbor abilities were reworked in Valorant?
Before anything, it’s crucial to give a general breakdown of how all of the recently reworked abilities actually work to ensure you know what to expect.
- Cove (E) is now Harbor’s signature ability. Like any normal signature ability, it recovers after getting used, and can now also be placed more precisely, similar to an Omen smoke. Reactivating it now creates a bullet-blocking shield that can be destroyed after shooting it enough times.
- High Tide (Q) isn’t Harbor’s signature ability anymore. Now, players must purchase it to use it, though it works similarly to how it did before, by going through walls and other physical distractions and blocking vision for enemies.
- Storm Surge (C) is the ability that replaced his previous Cascade ability. This projectile ability nearsights enemies within its area after a short wind-up period, making it awesome to CC enemy players before taking them down.
- Finally, Harbor’s Reckoning (X) now moves forward as a large and rectangular wave instead of being a stationary circle like it used to be. It nearsights and slows any enemy caught in its path, making it awesome for pushing sights.
How should you play Harbor after its rework in Valorant?
While some believe that the base essence of Harbor is still the same, despite the rework, that isn’t really the case. By contrast, the agent has changed on a fundamental level, and it’s crucial to keep a handful of tips in mind when playing him now. Of course, some believe a good confidence boost by getting a nice skin from LootBar helps, but no science can back that.
Your ultimate is your best friend
The biggest change with the Harbor rework has been his ultimate. With it now moving instead of being stationary, players can take better advantage of the information they gather through it. Any enemy who successfully gets hit by it is nearsighted for about three seconds, which can make it easy for your team to retake a site or push a site when attacking.
What many players don’t know is that there’s also a slight sound cue when an enemy gets hit. Those with the right hearing can comfortably use that cue to locate and eliminate an enemy before they get their vision restored.
High Tide is a double-edged sword
Unlike with Viper’s wall, which is slightly similar to Harbor’s High Tide, Harbor players have to worry about slowing their teammates with their ability. Wth how High Tide works, it’s very easy to misplace it and accidentally either block off your enemy’s vision or stop them from pushing an enemy because they’ll get slowed if they walk through the water.
Because of this, many players opt to skip buying High Tide completely if they don’t think they can efficiently use it. Remember, it’s better not to have the ability at all and save some credits than to buy it and cost your team a round.
Harbor is more than just a smoker
Other smokers in Valorant, like Clove and Brimstone, are usually only tasked with smoking key points on the map. However, Harbor is slightly different, especially after his rework. Since he only has one smoke at a time, he can realistically only smoke one entry point or angle on the map, which isn’t enough. Fortunately, Harbor is more like a controller and initiator hybrid, primarily thanks to his new ability.
While his ultimate is awesome for entering sites, Storm Surge is also pretty useful for players when their ult isn’t ready. Since you can throw the projectile in places where you know enemies usually hide, including behind boxes and around corners, you can get a pretty good idea of where they are through this ability.
That leads us to his Cove ability, which is essentially an Omen smoke. The fact that you can recast it to make the smoke bulletproof is awesome, since it lets you pull off some nifty tricks. Whether it’s working alongside your teammate to confuse and push an enemy or using it to force the enemy to dispense their bullets, letting you move in and get an easy frag, players can get imaginative with this ability to make the most of it.
However, the most important thing to keep in mind is that you only have one chance to land an impactful smoke. While you can recast the smoke to make it bulletproof, that technically isn’t another smoke. On the contrary, once you use a single smoke, you’re basically out and have no other choice. Thanks to this, your team may be forced to use more than one controller, which expands their options and makes their picks more flexible.
Conclusion
This was the ideal guide if you want to start playing Harbor like a professional after the rework. While he isn’t exactly the best controller, despite the rework, his ability to fit into an initiator and controller role makes him sought after. Of course, if you’re looking to play Valorant in style with some of the best skins, then don’t be afraid to buy affordable Valorant points to make that possible.
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