The meta in Valorant, like in any competitive game, constantly changes. Developers adjust weapons or heroes, nerfing those too strong and buffing the weak and unpopular ones. In Riot Games' shooter, changes often concern the agents and their abilities, as the weapons in Valorant are already fairly balanced. Developers regularly release patches aimed at balancing the game, making most agents equal in strength. However, sometimes, Riot's representatives overly nerf an agent, rendering them virtually "dead" and losing their popularity. Today, Bo3's editorial team has prepared material about the agents in Valorant with the lowest pick rate. Data for the material was taken from the portal Tracker.gg.
KAY/O
Opening our list is the initiator KAY/O, who was introduced in patch 3.0. Although the agent was quite popular for a time, in the current meta, he is one of the least popular agents, with a pick rate of only 2.1%. There are several reasons for this low popularity. The first is that KAY/O hasn't received significant buffs for a long time. In the last few patches, the agent has been ignored, and the only buff is that his FRAG/MENT ability now damages doors on the Ascent and Sunset maps. This can hardly be called a good buff, so perhaps this is the main reason for the agent's unpopularity. The second reason is that there are better agents in the initiator role. The consistently strong Sova, who has always had a high pick rate, and Gekko, who has only recently gained popularity. Therefore, for KAY/O to return to being one of the top popular agents, he definitely needs buffs.
Yoru
Next on the list is the Japanese duelist Yoru, whose pick rate is 1.8%. But in this case, the situation is not surprising, as Yoru has never been particularly popular. The fact is that he is one of the most difficult agents in Valorant, and despite being added in 2021, not many players have mastered him. All his abilities are quite challenging to control, and often new players on Yoru struggle with the timings required. Therefore, to avoid hindering their allies and intentionally throwing games, most players refrain from choosing Yoru, making him one of the least popular agents in Valorant.
Fade
Next up is another agent with a 1.8% pick rate, the Turkish initiator Fade. Although Fade was quite popular and even strong at the time of her release, Riot Games significantly nerfed the agent, resulting in a very low pick rate today. Starting with patch 5.10, the developers heavily nerfed her Prowler ability and continued to do so until patch 7.09. Despite Prowler receiving periodic buffs, like reduced cooldown and others, it did not restore Fade's popularity. Most likely, after her initial nerfs, players adapted and replaced her with other agents performing similar functions. When Fade received buffs, she turned out to be unnecessary, as there were already well-studied and stable alternatives.
Deadlock
Next is an agent with a 1.6% pick rate, but her situation differs from the previous one. Deadlock was added to the game with update 7.0, released on June 27, 2023. However, from the moment of her release, the Valorant community did not foresee a bright future for her, and this is precisely what happened. Interestingly, professional players had the same opinion. After the agent's initial reveal, many esports players stated that Deadlock would not have a place on the professional scene, as her abilities were weak, and there were many time-tested agents. This turned out to be true, and after her release, Deadlock was the only agent not picked even once in various VCT tournaments. Despite more than a year passing since then, and receiving several significant buffs in patches 7.10 and 8.0, it did not help the agent gain new popularity, and Deadlock remains one of the least popular agents in Valorant.
Viper
Viper is a vivid example of how a single update can kill one of the best and most effective agents in Valorant. Since her appearance in the game during the beta test, Viper has been one of the most popular agents, which is not surprising. All her abilities perfectly highlighted her role as a controller, and with her ultimate, she could single-handedly protect a plant from the enemy team. However, everything changed in patch 8.08 when the developers decided to nerf her passive ability Fuel and the active Snake Bite. After this, many professional players stated that the agent was now officially "dead." As we can see from the pick rate of 1.4%, the players' fears were not unfounded, and Viper officially became one of the least popular agents in the game. This situation will not improve until the developers buff her again, and considering the community's opinion, this may happen soon.
Harbor
Next on our list are two agents with the lowest pick rate, and the first is Harbor. His situation is similar to Deadlock, but before his release, great hopes were pinned on the agent precisely because of his abilities. At first glance, Harbor had all the skills needed for control, making him stand out among other agents. However, in practice, when Harbor was released in Valorant, he did not turn out to be as popular as predicted. Eventually, the developers realized that the agent did not meet expectations and began buffing his abilities, but this did not save the agent from oblivion. At the time of writing, Harbor has the second-lowest pick rate of 0.6%, and there is currently no information that the situation will change soon.
Astra
Closing our list of the least popular agents is the cosmic controller Astra, who appeared in the game in early March 2021. After her debut, she was quite popular until the developers decided Astra was too strong and began nerfing her. In patch 3.0, three of her key abilities were weakened, which did not significantly affect her strength. Following this, in update 4.04, her skills were further weakened, which may have been the turning point. Interestingly, in subsequent patches, the agent was almost untouched, and in patch 7.04, some of her abilities were buffed and nerfed simultaneously. Despite this, Astra lost her popularity, and at the time of writing, she has the lowest pick rate of 0.5%.
Conclusion
After reading our material, you learned which Valorant agents have the lowest pick rate in patch 9.0. Note that we are ahead of the world championship, where professional players will showcase high-level play and possibly unusual agent picks. Because of this, the Valorant meta may change, and in the future, agents with the lowest pick rate may rise sharply. Keep following our portal to learn more about Valorant agents and all aspects related to them.
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