VALORANT agents: Is Astra the new meta within the Controller class?

Is Astra, the spicy Ghanian agent, the new meta Controller in VALORANT? Professional players and big streamers seem to agree that Astra is too overpowered.

On 2nd March, 2021 Riot Games added Astra, the newest agent in the Controller class. She was released in Episode 2 Act 2 and was an immediate hit among players.

Astra is a controller agent with a kit unlike any other in the game. Controlling the map with the stars from her Astral form, she rewards the players that take the time to plan out how they want their rounds to go before they even start.

Her abilities allow her to go into Astral Form anywhere from the map and place her stars. She can clear out more corners and angles than any other Controller in the game. But to play Astra, a player relies on great communication from teammates. Leading to extremely high pick rates in professional and high elo games.

Also read: The new all-time record for the highest number of Assists in a Valorant professional match

Shroud, ShahZam and many big names talk about Astra

Ever since Astra was buffed, Omen, Viper and Brimstone cannot compete with her. Omen can set smokes anywhere on the map but there is a delay of 3 seconds. Brimstone has good range too but limited smokes and other than his smokes, his kit isn’t of great use. Viper requires a great amount of time to master lineups and her play style is specific for particular maps only.

Shroud, one of the biggest streamers even released a YouTube video titled,”proof Astra NEEDS to be nerfed”. In the video, he plays Astra on Haven and is absolutely shocked by how easy it is to clear angles and corners.

Shroud is not the only popular player to talk about the new meta. ShahZam recently went on a complete rant about how Astra changes the complete dynamic of the game. He mentions how her insane ability to slow down pushes from anywhere on the map make her extremely overpowered.

He compares CS:GO gameplay to Valorant and goes on to say  that the smokes in CS:GO have to be much faster and depend entirely on what a player sees. Whereas Astra can rely on a single comm from their teammate while being on another site altogether. He even goes on to say,” Astra RUINS viewer experience.”

Also read: “Are you Astra because you su*ked me good”: 100T Kyedae does Valorant pickup lines live on stream