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Did you start playing Valorant recently but can’t decide which agent to pick? Are you still trying to understand which character can help you get better at the game?
Consider Reyna!
She is considered one of the most powerful and efficient agents in Valorant at present. Few other agents can create as much impact as Reyna in a game. If played with correctly, you can easily start top-fragging on any given day with Reyna as your agent.
Although Reyna might look like an ordinary duelist whose abilities allow for faster battles and compelling gameplay, it takes more than just what’s visible to understand how to play Reyna in the best way possible. Here’s a detailed guide that’ll help you learn about Reyna and how to utilize this agent in every match you play.
But before all of that, let’s take a glimpse of who Reyna actually is, and what’s her backstory.
A Brief Introduction
Reyna is the eleventh agent to enter the Valorant protocol. According to Agent Dossiers, her real name is Zyanya Mondragón. During development, Reyna had the codename Vampire, which explains her personality. As described in the Dossiers, she hails from Mexico but is currently taking sanctuary elsewhere.
Reyna is a duelist who engages in fights whenever she gets the chance; a duelist’s job is to get the entry-frag in attacking phase (people who insta-lock duelists and start camping should take note). Reyna is a Radiant agent, using her incredible powers to overcome her enemies and win engagements. Although her powers are harmless to other players, it enables Reyna to gain an advantage and obliterate the enemy.
Let’s take a peek at Reyna’s history from the in-game lore.
Reyna’s History
Reyna against the Kingdom
Reyna has a highly detailed history with the ‘Kingdom Corporation’ and other Valorant agents, according to the lore. Earlier, players didn’t know much about the agent or her past. But after the recent updates, where the Agent Dossiers came out, a more profound insight has been drawn into her life and perspectives.
Much of the character’s history surfaced in these documents. Reyna has a younger sister whose name was unknown earlier. After the Dossiers came out, players learned that her sister’s name was Lucia. Reyna despises the Kingdom Co. because of their efforts to conduct experiments on her little sister.
Listening carefully to Reyna’s lines in games reveals that she has substantial knowledge about Kingdom Co., its plans, and the war between the two types of agents we see. She considers Radiants as victims of the tyranny of non-Radiants (humans), and therefore, she started the Radiant war with non-Radiants. She also can devour their souls for her abilities, which is quite spooky.
“This enemy’s nothing special. Still human, still mortal.”
–Reyna, in buy phase
A True Rebel and Savior
The Dossier has also stated that Reyna has built a ‘sanctuary’ for people that have escaped the ‘Kingdom’s Microscope.’ It means that the agent has helped many people get away from the Kingdom Corporations’s evil plans, creating a city big enough for the people she saves.
It also shows that Reyna accepts anyone who has the guts to run away from Kingdom Corporation’s tyrannical rule.
Reyna’s voice line also indicates that she is the beacon of hope in her city. Reyna is not living as a refuge but has instead developed an entire town to give shelter to other fugitives. It also shows that not only does Reyna’s city help the Kingdom Corporation’s victims, but it also stands strong against their evil practices and motives.
“My city needs me. I can’t be away for long. Let’s end this quickly…”
-Reyna, in round start
Lucia, Reyna’s “Hermanita”
Everybody thought that Reyna’s younger sister Lucia had died some time ago. The Nunca Olvidados player card can show proof of this statement. The picture shows Reyna dancing at a Day of the Dead festival. A minor detail commonly missed is inside Reyna’s fold of clothing, where one can see a doll similar to the one in the hands of the little girl depicted in the VERSUS// Reyna + Viper player card.
Because of her affiliation with the Kingdom Corporation, Reyna doesn’t get along with Viper. A closer look at the VERSUS// Reyna + Viper card shows that Viper leads a small child into the Kingdom Co.’s lab. Considering that the little girl is Lucia, the hostility between the two agents is quite ferocious.
But Lucia is still alive. The Dossiers address the Mexican agent, saying that she might not be able to save the only life that matters to her. There’s a strong implication that Lucia is very sick and on the verge of dying, with Reyna unable to help her.
The True Instigator
It’s also well-known that Reyna is one of the main reasons the Radiant War started. Reyna has always been an enemy of technology and loves to watch her enemies suffer. Players can feel much of her hatred and obsession in her voice lines. Reyna is also considered the leader of the Radiant Side, with evidence retrieved from KAY/O’s lines.
“Reyna, I’m programmed to kill you. Don’t give me a reason.”
-Kay/O, for Ally Reyna
Her approach to the battle between Radiants and non-Radiants is bothersome, and therefore, not every other agent is ready to trust her. That’s why she’s independent when stepping into the battlefield and survives on her sheer will and potential.
A Look at Reyna’s Personality
Reyna’s image spans a broad spectrum. It’s debatable whether the agent has the right reasons to wage war against the Radiants and Kingdom Corporation. On the other hand, she can be pretty fearsome, violent, and a true antagonist. Everything about Reyna comes into play when making a judgment about her personality.
For example, she doesn’t like the idea of experimenting on people for evil motives. Reyna has also given the Kingdom Co’s lab rats a safe place to live and thrive. She also has a deep concern for her younger sister, whose medical condition is worse, although it’s still not clear.
But when we look at the story’s other side, it seems like Reyna is the definition of a true villain. She’s willing to fight her battles alone instead of working with her teammates to get an edge over the opponent. Moreover, her perspectives and intentions regarding the Radiant War might be shocking and gruesome to many people, giving her the potential to become the most considerable evil force.
Reyna’s Abilities and Qualities
Reyna is a duelist. She is a character that takes on all fights one-on-one. She is still one of the best options in this regard. Some players lock Reyna as soon as they hit the Agent Selection screen because of her high-risk, high-reward potential. There are various degrees to which players can utilize Reyna in their matches.
Like all other agents in the Valorant protocol, Reyna also has specific abilities that she can use in the game. They benefit Reyna solely, letting her play more independently and bringing in positive results every time. Reyna uses four abilities in battles:
1. Leer
Reyna’s Leer temporarily disables vision for the enemy. According to the description, it is an ethereal, destructible eye, meaning players can shoot at it to stop Reyna from harming their sight.
Unlike other agents like Yoru and Phoenix, who have flashes that can tamper with eyesight by working as a real-life flashbang grenade, the Leer ability only works on far-sightedness, so close encounters might not be preferable when using it.
The Leer works at a certain distance and cannot be changed. Interestingly, it can work through walls, so you can flash an entire place while staying hidden.
The flash also doesn’t work on Reyna herself and her teammate, making her a better fit for the team than her counterparts like Phoenix, Yoru, or even KAY/O. (Looking at you Phoenix mains, STOP FLASHING YOUR TEAMMATES!)
Players must use Leer strategically though. Opponents with their backs turned to the Leer will not be blinded, and it can cause a disadvantage.
Similarly, walls can also protect an enemy’s sight from the eye, so it’s essential to use them in an open space. It’s also quite disadvantageous to use the Leer at the ground, as it may only be visible as a small fraction, causing further trouble.
If opponents can break their line of sight with the Leer, the obscured vision will return to normal. Shooting eyes will break them within seconds, so enemies have the advantage of retaining their vision and confirming your location.
Leer works for about five seconds and is visible to both enemies and teammates on the map. Before deciding to flash, you can see the location of the eye’s deployment, so place it appropriately before doing anything. Two Leers are available in a single round for 200 credits, and they’re also usable in the next one.
2. Devour
One of Reyna’s best abilities is the usage of soul orbs to heal herself quickly. When the agent kills an enemy, an eye-shaped ball appears for a short time. Reyna can use it to regain her lost health quickly. If you bought shields in the round and have total health, even when the soul orb gives you more, Reyna absorbs it as an extra pack. The other health is visible besides the actual health reading.
If Reyna enters the Over-healed period, which is the extra amount of health gained during a Devour, it only stays for some time. Over-healed has a maximum value of 50, equivalent to that of Heavy Shields. So, it is a great alternative but with a fixed time window.
Players can also gain a soul orb to Devour if an enemy is killed a few seconds after taking damage from Reyna. Devour can be used by looking at a soul orb and pressing the designated key. It can be used from any distance, but only if it is within Reyna’s line of sight. The player can move away and then use this ability by looking at the soul orb again.
If the line of sight breaks while using Devour, then the healing will stop. It gives Reyna a significant advantage in matches, making up for great economic decisions (when your team is on eco, or hard eco).
3. Dismiss
Unlike Devour, which allows players to regenerate their lost health, Dismiss gives them a more elusive choice. The Dismiss ability makes Reyna intangible for a few seconds. Enemies cannot shoot her as she moves to a safer spot. It doesn’t work for a long time, so use it in the right direction.
While using Dismiss, Reyna uses a specific animation. Through this animation, players cannot use their weapons to kill other players that might show up for a trade or if they run into some. It was essential since it would give Reyna mere invincibility.
The intangible meter shows up as soon as the player collects the soul orb with the designated key. Like the Devour, soul orbs become available for use if an enemy dies after receiving shots from Reyna recently.
However, the Dismiss also has a slight disadvantage. After the ability finishes, Reyna comes out of the animation using the soul orb. The gesture usually means that Dismiss is no longer in use by the agent, so enemies that shoot at players might get the kill. It has been quite frustrating in many situations where players walked into other enemies and got killed in that short window.
The best strategy for utilizing Dismiss is to make sure that you make your way to a safe spot when the ability is ending.
4. Empress
Reyna’s ultimate ability makes her so dangerous in any situation—using the Empress grants players a state of frenzy. Reyna’s firing rate, reload time, and equipping time are improved significantly in this state. It’s an ideal situation for players who like to duel aggressively. But the increased firing rate means that the recoils might be challenging to handle, so use a Vandal and Empress simultaneously only if you can.
In the Empress phase, Reyna also gains an infinite amount of Soul Harvest abilities. So, a player can use as many Dismiss as they want as long as they get the kill. The player also becomes invisible after utilizing their Dismiss ability in Empress mode.
When a player kills an enemy in the Empress state, Reyna devours soul orbs automatically to regenerate lost health. The duration for the ultimate ability restarts after a kill. Reyna requires six points to generate her Empress ability once. But enemies can have an idea of her location through the audio cues generated by the character after using its ability.
Updates on Reyna
Reyna was one of the best agents during the game’s initial period. But as soon as other players started to pick up her aggressive playing style, it became a nightmare for new players. While rookies were beginning to grab the game’s basic concepts, they were getting decimated by players that had built a pushing style of gameplay with Reyna.
With time, it became necessary to make changes to the agent. Reyna has undergone some significant changes in some patches. Here’s a short description of some of the important ones:
- Patch 1.01: Area-of-effect indicators for Reyna’s Leer were only visible on the enemy’s minimap if they or their teammate were close to the affected area.
- Patch 1.02: Reyna’s Soul Orbs started spawning when she killed Phoenix in his ultimate ability phase.
- Patch 1.09: Reyna’s Empress received a slight change in which the firing rate bonus went down from 25% to 15%.
- Patch 2.03: Reyna received significant nerfs and buffs in this update, which enraged many Reyna mains. Riot lowered her charges count for Dismiss and Devour from 4 to 2. Eliminated enemies that Reyna damaged in the last three seconds dropped a Soul orb, whether the agent killed them or not. The cost of Dismiss and Devour also went up from 100 to 200 credits.
Statistics About Reyna
Reyna’s statistics have been sublime over the past few months. According to Valorbuff, Reyna’s pick rate is 68.1%, the highest right now. The succeeding agent in line is Sage, who lingers by a measly 7%. However, her win percentage is quite mediocre, coming in at twelfth. Reyna comes behind the likes of Viper, Neon, and Astra, with 46.5%. (Source).
Reyna is quite close in the competition when it comes to winning first engagements, with 13.3%. She misses the list’s leader, KAY/O, by 1.4%. But her kill-to-death ratio is exceptional. At 1.14, she leads this section, leaving behind the sensational agent Chamber by 0.04.
Reyna’s nuisance is her best friend when it comes to teammates. The agent’s best partner is currently Killjoy. Their win percentage is 51.4%, equaled by the Brazilian duelist Raze, and American controller Brimstone is her next best ally, with a win percentage of 51.3%.
There’s not much difference in the various rank categories when judging Reyna. Her win rate is relatively consistent in all ranks, averaging around 49%. But except for Radiant lobbies, others prefer to pick the agent in every match.
Silver lobbies have the highest pick rate for Reyna, with 57.79%, while Radiant games have the least at 23.62%. But considering this graph, Reyna’s win rate is still exceptional in these lobbies, proving just how important she can be.
How to Play Reyna
There’s no strategy when it comes to playing Reyna. She is a duelist capable of clutching rounds if handed to the right player. Reyna is a dangerous pick and can be equally lethal on both sides of the match. But there are some simple techniques to use while playing with this agent.
Pistol rounds are crucial. As Reyna has one Dismiss/Devour ability available for free at the round’s beginning, there’s no need to buy Shields in the first round. Your first kill should give you the time to use Devour and regenerate any health you lost. Instead, spend your money on a pistol like Sheriff or Ghost with one Leer to use while entering a site.
When attacking, Reyna must take the first peek. Using the Leer will ease entry into a site even if a player holds the angle. After confirming information from a suitable initiator like Skye or Sova, Reyna’s first job should be entry-fragging and clearing the site for others to plant the spike. In a post- scenario, there’s no need for unnecessary peeks as the enemy will come to you.
However, it is vital to keep a close watch during defensive rounds but stay away from open angles. Good teamwork with agents like Chamber or Astra can help know about the enemy’s plans. After spotting the spike, there’s no need for Reyna to stay defensive, and she can make her way however she wants to.
However, using an Operator can be risky. Reyna doesn’t possess movement skills as good as Jett. Therefore, if there is a player who knows how to use the Operator with Jett, Reyna can be considered a second duelist. But in situations where Reyna has to perform the sniper duties, Skye or Phoenix should flash around the corner for Reyna to peek and take out as many guns as she can.
Using machine guns like the Ares and Odin is not for Reyna. Although it may turn her into a female John Rambo for some time, the time required to control the recoil and hit the shot might be too much. It’s a risky business as a good support enemy player might make the most out of the situation and put you down, resulting in raging on yourself or your teammates.
In the end, it all comes down to the players. Some exceptional players will even take the enemy team out while defending a site. On the other hand, attacking is already an aggressive situation, so there’s no need to hold back. Whether you play attacking or defending, you need your best aim to make great use of Reyna.
What Maps are Good/Bad for Reyna?
Considering the data from ValorBuff, Reyna is great in Breeze. With lots of open points and so many paths to flank from, she has the best win rate out of all seven maps of the game. With Jett, Fade, and Chamber as her best teammates on this map, Reyna can tear through enemy lines.
Fracture and Icebox have also proven to be the best maps for picking Reyna. Icebox has a lot of choke points, which, if utilized by an aggressive Reyna, can be a big problem for the enemy. Fracture has a variety of angles where keeping defenses up for long could be helpful. Nevertheless, with a proper initiator like Sova, the agent should have no problem going through every corner effortlessly.
Haven boasts the highest pick rate for Reyna, but it is the map with the lowest win percentage for her. Three sites with more than one entry point can be a lot for a lone Reyna to handle. Haven may be pretty fun because of a more unorthodox structure, but it doesn’t work out for the Mexican agent. Ascent, Split, and Bind are next in line for the worst maps.
What Guns is the Best/Worst for Reyna?
For a duelist like Reyna, there’s nothing better than a weapon with a high rate of fire and substantial damage. The standard meta for Reyna involves using a Vandal or Phantom – the best assault rifles in Valorant. But the Vandal is a preferable option among players, as it has immaculate accuracy, and it can kill an enemy with a single headshot. Therefore, training for heads is one of the heftiest tasks in Valorant.
But, it doesn’t mean that Phantom is entirely useless. The gun boasts 15.6% of the total kills by the agent. Due to its recoil control, the Phantom has a higher chance of hitting the body or leg. Spectre is the best submachine gun for Reyna when it comes to half-buy rounds. Although it has an average distance of 14 meters for a kill, it has the highest probability of hitting the body.
Pistol rounds make a significant impact in the game. Therefore, buying in the first round can shift the game’s momentum. The Ghost and Sheriff have been the best at this job. The pistols have cemented their place as predicting the game’s winner with the highest percentage of headshots among all other weapons.
FAQs
Question 1: Is Reyna available from the start of the game?
Answer: No, players have to complete Reyna’s contract until Level 5 to be able to use the agent in matchmaking lobbies. Level 5 requires 60,000 XP. The player unlocks several different items such as sprays, graffitis, player cards, and titles during the process. Level 10 unlocks a skin for the Ghost named Vendetta.
Question 2: How good is Reyna for learning about Valorant initially?
Answer: Once unlocked, either by amassing 60,000 XP or by purchasing, Reyna can be accommodating in learning Valorant. Her abilities are pretty effective in keeping a person alive through the rounds, and with some coordination, Reyna can also assist her teammates in certain situations. It all depends on your playing style and understanding of the game.
Question 3: Is Reyna better than other duelists?
Answer: There are several aspects where Reyna comes out as superior to her counterparts in the protocol. Unlike Phoenix or Yoru, Reyna’s Leer doesn’t work on the player or their teammate, which helps in effectively pushing through the flash. Her regenerative abilities are also valuable for picking fights strategically.
On the other hand, she falls short in other matters, such as:
- Phoenix can block enemies off with his wall of fire.
- Yoru can easily escape tight situations using his Gatecrash ability.
- Jett is already a fast-paced agent best suited for players that play with style and aggression.
- Raze is also aggressive and can deal damage with her abilities.
So, there are different styles of play for every agent. It’s a matter of who can handle an agent’s abilities adequately.
Question 4: Is Reyna an overpowered agent?
Answer: Certainly not. Reyna doesn’t have many advantages, but she’s a self-sufficient duelist. She doesn’t deal damage through her utility. Therefore, she’s heavily reliant on her killing duties. Reyna has all the freedom to remain a viable duelist in such challenging situations.
Recommended Reads:
- Breach Valorant Guide: Learn About This First-Persona Shooter
- Cypher Valorant Guide
- Phoenix Valorant Guide
Reyna Valorant Guide: Conclusion
All in all, Reyna is a top-tier duelist whose undaunted aggression and nifty abilities make her an incredible choice for beginners and professionals. Reyna will always help you get the frags you need, whether you’re a filthy pusher or a defensive expert.
If you know how to work well with your teammates, nothing can stop you from becoming the MVP in every match.
Reyna may be a great agent who can convert her kills into something useful for survival, but that doesn’t mean you have to hit lucky shots. You’ll need precision and timing to remain one step ahead of your opponent.
Keep your aim crisp and mind in the game, and you’ll soon become a menace on the servers.
Happy hunting, or as Reyna would say:
“The hunt begins!”