How to Unlock Agents in VALORANT: 2026 Tutorial

If you want to widen your Agent pool, you can get new VALORANT characters for free. Here’s a quick refresher on how to unlock new Agents.

Why Can’t I Play All VALORANT Agents?

Unfortunately, your VALORANT account doesn’t start out with all Agents added. You might notice when queueing into a match that some characters show up with a shadowed icon. You can’t hover over them or lock them in. This means you haven’t unlocked that particular Agent, so you can’t play them in-game.

What are the VALORANT Default Agents?

Of course, VALORANT does give you a variety of free Agents as soon as you open your account. These are typically the easiest characters to learn, and also the oldest. Here’s a quick refresher:

Brimstone

• Role: Controller. An Agent who places smokes. His abilities include a beacon that makes teammates run and fire faster, a molly that burns enemies standing in it, and an Ultimate that calls in an AOE air strike.

Jett

• Role: Duelist. An Agent who quickly dashes across the map. She’s best for aggressive players with good aim. Her abilities include a horizontal dash, a vertical updraft, and smokes that disappear quickly. Her Ultimate gives her knives that secure one-shot headshots and have 100% accuracy. (Popular in pro play, TenZ, Demon1, aspas, and something are some good examples.)

Phoenix

• Role: Duelist. Best for aggressive players. He has flashes that blind opponents, a molly that burns enemies and heals him, and a wall that blocks vision and does the same. His Ultimate gives him a second life.

Sage

• Role: Sentinel. Best for newer players who want to help teammates. She has a healing ability, two slowing orbs that stop movement, and a wall. Her Ultimate revives an ally.

Sova

• Role: Initiator. Best for strategic players who like gathering info. He has a recon dart that scans areas for players, a shock dart that does AOE damage, and a drone that scouts ahead. His Ultimate shoots a beam that damages from afar.

How to Unlock More VALORANT Agents

If you don’t want to play any of the default characters, don’t worry: you can unlock more VALORANT Agents with both free and paid methods.

If you want to unlock an Agent for free, you’ll need to save up Kingdom Credits. These are the currency with the little ‘K’ icon in a circle.

To complete this process, follow these steps:

• Go the Agents tab. You can find this by clicking the icon with a hat at the top of your screen, to the left of the ‘Play’ button.
• Scroll down and select the icon of the Agent you want.
• Click the ‘Recruit’ Button on the bottom right.
• You can also click ‘View Agent’ to learn more about their abilities before buying.
• A purchase screen will come up. You need to check a box stating the purchase is non-refundable.
• You’ll either pay 8,000 Kingdom Credits or around 1,000 VALORANT Points (VP) to unlock the Agent.
• Confirm the purchase.
• Congrats! You can now play your new character.

How Much Does It Cost to Unlock a VALORANT Agent?

If you’re using free methods, VALORANT Agents cost 8,000 Kingdom Credits. With paid methods, VALORANT Agents cost 1,000 VP (about 10 USD).

How to Get Kingdom Credits and VALORANT Points

You can purchase VALORANT points directly from the in-game currency shop. In addition, you can get them from gift cards and redeem the codes on the Riot Games website.

You can get Kingdom Credits by completing Quests or earning them in the Battlepass. Otherwise, you can pay for the Kingdom Credits you’re missing with real money and unlock the character you want.

How Long Does It Take to Unlock a VALORANT Agent?

Unlocking a VALORANT Agent via the free methods is actually pretty quick. It may take a few days of grinding, but if you’re consistent with the daily and weekly quests, you can save up fast.

If you don’t want to wait, the paid unlock may be a better option. This gives you the Agent instantly, and they’re ready to play in all modes.