Reyna is one of the most popular agents for solo queue in Valorant, especially for players aiming to climb the ranks. Known for her powerful, self-sufficient kit, Reyna is effective at securing solo kills and sustaining her own momentum, making her a preferred pick in ranked play. However, Reyna has a low pick rate in professional games due to her limited team utility. In this guide, we’ll cover core aspects of playing Reyna effectively, including her mindset, mechanics, and strategies for both attacking and defending.
Mindset: The Calculated Risk-Taker
Reyna’s playstyle demands calculated aggression. To succeed with Reyna, it’s essential to leverage her potential for high impact through tactical risks. Her abilities allow her to take isolated fights and capitalize on frags, making her highly rewarding for players who can maintain a consistent aim. Reyna’s flash (Leer) and the ability to heal (Devour) or become intangible (Dismiss) after kills make her a threat in 1v1s. However, she’s heavily reliant on securing kills to unlock her abilities, which means maintaining a balance between aggression and safety.
Basic Mechanics: Understanding Reyna’s Valorant Kit
- Leer (Flash): Reyna’s flash ability, Leer, has an unlimited range, and anyone who looks at it will be near-sighted. It can hover for up to two seconds, which is useful for both short and long-range engagements.
- Devour and Dismiss (Orb Abilities): After each kill, an orb drops that allows Reyna to either heal or dismiss. Devour heals her up to 150 health, lasting 30 seconds before decaying back to normal. Dismiss allows Reyna to become intangible for up to two seconds, making it invaluable for escaping or repositioning after a kill.
- Ultimate (Empress): Reyna’s ultimate increases her rate of fire, reload speed, and allows her to dismiss with invisibility. Despite these benefits, Empress is often considered one of the least impactful ultimates in the game, especially at higher ranks, as it doesn’t directly support team utility.
Advanced Techniques for Reyna’s Kit
- Orb Timing: It’s not always best to instantly consume orbs. Instead, you can delay orb use to bait out enemy peeks or to plan a safer escape route with Dismiss.
- Flash Tactics: Adjusting the height of Leer can change its effectiveness. For close-range fights, keep Leer low so it activates quickly. For longer-range engagements, throw it higher to disorient enemies from above.
- Utility Combos: Coordinating Leer with other initiator abilities—such as Skye’s Guiding Light or Sova’s Recon Bolt—can overwhelm the enemy with multiple sources of utility, making it challenging for them to counteract.
Attacking with Reyna in Valorant : Creating and Securing Space
As an attacker, Reyna in Valorant excels in both entry fragging and supporting roles. When playing contact (silent walking into enemy territory), Reyna should ideally be the first to initiate the engagement. Her self-sustaining abilities allow her to take initial damage or secure the first kill and then heal or reposition. However, if another agent is entering first (e.g., Jett or Raze), Reyna can follow up as the second entry with Leer, allowing the team to capitalize on the disorientation caused by her flash.
It’s also essential to understand Reyna’s synergy with team utility. Pairing her flash with a drone or flash from Skye or Sova increases the likelihood of catching enemies off guard, especially in open spaces where dodging multiple flashes is difficult.
Defending with Reyna: Flexible Positioning
Reyna’s defending playstyle mirrors that of Jett in many ways—she excels at floating rather than anchoring. As Reyna, your goal is to take early fights, retreat to a safer position, and continue to delay the enemy advance. Use her Dismiss ability to escape after securing a kill, making it challenging for the opponent to trade you effectively.
Playing off-angles and adopting unconventional positions can be highly effective with Reyna. Her ability to reset through Dismiss allows her to take risky off-angles and retreat to a safe position if an engagement becomes unfavorable.
