When Valorant was publicly released, the community was remarkably united in saying that Jett wouldn't be part of the meta. It seemed logical: in a game based on utility and decision making, the ninja jumping into everyone's crosshairs didn't seem to have much of a future.
It was the time of the Cooler Cup and other Solary Cups, and the extremely rare players who chose Jett in competition were seen as adventurers. This decision was mostly seen at something to make the show, but it was never taken seriously.
Now that the BLAST Invitational Tournament has just ended, Jett isn't only present in more than half of the games, but is often a condition for victory.
A talented Jett player can make his/her team win, even at the highest level. Wardell for TSM, Luckerrr for NIP and Mixwell for G2 are all examples of the pure carry potential of the character.
Catch me if you can
Jett is the only character in-game who can disappear from the eyes of her enemies without any delay. Other characters have movement abilities, but they all require a certain amount of activation time. Jett moves as fast as you press the key on your keyboard and suddenly you're moving faster than the enemy shooting at you.
Being able to evade her enemies' line of fire in this way makes Jett as formidable in attack as she's in defense.
In defense: take the end of a line with an Operator, line up the head of the first attacker and then take cover. You have just deprived the enemy team of any possibility of revenge, and you just did it for free with your signature ability.
It works with all weapons, but it's even more radical with an Operator: the sniper is precious and particularly vulnerable after each shot. Jett has a kit that invalidates revenge and increases her chances of survival. She's the most suitable agent to use the Operator. The latter being particularly powerful at the moment, the meta Operator and the meta Jett feed off each other.
In attack: you and your whole team are lined up at the entrance to a point, flashes and smokes ready to go, but one of you has to lead the way. In a game where all the characters have the same resistance and about the same hitbox, Jett will almost always be the best choice.
Using Updraft and Tailwind she''ll quickly run into the point forcing the enemy defenders to flick to follow her — which will keep their crosshairs away from the rest of the group.
Blade Storm
There are 17 different weapons in Valorant, and none of them offer both the ranged effectiveness and up close punch of Jett's ultimate. The Blade Storm isn't just deadly, it's the most versatile weapon in the game, and it's free. A skill like this — in a game where economy dictates the balance of the match and where you can directly benefit your team with the money you don't use — is infinitely valuable.
Omen can teleport behind his enemies, Breach can stun in front of him, and Jett can allow a helpless teammate to play the next round to her full potential, while becoming even more dangerous than if she had spent 2,900 credits for a Phantom.
Not given to everyone
Since this character is so good, why wasn't it obvious from the beginning? Well it's probably because all the points mentioned so far require a significant amount of skill.
Keeping an Operator until the end, rushing to a point, touching the ultimate to be able to continue to use it, all this requires to be a skilled player. If the execution isn't perfect the result is always the same: Jett sticks in the ground having had for her team all the usefulness of an AFK character. Jett went under the radar because with her it's everything or nothing, and at a time when no one had taken the time to get good at it, it was usually nothing.
Other elements contributed to Jett's popularity. Being able to quickly get close to your enemies in a meta where shotguns are effective and the Shorty costs only 200 credits is useful. To be able to cross Cypher's Trapwire without hindrance when advancing on a point also helps. So many forces which, put together, explain why Jett deserves her place in the compositions of the best teams in the world — as long as you have an exceptional player available.
Original content by Augustin "Review" Heliot.
Cypher is an essential member of a professional team's lineup in Valorant. His domination of the competitive landscape dates back to the very start of the meta, and several patches later, his pick rate shows no sign of slowing down.
