Astra's smoke one-way trick helps you catch enemies by surprise

Fariha Bhatti Published 23/03/2021

Newly minted controller Astra is not just your regular smoker. She has some incredible tricks up her sleeves, capable of pulling a fast one on enemies.

Agent 15 Astra is still adjusting in Valorant’s gelled-up roster, stacked with original three smokers Omen, Viper, and Brimstone. The galactic agent is most certainly a versatile addition due to her miscellaneous kit, but she’s tough to master. Hand-eye coordination, impeccable map reading, and finger movement are a few things you must learn to play Astra. This steep learning curve has sent many Valorant players to their former main agents, but Astra’s trick and exploits are super tempting to at least try.

It seems that Astra has tons of secret tricks waiting to be uncovered after she recently reappeared on players’ radar for her one-way star exploit. A new scheme has pulled her under the spotlight once again, where she uses her smokes to ambush enemies.

A combination of Astral form and Nebula allows Astra to take cover in her smoke in a new, creative way. One way smokes are a common tactic to pick off opponents in Valorant, but enemies can always sneak away. The controller can utilize her Astral form to trick them into jaws of death.

When Astra moves into her Astral form, she folds her leg to levitate in the air. By planting stars on elevated spots, players can safely hide inside their smokes. For example, Bind’s pocket boxes create a perfectly round nebula, allowing Astra to stop A-short pushes. Naturally, players always check regular smokes before pushing through them, but checking one-way is a rarity even for high-ranked players.

While this trick would be fun to try out in ranked, it’s also easily contestable. After a while, players would start to spray down any galactic smoke placed on random spots. To throw the enemies off, Astra mains can replicate this trick inside Omen or Brimstone’s smoke. However, the smokes must be spot-on as Astra’s one leg hangs closer to the ground, making her vulnerable in a poorly placed smoke.

How many stars does Astra have in Valorant?

Astra can deposit a total of five nodes called “stars” and transform them according to her needs. The agent must move into her Astral pose to drop stars around the map and activate them to concuss, smoke out, or pull enemies in a tornado. Her Astral form provides her with a bird’s eye view of the entire map, where Astra can utilize her three abilities to corner enemies.

Fariha Bhatti

About Fariha Bhatti

Fariha Bhatti is a long-time gaming writer who loves competitive FPS games and slots with particularly fun themes. She got her start playing classic games developed by SNK, from legendary fighting game series The King of Fighters to challenging platform franchise Metal Slug. She now spends most of her time playing Valorant and Counter-Strike 2 while working her way through new slot releases to find her next favorite. Fariha has been published at PCGamesN, TalkEsport and ONE Esports.

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