Valorant’s celestial controller Astra is tough to master, but she’s extremely rewarding when used appropriately. In high ELO games, Astra can be the difference-maker when all else fails.
Astra has been part of Valorant protocol for months now, but she’s still rarely seen in ranked games. Her high learning curve makes her a rare pick in low ELO games, but professional players like to run the controller. Her kit is confusing, but it can be a game-changer in the right hands.
What’s Astral form, and how to use it?
Mastering her Astral form is extremely important to run Astra in competitive effectively. The controller is equipped with stars that bloom into different abilities once planted on the ground. To drop those stars, Astra must shift into her Astral form, which makes her highly vulnerable.
When planting stars, make sure you are in a secure position. Try not to place stars when enemies are nearby, picking duels. Master your finger movement to instantly move in and out of Astral form to drop stars in risky situations.
Using Astra’s stars to win games
To avoid landing in enemies’ crosshairs in your Astral form, it’s recommended to place stars at the beginning of the round. If you’re playing on the attack, communicate with your duelists. Place a star on a predictable camping spot and activate a Gravity Well (C) to pull out the enemy for your duelist. You can also place stars towards the defender’s angle and other open areas and bloom them into smokes (E).
Astra is comparatively easier to play on defense. At the beginning of the round, place stars on the entry of all sites. Only bloom smokes when your teammates have sound cues. Recollect your unused stars and save them for later when you’re rotating towards the location of the attack.
Astra pairs well with almost all agents. If your team has a Killjoy, Raze, or Brimstone, pair your Nova Pulse (Q) or pull with their damage-rendering abilities. For example, enemies will deal more damage from Raze’s nade when they’re drawn in by the well or stunned.
How to use Astra’s ultimate Cosmic Divide
Press right-click to enter Cosmic Divide, and then left-click twice to decide how you plant your wall. This divide will block out all bullets and dampen audio for 21 seconds so use it smartly.
The ideal time to use it is in post-plant or defusing situations. In post-plant cases, place close to the wall so you can take enemies pushing through by surprise. Place a wall when you’re defusing so you can block enemies’ bullets and deactivate the Spike safely.
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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