How to Unlock Agents in Valorant: From Free-to-Play to New Agents, All in One Place (2026)

When you first install Valorant and launch the game, a lot of people are surprised to find fewer usable agents on the character select screen than they expected. The screen shows tons of agents, yet only a few are actually available to pick and play. This isn't a bug; it's Valorant's basic structure. Aside from a few starter agents, the rest are all locked, and you have to unlock them yourself to use them.

The good news is that unlocking isn't hard, and you can do plenty of it without spending a cent as long as you put in the time. In this article, we'll start with a table of every current agent and their release order, then work through why agents are locked, the three unlock methods, the special restriction on new agents, and what order free-to-play players should unlock in, step by step.

Every Valorant Agent and Their Release Order (29 Agents as of September 2026)

First, let's settle how many agents Valorant has right now. As of September 14, 2026, the official agent page lists 29 agents across four roles: Duelist, Initiator, Sentinel, and Controller. The newest addition is Miks, a Controller released with Patch 12.05 in March 2026; no new agent has arrived through Patch 13.05 since then. The official web pages don't spell out which agents are starters, so the reliable way to check is the Agents tab in the client: any agent without a lock icon is yours already.

• Duelists (8): Phoenix, Jett, Raze, Reyna, Yoru, Neon, Iso, Waylay
• Initiators (7): Sova, Breach, Skye, KAY/O, Fade, Gekko, Tejo
• Sentinels (7): Cypher, Sage, Killjoy, Chamber, Deadlock, Vyse, Veto
• Controllers (7): Brimstone, Viper, Omen, Astra, Harbor, Clove, Miks

New agents and role tweaks can land with any patch, so check the official agent page for the current roster and the official patch notes for release timing. Whenever a new agent ships, think of it as one more row at the bottom of this table.

Why Are Valorant Agents Locked?

In Valorant, an agent isn't just a skin; it's a core element that changes the gameplay itself. Each agent has unique abilities and an ultimate, so which agent you pick can completely change the strategy of a round. That's why Riot designed it so new players, rather than getting flooded with every agent from the start, unlock agents one at a time as they learn the game.

As a result, a new account starts out able to use only the starter agents, and you have to unlock the rest through play or through payment. The narrow set of choices may feel frustrating at first, but it's actually a structure that's good for building your fundamentals with a small number of agents.

The 3 Ways to Unlock Valorant Agents

There are three broad ways to unlock agents in Valorant: the Agent Recruitment Event, the free route that replaced the old agent contracts (28 days after release); Kingdom Credits, a currency you earn through play; and VP, which you pay real money for. Let's look at each one.

1. Agent Contracts Are Gone: Free Unlocks Now Come From the Agent Recruitment Event

The "agent contract" you may remember from older guides and videos was retired in June 2023 with Patch 7.0 (Episode 7). Today, the free way to get an agent is the Agent Recruitment Event. When a new agent releases, the event switches on automatically for every player for 28 days from launch; play matches during that window to fill the XP bar and the agent unlocks for free. Riot says the time it takes is about the same as reaching Tier 5 of the old contract. You don't spend any money and there's nothing to activate, which makes this the most important channel for free-to-play players.

If you don't fill the XP within the 28 days, you can unlock the agent any time afterwards in the Agent Store with Kingdom Credits or an Agent Unlock Token (the token new players earn from their first contract). On the flip side, any half-finished contract tier progress from the old system was lost when 7.0 went live, and the cosmetic contract rewards moved into Agent Gear, which you buy level by level with Kingdom Credits once you own the agent. The table below compares the old contract with the current system item by item.

One heads-up as well. In the Patch 13.05 notes, Riot announced that from Patch 13.06 on September 22, 2026, the way Agent Gear is earned will be reworked to tie directly to your playtime on that agent. Gear you already own stays, and Kingdom Credits will still be used going forward. Nothing in the notes says the agent unlock method itself is changing, so treat the Progression Update Explainer & FAQ and the latest patch notes as your reference for the fine print.

So here's the bottom line. Agent contracts are gone, and during the first 28 days after release the only free route to a new agent is earning XP in the Agent Recruitment Event that switches on automatically (once it ends, Kingdom Credits work too). Filling that XP within 28 days means playing a lot of matches, and your first ace or clutch on the new agent will land somewhere in that window. If nothing is recording at that moment, the play is simply gone. DOR, a free Windows app, detects Valorant automatically once it's running, records the full match, and auto-clips highlights like kills into its library, so those 28 days of the recruitment event become your highlight record for the new agent. We cover saving your first ace on a new agent in how to save a Valorant ace clip, and how DOR cuts kills on its own in DOR auto highlight clips.

2. Instant Unlocks with Kingdom Credits

Kingdom Credits (KC) are an in-game currency you earn through play, and they can't be bought with real money. Playing matches in any mode builds them up, and each daily checkpoint you complete pays 150 KC, or 600 KC for all four checkpoints in a day (Riot Support Kingdom Credits FAQ, checked September 14, 2026). Once you've gathered enough, you can use them in the Agent Store to instantly unlock the agent you want. Unlike the recruitment event, where you fill up XP, the advantage here is that with enough credits you can unlock right away.

A few rules are worth knowing. You can hold at most 10,000 KC, and they never expire, so spend them before you hit the cap. Free-for-all Deathmatch doesn't advance checkpoints, and a game where you were penalized for bad behavior pays no KC. The exact amount needed to unlock one agent can change over time, so it's most accurate to go by the price shown in the in-game store.

3. Instant Unlocks with VP

VP (Valorant Points) is a paid currency you top up with real money. With VP, you can unlock the agent you want right away without having to grind XP or gather credits. It's the option to pick when you want to save time or use a specific agent immediately, and if spending money feels like a stretch, there's no need to use it.

Newly Released Agents May Not Be Unlockable Right Away

Here's one thing to watch out for. A newly released agent can't be unlocked with Kingdom Credits or an Agent Unlock Token for 28 days after release (Riot Support Kingdom Credits FAQ, checked September 14, 2026). That means if you want to use a brand-new agent right away, the only routes open during that window are earning XP in the auto-activated Agent Recruitment Event, paying with VP, or having an active Xbox Game Pass subscription linked.

So you may run into a situation where you try to buy a new agent right away with your saved-up Kingdom Credits and can't. When that happens, don't rush; play matches during the 28 days and unlock through recruitment event XP, or wait until the event ends and then unlock with credits. The period and conditions can change with patches, so use the in-game guidance and the official FAQ as your reference.

A Recommended Unlock Order for Free-to-Play Players

If you're gathering agents without spending money, it's more efficient to unlock in an order that helps your play rather than just unlocking whatever looks good. Generally, we recommend unlocking agents in the role you tend to play first.

• Priority 1: Unlock a core agent in the role you play most first
• Priority 2: An agent who can fill a role your team comp is often missing
• Priority 3: Broaden out with agents who click for you and get you good win rates
• Note: If you're not in a hurry, unlock new agents after their Kingdom Credit restriction lifts

Rather than greedily trying to unlock every agent from the start, mastering two or three agents you use often will help your skill improve more. Your agent pool naturally grows over time, so early on, selecting and focusing is the right answer. If you enjoy other FPS titles alongside Valorant, like Counter-Strike or Apex Legends, it's also fun to compare each game's character structure.

If You Pulled Off a Career-Best Play With a Newly Unlocked Agent

The moment you land your first great play with an agent you worked hard to unlock is one of the most thrilling experiences in Valorant. But that decisive moment usually shows up without warning, so even when you want to watch it again, you'll often be disappointed to find no recording of it.

Keep the free game recorder DOR running and you won't miss moments like these. DOR automatically detects the instant your first ace lands with a newly unlocked agent and saves it as a clip, so your best plays get saved on their own without you hitting a record button. Run DOR while you enjoy Valorant, and the very process of unlocking agents one by one stacks up as a highlight record.