Using the flow of water, Harbor is an expert at blocking vision, disrupting areas, and shielding allies. With a twist on traditional Controllers in Valorant, Harbor has an exciting toolkit that allows him to excel in certain situations.
Rather than using smoke grenades similar to his Controller counterparts, Harbor has walls as a major part of his utility. Harbor also has a sphere-shaped shield, similar in size to the other Controllers’ smoke grenades, but with a powerful advantage. Blocking vision is still a central focus for Harbor, but he plays the Controller role uniquely.
10/10 Use Heavy Utility When Attacking A Spike Site
The best way for Harbor to help secure a location is to lead with a High Tide that covers likely Defender locations, followed by a Cascade. When launching a High Tide, holding down the fire button will allow you to curve it. Look for opportunities to cover multiple corridors or high-traffic areas to get the most out of your High Tides.
Using a Cascade down the path that your team will travel is also great cover when entering a new area. Cascade can block vision from long-range enemies while making that final push onto a Spike site. Just make sure to watch for enemies hiding in close corners as the Cascade moves forward.
9/10 Play Safe While Defending Sites
Harbor is an effective Agent when he can safely use his abilities from a distance. Don’t play forward positions that can get you killed early in a round. With no movement abilities to get out of a sticky situation, Harbor will be in danger quickly when enemies close in around him. High Tide and Cascade can potentially push enemies away, but they also put you at risk.
When you cast High Tide or Cascade, it can give away your position if the enemy saw from where the ability was cast. Additionally, if you are holding down the fire button to control a High Tide, you will be defenseless against a charging enemy.
8/10 Save Your Cove For A Clutch
Cove is a useful but expensive ability. Focus on using it patiently to be impactful in your games. Brimstone’s Sky Smoke provides up to three charges that cost 100 credits each, while Harbor’s Cove only allows one charge which costs 350 credits. Cove should be used sparingly and saved for key situations that can win rounds.
If Brim wastes a Sky Smoke, it has little to no impact on the team. If Harbor gets no value of out his Cove, he can quickly deplete his economy and miss opportunities to clutch a round.
7/10 Learn And Practice Lineups For High Tide
Don’t just fire your High Tide in a straight line — curve it to slice up an area and force the enemy team to play around it. The ability to curve is what makes High Tide unique, so use this option to get the upper hand in your games.
Opening up a custom game is a great way to learn lineups and practice curving your High Tides around each map. Try weaving the wall back and forth, blocking a corridor multiple times to lock down a long hallway. Maximizing the use of your High Tides is one of the keys to being a great Harbor.
6/10 Harbor Shines On Maps With Small Spike Sites
Maps with small Spike sites can be overwhelmed by Harbor’s abilities. Ascent and Bind have sites that can be wrapped up by a single High Tide, while Icebox and Breeze are much harder to close off.
On Ascent, High Tide can easily block A-Rafters and Tree room in one wave, all from the relative safety of cover by the A-main cubby. On Breeze, the Spike sites are so large that High Tide can only cover a small portion of the vulnerable areas. While this doesn’t mean Harbor is bad on Breeze, he’s just not as effective as he is on Ascent.
5/10 Reckoning Is Perfect for Securing Or Defending A Site
Use Reckoning to stop a Spike plant or defuse, slow down enemy aggression, or displace defenders that are preventing you from advancing. The large area of effect that Reckoning has makes it comparable to Killjoy’s Lockdown. Both of these Ultimate abilities can cover an entire Spike site and disrupt the enemy team.
Unlike Brimstone’s Orbital Strike or Sova’s Hunter’s Fury, Reckoning is not a distance tool and must be activated within a close range of Harbor. Be aware: similar to High Tide and Cascade, Reckoning is another ability that can alert the enemy team that Harbor is nearby.
4/10 Use Cascade To Block, Slow, Or Displace
Creatively using Cascade can increase your potency with Harbor. Cascade is a combination of a projectile, a slowing debuff, and a vision block. When used correctly, Cascade can not only push an enemy back or block their vision, but it can also hold a chokepoint and provide cover while moving.
Unlike other Agents’ walls and smokes, Cascade starts blocking vision and slowing the enemy while it is moving toward its final destination. The time that Cascade is in movement can be used by your team to change position or execute any other utility.
3/10 Don’t Use Your Abilities Early On Defense
Some Agents should spam their abilities at the start of a round, but Harbor should save his utility until he sees signs of the enemy advancing. While it’s okay to use High Tide at the start of a round, because it will be reusable again in forty seconds, Cascade and Cove need to be used far more patiently.
With only one charge of Cove and High Tide and two charges of Cascade, Harbor has a relatively small toolkit. Wait until you have confirmed an enemy sighting before using Harbor’s abilities. If you use them early, you may regret it.
2/10 Rush With Harbor When You’re Attacking
Save your abilities for the burst onto a site, but then use them quickly in succession when your team commits to the location. Harbor only has a few abilities at his disposal, and they don’t persist on the map for very long. The strongest situation for Harbor is to heavily use his toolkit when attempting to plant the Spike.
Opening with a High Tide and a Cascade can block a lot of enemy vision and cause those within the affected area to move. Then use a Cove on the site for a safe Spike plant. When he uses his abilities to secure a Spike plant, Harbor can be a dangerously good attacker.
1/10 Harbor Should Be Played Like An Initiator
Although Harbor is classified as a Controller, he shines when he’s played like an Initiator. Even without having a flashbang or an ability that reveals enemies, he can disrupt locations and cause enemies to scatter.
When your team is ready to attack a site, use your abilities in conjunction with any initiators on your team to execute a site push. While on the Defender’s side, save your abilities for the enemy push and slow their momentum down with ease. Harbor’s ability to initiate a team fight is incredible — he can easily cause chaos in any area he chooses. However, Harbor lacks sustainability, so make your bursts count.
