What is "wrong" with Omen and Kay/O

Just over a week ago I created a poll in this sub about what people want most on their team other than smokes. I wasn't surprised when the most voted option was "heavy recon." (https://www.reddit.com/r/VALORANT/comments/1e33srn/other\_than\_smokes\_what\_is\_the\_most\_important/).

The second most desirable option was flashbangs. And it had nearly the same votes. I was ALREADY wondering why Kay/O doesn't seem to perform very well at any level of play but this really got me thinking: "what is it that's wrong with Kay/O?" Other than smokes, he literally has what everyone wants! His flashes are obviously distinct from say Skye's which can be maneuvered seemingly anywhere but they are still pretty good flashes no? And on top of this he has an ability that shut's down his opponents abilities and reveals their location. Isn't it the same thing as Sova's dart as far as recon goes? Maybe his ult is not that great but there are plenty of characters that have mediocre ultimate's who seem to be excellent choices.

Then there's Omen. There was already a post created about why Omen is so bad right now (https://www.reddit.com/r/VALORANT/comments/1ditgoa/why\_is\_omens\_winrate\_struggling\_so\_much\_right\_now/) but it is dominated by discussion about harbor. There are literally dozens of comments about harbor this, harbor that. That's fine but I'm still curious. One person suggested it could be because Clove is just so good that because her win rate is so high the win rate of other controllers suffers. I buy that but that can only be part of what's going on.

Let me know your thoughts,

Thanks

Edit 1: Punctuation

Edit 2: There are several comments about how good Omen is. I agree that Omen seems good and should be amazing in the right hands but for clarification I am talking about his win rate(s) which is actually not very good in most all ranks. https://www.vstats.gg/agents?table=agents&roles=4ee40330-ecdd-4f2f-98a8-eb1243428373&rank=Radiant

Edit 3: Wanted to spotlight a particular answer about Omen. He seems to be the most popular "fill" character that is chosen by would be duelists when they see their team has no smokes. Meaning he is being played a lot by people who either don't want to play him that much and/or don't know his kit that well. That makes a lot of sense to me as his kit is nuclear.

External link →

Ultimately, ranked winrates often manifest as characters that have very low costs of failure.

Characters like Clove or Reyna do not meaningfully screw their team over if they are executing poorly. Sure, they can have bad KDs and not perform well, but they are often not actively detracting. A KAY/O player with 0 lineups for knives who isn't communicating any flashes can make the game legitimately a lot harder to win for his team. Omen probably just loses a lot because a lot of his strengths are much better in coordinated settings (playing for retakes with his paranoia or using it for set plays) and he's often playing vs Clove, who is generally a lot easier to play and get value out of, especially for average players in uncoordinated settings.

It's important that VALORANT has some characters that do incentivize teamwork and have long-tail mastery curves around teamplay utility. Characters like KAY/O make the game better for those who are willing to invest the time into setting up others for the greater good, even if that # of total players is lower.

Recent Valorant Posts

Everything you need to know about the new map rotation system in 2025.

stay crafty

The changes to Sunset's lighting were a very positive point for the game's design

VALORANT 9.10 Bug Megathread