VALORANT Astra Smokes on Fracture - Best Smokes and Strategies

Written by: Wei

24/02/2023

This will be the only guide you need on the best smokes for Astra on the map Fracture.
Astra is a versatile agent with a unique set of abilities that make her a valuable addition to any team. Fracture is a unique map in design that offers a multitude of approaches to each side of play.

In this article, we will explore Astra's abilities and highlight the best smokes for each key location on Fracture. Whether you're a veteran player or just starting out, this guide will provide you with the knowledge to effectively control and dominate your opponents with Astra. Get ready to take your gameplay to the next level!

Setups - Attack

The attacking side on Fracture is quite challenging as you need to figure out a good approach to the defenders. You’re given 2 sites with 2 spawns which allows you to have more control over the middle of the map, but utilizing that into executing sites can get too difficult at times. Here’s how with Astra you can make Fracture seem so easy:

A Default

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This setup is a lot more viable if you are planning on pushing A site as a team from main. And that means either 4 of you or your entire team going there, because in this setup you are not going to take dish control and that’s why you smoke it off.

Always feel free to change where to place your stun as you figure out how your enemies play and where they sit.

A Dish Control

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If you are planning on taking Dish control, then go for this setup. Smoking both CT and Sand, stunning site, and coordinating your push is the key to go. Always focus on timing the push from both choke points (dish, main) as if one goes after another in a delayed manner you will end up being picked apart.

Pro Tip: You don’t use your Gravity Well on Astra if you are on the attacking side solely because this ability is better suited for post plant scenarios. In that context, you should always use your stun to clear corners and your pull to stop enemies from defusing the spike.

B Default

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Moving on to the B executes, make sure you smoke both canteen and CT while stunning Green boxes.

This is one of the most effective ways to push B if you don’t have arcade control, the stun will delay any player playing on that spot planning to peek and catch off guard and those smokes will isolate any rotation from site.

B Fast

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Another way to do it is by Smoking closer and moving the place of your stun to either Site/Default or Tower.

This is best done in case your enemies always walk out of the smoke at weird timings and catch you off guard; with this setup they will need to walk further before they can peek you.

B Arcade

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For the third setup on B, make sure you are taking Arcade control. For that you will need to switch one of your smokes towards Tower on the Arcade side and try to push site by smoking CT and stunning CT. From here, care for main and site / tower.

Setups - Defense

Fracture in defense is more like a coin flip. It might be easy, but it can also be the hardest thing to deal with. So it’s important that you learn how to use Astra on defense especially considering her ability to lock down sites and counter play any utility. Here’s how Astra on defense can turn into a menace for any attacker:

B Control

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When defending B site, you have to make sure both main and arcade are smoked off. Enemies can easily sandwich you especially if you’re playing alone on a site, so putting a smoke can delay their movement or at least let you know that they’re trying to cross when they use a flash to come out of it.

Place your pull right in front of any smoke, you’re holding, stay behind cover until you hear steps and then enable it and peek off that.

A Control

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Defending A is more tricky, as you need to figure out how attackers are playing to know which smokes work best in blocking them from executing site. For the first setup you can use, smoke sand and main with a pull ready as they push out of A main. You either know there’s nobody pushing dish or you have a player taking space of that portion of the map for this setup to succeed.

A Half

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If you know they play for taking dish control, then smoke both dish and A main the same way while having a player hold sand. Preferably, a breach because with flashes you can push them back into main. You can also ask for a sage to wall that area and play comfortably on site.

Setups - Ultimates

Unique to Astra and not any other controller is her ultimate that is a gigantic wall crossing the entire map blocking both sounds and bullets. And since it’s an ability that needs to be used properly, here’s how you can implement it in-game:

Full B

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Your ultimate can give you maximum control of B site when done like this. All you will need to do is cross and clear default and tower. After that make sure you maintain your pressure of the space that the ultimate has given you so that when it falls off enemies has less time to retake.

A Plant

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For the A ultimate there’s almost no argument this is how you should do it. You can expand your ult’s range further towards CT if you have players on Dish, but if you’re only taking it from main then this is the way to go.