Killjoy, ‘Valorant’s’ new agent reviewed

Killjoy is a Sentinel, which means she’s fantastic at collecting information on the battlefield. Keep this in mind when you’re using her abilities, as although they can certainly be used for scoring debuffs and damage, they’re also fantastic at working out where your enemies are and what they’re doing.

Killjoy, the newest playable agent in Riot Games’s 5v5 tactical shooter, “Valorant,” comes out on August 4, when the current battle pass ends. The character most closely resembles a mix of Raze, a duelist with grenades and an explosive robot that is both lethal and useful for information-gathering, and Cypher, a tinkerer-engineer with cameras and covert tripwires

 

Killjoy’s abilities include:

  • An “Alarmbot” that is placed in a single location and detonates when enemies are in range, applying a vulnerability debuff to those caught in its blast. Similar to Cypher’s tools, the “Alarmbot” can be recalled.
  • A stationary turret that can be deployed to fire in a 180-degree cone. You can recall the turret, similar to the “Alarmbot.”
  • A “Nanoswarm” grenade — though grenade may be a misnomer. After throwing the device, it goes quiet and can be activated on command, similar to Cypher’s “Cyber Cage” ability, to unleash a lasting circular field of damage.
  • Killjoy’s ultimate ability, “Lockdown,” does what it says on the tin. After a lengthy setup, the device captures all enemies caught within its radius for eight seconds. The device can be destroyed by enemies.

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Her abilities seem best equipped for defensive play, either in terms of keeping watch over a site on the defender side, or holding a planted bomb on the attacking side. Both the “Alarmbot” and the turret can alert site-holders to the presence of opponents, similar to Cypher’s camera and tripwires. The “Nanoswarm” can be used similarly to Brimstone’s “Molly,” closing off points of entry or making parts of a site, such as the planted bomb, inaccessible to opponents. And “Lockdown,” if activated near a planted bomb, can delay the defending team, or force them to rush the site and disable the device.

The news didn’t catch players entirely by surprise. Earlier this week, Riot’s website briefly showcased a write-up of Killjoy’s abilities and YouTube videos showing them in action. This information was quickly taken down, but not before some of it was captured by players and data miners.

 

Similar to the other unlockable agents in the game, Killjoy’s contract — tiers of which must be completed or bought to unlock Killjoy — includes three sprays, two titles, one gun buddy, a player card and the agent herself.

Detailed Killjoy Valorant Abilities Guide

Turret

Once you place the turret, it will scan its area for enemies and take less than a second to start shooting once it spots one. The damage increases the closer the enemy is to the turret, dealing 8 per shot at close range, 6 and mid-range, and 4 at the longest range. It has 125 life points, and can be moved around while it’s still out.

Alarmbot

Alarmbot costs 200 credits, and is another weapon you can place wherever you want and move around if you need to. Once it detects an enemy it will charge, then apply a debuff and alert you to their presence. It doesn’t do damage, but it’ll help you do some yourself.

Nanoswarm

This is a grenade-like tool that can be stealthily placed on the floor. But you can’t just drop it and leave – you’ll need to manually detonate it. But once you do, its area of effect lingers a bit, damaging anyone who touches it.

Lockdown

As you can see in the video, Killjoy’s Ultimate Ability produces a massive field that essentially places a debuff zone across a wide area of effect. If an enemy is caught inside, they won’t be able to use weapons or skills. Lockdown is very powerful, but it costs 7 Ultimate Points to use. It also takes a long time to detonate once it’s placed, and if Killjoy players don’t hide it well, it only has 150 life points so it’s easily destroyed.

Killjoy is a part of Valorant Act II, and we don’t have a release date for her just yet. But there’s always a spot for turret characters in character-based shooters, so we’re predicting she’ll be pretty popular once she’s available.

What do you think of Killjoy? Do you like her design, or do you already see some strategies to use with her bag of tricky tools? Let us know what you’re thinking over at the Prima Games Facebook and Twitter channels.

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