Valorant Raze Agent Guide: Abilities, Strategies & More

Want to learn to play Raze like all those YouTubers with "this is how 10,000 hours of Raze looks like" videos? If so, we'll try to make the process a bit shorter for you with our guide.

Raze Guide EG
Let's learn the basics of Raze! | © Riot Games / EarlyGame

Raze is one of the most flashy Duelist Agents you can play. She can deal infinite amounts of damage with her ability kit and allows for movement tricks that no other Agent will give you, which why she is always present in the Valorant metagame, on pretty much every rank. In this article, we'll focus on understanding her ability kit, as well as some basic strategies and approaches you can take to win more games. So, without further ado, let's go!

Valorant Raze Abilities

Boom Bot

Official Ability Description: EQUIP a Boom Bot. FIRE will deploy the bot, causing it to travel in a straight line on the ground, bouncing off walls. The Boom Bot will lock on to any enemies in its frontal cone and chase them, exploding for heavy damage if it reaches them.

Default KeyC
Cost300 Credits

Charges

1
Duration10 seconds
Health60 HP
Damage30-80

Raze's Boom Bot ability is basically an explosive robot that moves in a straight line and can bounce off surfaces. When the robot gets near an enemy, it explodes, dealing damage between 30 and 80. Of course, it can be destroyed, but that requires the enemy team to aim down, which is a distraction. Often you can use the boom bot as the bait to make your enemy look down, after which you will be able to catch them off guard. It's also a good tool for clearing tight corners or just checking certain areas for enemy presence, so in this case, you can also compare it to Yoru's clone.

Blast Pack

Official Ability Description: INSTANTLY throw a Blast Pack that will stick to surfaces. RE-USE the ability after deployment to detonate, damaging and moving anything hit. Raze isn't damaged by this ability, but will still take fall damage if launched up far enough.

Default KeyQ
Cost200 Credits
Charges2
Health

20 HP

Duration5 seconds max
Damage15 max

This little satchel is the main character of all movement compilations with Raze. After its detonation, it causes an explosion that propels you in the opposite direction of it. It is mostly used for all kinds of boosts, just like Jett's Updraft ability, and can work magic when combined with your Ultimate Ability, which we will talk about later in this guide.

It either takes 5 seconds to explode, or you can activate it by pressing the ability hotkey, which is "Q" on default. The fact that you have 2 charges of it can also work magic, as you can quickly jump into a certain area, and push an enemy player with your Vandal, or even shotgun like Bucky. Moreover, as you may have already noticed, Raze's ability kit really punishes all kind of corners and tight areas, which makes her a perfect pick for maps like Fracture or Bind.

Paint Shells (Signature Ability)

Official Ability Description: EQUIP a cluster grenade. FIRE to throw the grenade, which does damage and creates sub-munitions, each doing damage to anyone in their range.

Default KeyE
CostFree
Charges1
Damage15-55
RestockAfter 2 kills

Paint Shells is Raze's Signature Ability, meaning that you get a free charge for it every round, and it is a grenade that divides into four parts during an explosion. If you have been playing other FPS games, we think it is self-explanatory, but remember that your charge refreshes after you score two frags. That said, it is often not worth waiting with the charge for a specific moment, as you can quickly get it back. Still, it's worth learning some lineups for this ability, especially post plants, as they can easily win you a game on the spot.

Showstopper (Ultimate Ability)

Official Ability Description: EQUIP a rocket launcher. FIRE shoots a rocket that does massive area damage on contact with anything.

Default KeyX
Cost8 Ult Points
Duration10 seconds max
Minimum Damage30
Maximum Damage150
Equip Time1.4 seconds

Here comes the party! Yeah, you hear that and you know that you're in trouble. Showstopper is basically a rocket launcher that deals some massive damage – 30 minimum, 150 maximum, depending on the distance. You will have 10 seconds after launching your Ultimate Ability to fire it, and you can't perform any other actions during this time.

And one thing you should know about Raze's Showstopper ability is that is actually is that you get blasted slightly backward after firing the launcher. This is actually more impactful than you think, and Raze mains spend hours practicing this ability. Yup, it seems easy to understand, but it is incredibly hard to master this ability. However, once you do, you become basically unstoppable.

How To Play Raze?

Raze's playstyle is pretty straightforward for attacking. You are basically a classic Duelist, the so-called entry fragger, and you want to push corners (often with your Blast Pack ability) and grab those sweet kills. However, Raze is not as good in 1v1 situations as other Duelists, so it would be best to have a reliable Initiator or Sentinel together with you when pushing. You don't want to hold your abilities for too long, especially when it comes to Paint Shells and Showstopper, as you pretty much get them back relatively quickly. The same goes for Boom Bot and Blast Pack, as they will work just perfectly in the early game, when you want to grab your first frags and get into the Spike Site.

And when it comes to defending, Raze is actually a pretty good in this aspect for a Duelist, as she can significantly slow the enemy team down with her ability kit and buy some time for her teammates to rotate. Boom Bot can often check for corners and gather intel about any attacking team's strategy. Sometimes it might even be worth pushing with her Blast Pack in the early game, especially if you can combine it with Showstopper, but that's always a risk that you need to calculate on your own. All in all, when defending a Spike site with Raze,you want to gather as much information, buy time if you need it, and most of all – be ready for any encounter.

More Valorant Guides:

Szymon Bielawski

I've been into competitive gaming and eSports since I was a kid. I started out in the local CS:GO scene and ended up performing at the international major tournaments like Hearthstone Masters Tour. The competitive gaming world discovered a new...