Killjoy, the latest Valorant agent was officially revealed just yesterday, and players are already concerned that, much like Raze, she may be too OP. But Riot is defending the agent.
Riot officially revealed the new Valorant agent Killjoy, who is set to hit the servers on August 4. Classified as a Guardian, the agent has a lot of technical gadget skills and, like Cypher, will be used to gather intel. But the community is "not amused" bu worried: Could Killjoy's abilities, unlike Cypher's, deal too much damage?
Here you can see her kit in action:
Killjoy's Alarmbot can be placed to mark enemies in range and run towards them before exploding. Her Turret does exactly what you would expect: when deployed it shoots at anything that comes in its range. The Nanoswarm can be placed as a trap and when activated it deals damage over a large area. Killjoy's ult, Lockdown, takes a long time to recharge after placement and can be destroyed by enemies in the meantime. However, when it detonates, all enemies in its radius are slowed down and can't use their weapons or abilities.
Valorant Agent Killjoy: These Are Her Abilities
As you can easily see, all Killjoy's abilities are not only well suited to gaining knowledge about the enemies, but she can also secure entire areas on her own and deal damage without having to be on site. We don't need to mention that her ultimate is extremely powerful.
Riot had this to say from the get-go:
This is by far the most punishing debuff in the game. But we believe that players are rarely hit by the debuff once they get used to it. After Lockdown is deployed, it takes 13 seconds to detonate and unlock the debuff, giving players the opportunity to get out of the field.
This may be true for players who are in the higher ranks, but especially in beginners' matches, Killjoy's ult is likely to paralyze entire teams on a regular basis.
As with Raze, the community also fears that Killjoy's skills simply won't fit into a game that is based a lot on skill and aim. Gunplay would take a back seat if agents could use their skills to collect kills much more safely. Players fear that with the new agent, Valorant is putting too much emphasis on the ability kit and that these abilities will no longer be used as utility but would replace the weapons altogether.
Riot tried to set the record clear on this, too:
Things like Raze Grenade and Boom Bot create intense threat but are there to support the tactical gunplay. When we make damage abilities (including Killjoy) this is always the goal.
So, the skills should be used to pressure enemies, not kill them. They should only result in kills if the opponent is in a very awkward position or just doesn't defend against the ability. But is that really the case?
Raze has already been nerfed once and more tweaks will surely follow for her soon. Killjoy is not yet in the game, so we can't make a final statement yet, but we suspect that her abilities will make her extremely strong, especially in low-level matches. Pros and high-rank players might be able to counter her skills well, but especially beginners will most likely run into her turrets or nanobots frequently, and will have a lot of trouble with her ult. It seems that, in her current form, Killjoy could decide a round completely on her own.
- READ MORE: Valorant: Riot Finally Reveal Killjoy
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