Riot Games has revealed Valorant‘s newest Agent, KAY/O, who appears to be a practice bot that gained sentience – perhaps to get payback for players’ time at the Range. He is the 17th Agent to join the cast of Valorant and brings several abilities that could shake up the current gameplay meta in the coming season. While some of these are similar to abilities in the kits of preexisting Agents, KAY/O adds his own twists to ensure a unique and original ability set.
Valorant’s KAY/O reveal trailer shows of a mix of cutscenes and gameplay. In a very “Dormammu, I’ve come to bargain” action sequence, KAY/O is seen adapting to his various deaths against opposing Agents. His backstory appears to involve a world ruined by Radiants, with his mission emphasizing suppressing their abilities. The abilities in KAY/O’s kit only reinforce this mission directive, as he works to control the battlefield.
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KAY/O’s E ability is Zero/Point, which allows him to throw a suppression knife that sticks to the first surface it hits. After a short period, it detonates and suppresses any Agents caught in the blast radius. It is unknown whether Zero/Point affects friendly Agents, but given friendly flashbangs in other kits can blind teammates, KAY/O players will likely need to exercise caution. KAY/O’s Q ability is called Flash/Drive, which acts as a flash bang that can be cooked prematurely with right-click to speed up its activation time. Similar to the flashbang of fellow Valorant Agent Skye, KAY/O’s Flash/Drive gives players more control over detonation to help prevent friendly blinds. Unfortunately, KAY/O still adds yet another flash ability into the game, something the Valorant community is less than thrilled about.
Death Is Not The End For Valorant’s KAY/O
KAY/O’S C ability is Frag/Ment, another projectile meant to push enemy Agents out of key positions. True to its name, Frag/Ment is a frag grenade that sticks to the floor and detonates in a frenzy of explosions. The closer players are to the center of the explosion, the more damage is dealt with them. This ability will be vital to locking down areas of interest, clearing enemies out of the high ground, or clearing corners for teammates to progress safely. KAY/O is not the first Agent to be equipped with a grenade, as Valorant’s Raze and Killjoy both have versions of damaging projectiles or traps that can be utilized similarly. Whether these three Agents will serve as counters to one another or simply create another explosive team composition has yet to be seen.
KAY/O’s final ability explains a Valorant mechanic leaked several months back - the “Downed” state. His ultimate ability is called Null/CMD. Upon activation, KAY/O becomes overloaded and emits energy pulses around his body. Enemies hit with these pulses have their abilities suppressed for a short time. Perhaps the biggest appeal of Null/CMD is that KAY/O can be revived by teammates if defeated while in an overloaded. This will require overloaded KAY/O corpses to be watched for some time, effectively occupying a member (or multiple) of enemy teams until Null/CMD’s timer runs out.
It seems KAY/O won’t disappoint as the 17th Agent of Valorant, utilizing familiar mechanics but placing a unique twist on them. In doing this, KAY/O ensures his independence from the rest of the cast but could still introduce changes into the meta. KAY/O will be available on June 22 as a part of Valorant’s Episode 3, Act 1.
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