Riot Games has been teasing a new agent for the 5v5 team fighter Valorant since June. Recently they finally introduced the twelfth agent to join the game, Killjoy. She comes highly anticipated, but fans have concerns that Killjoy may be too OP.
Killjoy is the third Sentinel agent to be added to the game. She’s a robot-loving, tech expert, considered one of Germany’s best. Killjoy is a fitting name for this character who can lockout and shut down enemy teams. She comes with four main abilities: Alarmbot, Turret, Nanoswarm and Lockdown, each of which allows her to lock down sites with her arsenal of inventions.
Killjoy’s Alarmbot
Players can equip and deploy a bot that hunts down enemies in range, exploding upon intact. The Alarmbot does no damage but inflicts Vulnerable, a four-second window where double damage is inflicted. The Classic is a one-shot kill during the Vulnerable state.
The bot can be seen and destroyed, but once it spots an enemy, is near impossible to dodge. Currently, Jett is the only character able to dodge it with her flash forward. The Alarmbot can be used like Cypher’s camera to check corners, as it can be picked up and has a 20 seconds cooldown before you are able to redeploy it. The bot can be flashed and smoked to give players a brief period to spot and destroy it.
The Controversial Turret
Killjoy’s turret has been the topic of most concerns voiced by fans. A heavy-hitting turret could be a drastic game-changer, but so far in demonstrations and gameplay, the turret does very little damage. Enemies within 20 meters receive 8 damage per bullet, while those 20-35 meters away receive 6 damage and enemies over 35 meters away are dealt 4 damage per bullet. The turret also tags the location of targeted enemies and has a seemingly unlimited range within its 180-degree cone.
Similar to her Alarmbot, the turret can be picked up and redeployed, smoked, flashed, seen and destroyed by enemies. The turret does not cost players anything to use, but has a 20-second cooldown after being picked up and a 45 seconds cooldown after being destroyed.
Nanoswarm
Nanoswarm is Killjoy’s grenade that deploys a damaging swarm of nanobots. The grenade can be seen as it’s deployed and just before it goes off but is invisible on the ground until being approached. Once you are close enough to see it, you are also close enough to just get caught in its deadly range. It can be shot and destroyed, but only before it triggers.
All of Killjoy’s abilities can be heard, alerting nearby enemies, but Nanoswarm produces the loudest noise. This grenade can penetrate walls, making it extremely helpful for killing or spooking enemies hidden around corners.
Lockdown
Killjoy’s ultimate Lockdown is a dome-like trap that covers a large radius of the map for about eight seconds. Enemies caught in her trap are slowed and unable to shoot, plant or defuse.
Lockdown can also be shot and destroyed, although enemies don’t need to be in its line of sight. It also takes a considerable amount of time to plant her ultimate, meaning she's vulnerable during this period. After successfully being deployed, Lockdown has a short windup stage before going off, making this one difficult to pull off.
The pay off is worth it, though, as Lockdown can turn the tables in any match. Throwing this ultimate can become clutch in the endgame, either preventing the enemy team from planting or defusing the bomb in the last moments. Lockdown’s range is massive and can completely cover locations like Garage or B Site. While on attack, players will be able to take ground by blocking off paths, while on defense they can give themselves more time to defuse.
Gameplay Against Killjoy
While her equipment can be flashed and smoked, the player will be immediately be seen and targeted once they enter the smoke. The turret will even continue to shoot targets for a couple of seconds after they step out of the smoke, though this may be a bug.
It's also worth noting there are a few eccentricities. Breach’s flash will not blind any of Killjoy's robots, while Sova’s arrow will spot her turret. Sova's owl drone can also ping turrets, but he can’t see any of her other tech with his. Sage’s Slow Orb will not slow Killjoy’s robots, meaning the Alarmbot will still come at players with full speed. Oddly, Raze’s Boom Bot and Killjoy’s creations completely ignore each other and will continue to target enemies instead.
Her playstyle is expected to be similar to Cypher, with players making use of her abilities to trick enemies and keep them guessing. Regardless, Killjoy adds a new level of gameplay to Valorant, extending the life of Riot's increasingly popular tactical shooter.