Valorant may be celebrating its 1 year anniversary, but the game still boasts millions of monthly players as it did on release. However, there is still much stigma that remains around the integration of hero abilities in an otherwise tactical shooter. To remedy this, RIOT, the studio behind Valorant has introduced a new agent that can potentially counter all other agents. KAY/O, a war machine built solely for suppressing and neutralizing radiants, appeals perfectly to players who want to control their opponent's abilities.
KAY/O features a fairly simple kit that allows him to be excellent at both defending chokepoints and pushing tough angles. With his ability to suppress enemy agents, he can force enemies to temporarily rely solely on their weapons instead of their abilities. Furthermore, since KAY/O's teammates are unaffected by his suppression, he can still synergize perfectly with the rest of his team. Essentially, KAY/O is a perfect agent for players who are interested in pushing hard chokepoints that are normally littered with enemy abilities. Also, his ultimate ability turns KAY/O into a one-machine army that can completely change the flow of any round. Stay tuned for a more in-depth look at what KAY/O's kit offers and how to best use each of his abilities.
How To Use KAY/O's Frag/Ment and Flash/Drive in Valorant
KAY/O's Frag/Ment allows KAY/O to throw an explosive that will bounce off walls but detonate as soon as it hits the ground, creating a small area of effect which deals damage. Frag/Ment is very similar to Phoenix's Hot Hands ability, but with a few key differences. Unlike the flat area damage from the fireball, Frag/Ment deals its damage in pulses within the affected area. Around the edge of the circle, it will deal less damage per pulse, but the damage increases in the center.
Any enemy standing in the direct center of the circle will die in 3 pulses. However, enemies are not likely to walk into the center of the ability, so it is best used in combination with other slowing or disorienting abilities. When used by itself, Frag/Ment can still be a great way to discourage pushes in tight chokepoints. This means that the ability is best used for area denial, such as for blocking enemy rushes and flushing out enemies from tight corners. Also, unlike Phoenix's Hot Hands, Frag/Ment has no healing capabilities whatsoever. This means players should be careful not to block their own paths as well.
KAY/O's Flash/Drive's are basically flashbangs, which are throwables that can be banked off walls and even the floor but will explode in about 2 seconds after leaving the player's hand. When the Flash/Drive explodes, it will temporarily blind any player that has it in view, including KAY/O and his teammates. Players will be able to tell when the flashbang is about to go off because it glows a bright yellow right before exploding. However, players should take note that turning away from the flash won't fully protect them from the blinding effects. Turned players will still experience about a second of the flash, but nowhere near as bad as anyone staring directly at it. This is because the ability works by utilizing line of sight, so the only way for players to be safe is to put some cover between them and the explosion point.
While players can mitigate the effects with a quick turn, the flashes are still best used when banked around a corner. Flashed enemies will only be blind for about 4 seconds, so players should make sure to either push or reposition during this time. When players activate the Flash/Drive ability, they will find there are two modes for throwing, overhand and underhand. By pressing the default FIRE button, players will find that they do a strong overhand throw that allows them to toss the ability quite the distance. This throw is best used for banking off nearby walls or into high up windows. The underhand throw, done with the ALT-FIRE or ADS button, allows players to quickly drop the Flash/Drive directly in front of them. It also causes the Flash/Drive to begin detonating as soon as it leaves the player's hand. This can be great for quickly retreating or flashing an area below. Therefore, while situational, the underhand throw still has its uses.
How To Use KAY/O's Zero/Point and Null/CMD in Valorant
KAY/O's Zero/Point is probably the most meta-changing ability in his kit. The ability allows KAY/O to throw a suppression knife, which can be thrown at the floor or walls and will stick to the first surface it hits. It will create a semi-large area of effect which temporarily prevents any afflicted enemy agent from using their abilities. Furthermore, it will also notify KAY/O which enemy agents are hit by the suppression effect. The largest strength of this ability is that the suppression effect goes through surfaces, meaning that the ability can tag and suppress enemy agents through walls and floors and at a distance as well.
This is great to use when players may suspect an enemy is lurking around a corner and planning to use their abilities. It can also be combined with KAY/O's other throwables to completely nullify an enemy push. However, players should take note that the knife can actually be destroyed before it gets to emit its pulse and it also does not stop already activated abilities. Therefore, it is best used for preemptively suppressing enemies at chokepoints. This ability essentially levels the playing field for an attacking or defending team since it forces the enemy to not rely on their crowd control abilities. For example, Sage can no longer put up a wall and phoenix can no longer set up his own Curveball. Also, the suppression effect only lasts for 8 seconds, so players should take care to use this short window of time wisely.
KAY/O's Null/CMD also adds another meta-changing ability to his kit, the ability to be downed instead of dead. On top of this, it also turns KAY/O into a walking suppression blade, but with a much larger radius and more pulses. The final cherry on top for this ability is that it also grants KAY/O a Combat Stim, which increases the rate at which he fires, reloads, recovers from recoil, and swaps weapons. When KAY/O is Overloaded from activating Null/CMD, lethal damage will merely put him in a downed and destabilized state for 15 seconds. During this state, KAY/O can see everything in front of him, so he can continue to make callouts for the team. However, unless KAY/O is revived before the 15 seconds is up, he will simply be killed like any other agent.
When downed, KAY/O is granted 850 HP and is able to be revived with up to 100 HP based on what percentage HP he was revived with. Also, by turning himself into a moving suppression blade, KAY/O becomes an excellent initiator that can lead his team through chokepoints. He emits pulses every 3 seconds which suppresses for 4 seconds, ensuring that any enemy within the large range is unable to use their abilities for an extended period of time. Fortunately, KAY/O and his teammates can still use their abilities, which provides quite the advantage. As mentioned before, this ability is best used to initiate for the team because it allows KAY/O to be revived after soaking up damage. However, it can also be used on defense to retake sites from enemies looking to use their abilities to block off entry points.
Valorant is currently available only on PC.
