Riot Games Announce VALORANT

Riot Games, the creators of League of Legends has created a new first-person shooter called VALORANT.

VALORANT is a 5v5 character-based tactical shooter where creativity is your greatest weapon. Think CS: GO, but with supernatural powers added in. Something Riot Games are already stressing is the Consequential, highly-lethal, precision of a skill-based shooter. Servers will be spread globally, in hopes that the spread of data centers in major cities will keep players around <35ms.

"A netcode we’ve been obsessing over for years, and a commitment to anti-cheat from day one."

- VALORANT homepage.

Each character in VALORANT has four abilities which are important to understand before we get into the characters.

• One signature ability that's free every round
• Two abilities that you have to buy (though they keep over multiple rounds, or until used)
• One ultimate ability that getting kills charges.

Characters of Valorant:

Phoenix

• Hot hands - A thrown fireball that explodes after hitting the ground or after a short time. The fire damages enemies, while healing Phoenix.
• Blaze - A flame wall that blocks the view of others and damages players passing through it. Players can bend the angles of the wall when casting, simply by holding the left clicker.
• Signature Ability: Curveball - A flare burst that curves during its passing. Will burst into a blinding light after a short time. Left clicker curves it left, right clicker curves it right.
• Ultimate Ability: Run it back - Marks your current location. If you die during the abilities duration, the player will be reborn like a Pheonix with full health at said location.

Jett

• Cloudburst - A cloud of fog that obscures vision when impacted. Players can bend the cloud's trajectory by holding down the ability button.
• Updraft - Catapult Jett upwards after a short wind up.
• Signature Ability: Tailwind - Bolt a short span in the direction you're heading.
• Ultimate: Blade Storm - Throwing knives that kill on headshots and that do middling damage. Getting a kill replenishes all daggers. Left clicker throws a single dagger, while right-clicking throws all lingering daggers.

Viper

• Snakebite - A projectile that explodes on impact into a pool of acid.
• Poison Cloud - A gas emitter that creates a poisonous smoke cloud. The emitter can be picked up and used again after a cooldown. The emitter can be reactivated at the cost of fuel.
• Signature Ability: Toxic Screen - A line of gas emitters that can be reactivated to make a wall of gas, at the cost of fuel.
• Ultimate: Viper's pit - A massive toxic cloud that lasts as long as Viper stays inside the cloud. Enemies who step inside the cloud are highlighted for Viper.

Sova

• Shock Bolt - An explosive bolt that releases a harmful pulse of static energy.
• Owl Drone - A piloted drone that reveals enemies when hit by the dart it fires.
• Signature Ability: Recon Bolt - A destroyable bolt that sonar pings enemies who are nearby, revealing their position.
• Ultimate: Hunter's Fury - A deadly energy blast map that can be fired up to three times and carry across the map.

Cypher

• Trapwire - A hidden tripwire. Enemies who trigger the trap will be subdued shortly and revealed on the map.
• Cyber Cage - A remote activation trap.
• Signature Ability: Spycam - A remote camera. While watching camera feed, players can fire a dart to track enemies.
• Ultimate: Neural Theft - Reveal the location of the enemy by removing information from a corpse.

Brimstone

• Incendiary - An Incendiary grenade that damages in a field of fire.
• Stim Beacon - A buff that gives players rapid-fire.
• Signature Ability: Sky Smoke - A map deployed skill. Launches a smokescreen from orbit.
• Ultimate: Orbital Strike - A map deployed skill. Launches a pulsing orbital strike over a few seconds.

Sage

• Slow Orb - An orb that creates a slowing area. Anyone caught will be grounded, make noise, and are slowed.
• Barrier Orb - Create a large wall. It can be rotated before the cast.
• Signature Ability: Healing Orb - Heal yourself or your teammate over the span of a few seconds.
• Ultimate: Resurrection - Target a friendly corpse and after a short time, revive target with full health.

Omen

• Paranoia - A shadow that is sent out in a line, nearsighting whoever it touches.
• Shadow Walk - Teleport a small distance after a cast.
• Signature Ability: Dark Cover - A stealth orb that can be charged for greater distance. Burts into an obscuring sphere when it reaches its intended location.
• Ultimate: From the Shadows - A map deployed skill. Teleport and reform anywhere appearing as a shade. If killed the shade will return to the players original location.

VALORANT is coming Summer 2020.