Valorant has unveiled official gameplay for Phoenix, one of the game’s eight rostered agents. Riot’s debut first-person shooter title features 5v5 tactical gameplay oriented around strategy and teamwork. Unlike other tactical shooters like Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Valorant features agents with unique abilities, bringing forth an additional layer of team coordination. The official clip provides insight into Phoenix’s gameplay. Furthermore, it highlights the kind of impact individual agents can have during a round.
Who is Phoenix?
Valorant’s trailer showcased the United Kingdom-born Phoenix and his skills in taming fire and magic. His mage-like kit grants him the ability to conjure the power of fire, igniting all those who dare cross his path. The agent’s self-assured demeanor is also apparent throughout Riot’s trailer. Phoenix taunts enemies with a voice line saying, “sit down” after a spicy headshot. His player model is robust and athletic, sporting a modern ensemble. Since his reveal, additional information about the British agent hasn’t been released.
We certainly look forward to learning more about his fiery personality.
Gameplay and abilities
Phoenix’s kit features some of the more “traditional” skills one might expect in a first-person shooter. Making use of Curveball and Blaze, the agent manages an intimidating 1v4 clutch. It’s also noteworthy that the clip shows Valorant weapons have a slight recoil. During the final kill, the player crouches and pulls his crosshair slightly lower to compensate for the weapon’s inaccuracy.
Here is a quick VALORANT gameplay clip of Phoenix being used! 🔥#VALORANT | #ForTheDaring pic.twitter.com/nC9zuXyWIA
— VALORANT intel (@ProjectVALORANT) March 5, 2020
Abilities
Hot Hands
Not shown in the gameplay video is Phoenix’s Hot Hands. Conjuring a fireball, Phoenix can hurl powerful spheres. After a short delay, the fireball subsequently explodes or detonates upon impact. Hot Hands also creates an AOE “fire zone” that deals damage to enemies while healing friendlies.
Blaze
When a player uses Blaze, an expansive firewall appears. Not only does the wall block vision, but it also damages enemies who attempt to walk through. Players can bend the wall by turning their cursor in combination with the left click.
Signature ability: CurveballÂ
With a snap of his fingers, Phoenix fires a deadly flare around corners, blinding all unlucky enough to see lay eyes on it (probably including your teammates, yikes!). Furthermore, we learn from the video that Curveball has a small cooldown of only a few seconds.
Ultimate ability: Run It Back
Phoenix’s ultimate ability marks your location. If a player dies while the ultimate is active or if the ability expires, the player teleports back to the first area. Run It Back is slightly reminiscent of a certain Overwatch hero (looking at you, Tracer), whose cheeky teleport takes her back to her previous location.
