Valorant’s newest agent, Fade, may be a little overpowered, according to Sentinels star Tyson “TenZ” Ngo. In fact, he believes that her abilities possibly even surpass Sova’s, currently one of the most-played agents in the game.
The VCT 2021 Masters Reykjavik champion had the opportunity to try the new initiator agent during Riot Games’ early access playtest, which also included both the Jett and Sova nerfs. She is currently available on the live server.
Based on his preliminary assessment, TenZ was able to pinpoint three broken abilities the new Turkish initiator has that players can use to win more games.
3 reasons why TenZ says new Valorant agent Fade is overpowered
3. She gains info better than Sova
The Sentinels superstar said that Valorant’s new initiator could end up being better than Sova, an agent TenZ had previously described as the best in Valorant.
The Turkish agent’s signature ability, Haunt, is similar to his Recon Bolt. It reveals the location of enemies caught in its line of sight, allowing players to clear wide areas of space. Both abilities even have the same 40-second cooldown.
The main difference is the shorter range of Haunt, which requires players to be closer to the action when scouting a location.
But Haunt has a distinct edge because of the black trails enemies leave behind. Enemies that have been revealed by Haunt have a “Marked” debuff applied to them, and you can follow the black trails to know which direction they went.
The debuff lasts for 12 seconds, which is more than enough time to track them down.
- Sentinels TenZ: ‘I wish my team wanted me to play Chamber’
- Valorant’s second RGX 11z Pro collection comes with never-before-seen effects
2. You can combine Fade’s Seize ability with other agent abilities
TenZ was already formulating ways to maximize her Seize ability. Seize tethers opponents within a fixed radius and inflicts 75 points of decay, so it is well-suited to be combined with other damage-dealing abilities like Raze’s Paint Shell grenades and KAY/O’s FRAG/MENT.
“Let’s say someone is stuck inside the tube of Bind’s B site and you have a Raze as a teammate. Just throw her Seize ability and have Raze throw her Paint Shells grenade with it. They can’t leave the tube no matter what,” the Sentinels pro player explained.
Since the Seize tether cannot be broken once players are trapped, opponents caught in it are stuck within its radius for five seconds, essentially rendering them helpless against any additional utility you use.
1. She can have a Skye ultimate every round
TenZ also noticed the similarities between her Prowler ability and Skye’s Seekers ultimate. Both abilities send out entities that home in on the nearest opponents, nearsighting any targets they reach. However, the Turkish agent can use Prowler twice every round, putting a powerful recon tool within easy reach.
Prowler is best suited to clearing the corners of sites, especially when paired with Haunt or the Nightfall ultimate. You can activate and steer the entity toward where enemy agents could be holding, similar to Skye’s Guiding Light flash.
Opponents will have to shoot the ability to avoid being nearsighted, but they will give away their position in the process.
“Having two charges is insane because you can use it to gain so much information,” he said. “This is already kind of overpowered in a way.”
Valorant’s newest agent was released on April 27, alongside the new Episode 4 Act 3 Battle Pass and Valorant’s second RGX 11z Pro collection.
READ MORE: Valorant Episode 4 Act 3 Battle Pass: 5 best memes and weapon skins
