Riot Games has revealed the abilities of Fade, its latest Valorant agent. The developer unveiled Valorant’s new agent Fade last week along with teasers of the character’s gameplay and cinematic trailers that it said would be released during the Masters Reykjavík Grand Final. The teasers included a number of short clips showing several other Valorant agents slowly being surrounded or infiltrated by shadows, giving fans a clue to Fade’s character and abilities.
Fade is scheduled to release alongside the launch of Valorant’s Episode 4 Act 3. The new season of content is set to begin on April 27, 2022, and will also introduce a large amount of cosmetic items for the players to collect. Not only will the massively popular RGX skin line make a return, the Valorant Episode 4 Act 3 Battle Pass will introduce a number of new Gun Buddies, over 10 new Player Cards, 16 new sprays, and three new weapon skin lines. The new weapon skin lines include the new Coalition Cobra, .SYS, and Hue Shift collections.
Fade’s abilities were revealed in a new gameplay video on the Valorant YouTube channel. Fade’s lineup of shadowy abilities not only help reveal enemy locations but also either work by blinding or locking them down. Haunt spawns a nightmarish entity from an orb that Fade can throw. The entity will reveal enemies that are caught within its line of sight and create a trail to their location, although it can also be destroyed by enemies. Seize, which also starts as a throwable orb, turns into a pool of ink on the ground that will ensnare enemies that enter its zone. Like Valorant agent KAY/O’s Flash/Drive ability, Fade’s Prowler ability also blinds enemy players although it only affects a single player. When thrown, Prowler locks onto and chases a single enemy caught in its sight and blinds them when it hits. Lastly, Fade’s ultimate ability Nightfall sends out a way of energy across the map and creates trails leading to enemies, similar to Haunt, while also deafening and decaying them.
Fade is Valorant's fifth Initiator added into the game, joining the ranks of the aforementioned KAY/O, Skye, Breach, and Sova. Players who pick the new character will likely be tasked with not only giving their team information on where the opponents are positioned but also help them move forward safely. When Riot Games explained how Valorant's Agents are designed, it revealed that gameplay always comes first, meaning everything from Fade’s design and characterization to their abilities are all rooted in how the character’s gameplay experience will be.
If anything, Fade’s set of abilities look visually impressive and may help intimidate and consequently control enemy players who see them in battle. Valorant players who have been waiting to try out a new Initiator Agent will finally get their chance and it’ll be exciting to see how Fade affects the game’s meta.
Source: Valorant/YouTube