For all the agents that require lineups in VALORANT, not many players would think of the speedy duelist Neon as one of them. However, thanks to a bouncing stun and a long wall of smokes, there are some setups you can learn to surprise enemies and catch them off-guard.
Here are some of the best Neon lineups in VALORANT for both the Relay Bolt and Fast Lane abilities, on the best Neon maps currently in rotation as of September 2023.
Best Neon lineups in VALORANT
To start, let’s go in alphabetical order with some specific maps in rotation where Neon shines the most. When maps do rotate, this guide will be replaced with new additions, so keep an eye out
For context, I am a bit of a Neon main. To this day, Neon is still my most played agent thanks to her kit allowing for really aggressive play at high speed, which I am a big fan of. There’s nothing more satisfying than rolling enemies down faster than anyone else or flanking around the map in less than five seconds. Both Relay Bolts and Fast Lanes are crucial to these moments, as they set up your kills and make them easier.
Each map has good spots both on attack and defense, because no matter which side you’re on, Neon can get amazing value with her kit. One major tip you will need to remember as Neon with the Fast Lane ability: You can throw the Fast Lane over walls by aiming over the target in your way. For example, if you want to throw Fast Lane over a box, aiming at the box won’t send the wall through, but aiming over the box will.
Ascent
Ascent is heavily defense-sided thanks to the way all the choke points are designed, especially the funnel that is A Main. That said, Neon’s Fast Lane and Relay Bolt are great to punish players who try and battle close in both sites.
First off, for attackers on Ascent, using Relay Bolt allows for players to get to the choke easily, as well as potentially snipe some corners enemies usually hide in.
As you can see, the middle section of the map is a lot tougher to use with Neon, but that’s where the Fast Lane lineups come in.
These walls both make the entries onto the two sites a lot easier but can allow for a passive mid-wall to go to the A site, and an aggressive mid-wall to flank into enemy spawn.
On defense, Relay Bolts can be aimed at chokes to completely stop any rush attempts, as per usual.
As for Fast Lanes, there are a couple in Ascent that you can use on the defense side to gain tons of space, mostly near mid. These two allow for quick flanks to the sites of your choice, as well as to prevent attackers from getting information mid. Combo these with Neon’s Relay Bolt to stomp over enemies early on, or get nasty flanks for retakes.
Bind
On a map that has only two sites and plenty of close-range areas to fight in, Neon has the potential to turn a lot of fights and clear a ton of areas out for your team on Bind.
To start, on attack, Relay Bolt is perfect to punish enemy duelists who want to push up on their defensive half.
Plus, as you can see with these angles, there isn’t much risk for Neon to throw this utility outside of A Main, which has the highest likelihood of an enemy trying to kill you when you use the Relay Bolt. Use this to not only help you and your team get a potential pick but to get onto the site easier.
As for Fast Lane options, the best way to use it is to split the site in half and block off areas enemies can hide for easy kills. Think of Neon’s Fast Lane as a quicker version of a Viper wall, and you’ll start to see many ways to use it well.
As for defense, the Fast Lane lineups aren’t as defined due to the design of the map. Using it to block off enemy sightlines post-plant or get into the site on retakes are the best uses for it when defending. Thankfully, the way it’s designed allows for Neon to get to the end of the Fast Lane without having to worry about checking corners.
However, Relay Bolt lineups on defense can get the same use as on attack, preventing quick pushes from your opponents; something much more likely to come out of your enemies when they attack.
These are perfect to stop aggression, but using them further back is valid too, as long as you get as much value from where the ability bounces as possible, not just where it lands at first.
Breeze
For Breeze, Neon doesn’t have as many lineup locations for her Relay Bolt due to the design of the map. On the other side, her Fast Lane can get plenty more use due to how open some of these areas are. This doesn’t mean there aren’t any good stun lineups. Here are a few, but note that they aren’t as common as Ascent or Bind.
Fast Lanes are crucial to getting your team onto sites for Breeze on attack as even regular smokes from other agents like Omen or Viper still leave a lot of open space for enemies to hide in.
All of these options are available, and the best ones rely on of the information you get as you enter the sites.
For the defensive side, the stuns are much easier to land, as the chokes are designed to be a close space for attackers that opens up to a wider area.
Plus, much like most maps, Fast Lane is a lot less useful on defense outside of the middle of the map. Arguably the best use for these is when retaking, but there is one you can put in the middle of the map to block the A site entrance from mid and slow down enemies.
Lotus
Last but not least, the best Neon map since her agent release is one of the newer maps in the rotation, Lotus. This map’s mix of close-range zones where Relay Bolt can get value and open areas where Fast Lane is great is perfect for Neon. Mix with that the capability to run to all three sites quickly and flank, and one could say this is her home map.
To start, Neon on Lotus attack has an easy way to use stuns to secure angles on all three sites. One of my favorite lineups is pushing C site, where players can jump over the half-wall and aim at the entrance to the site to throw a stun that can stop any enemies looking to peek the long angle.
Fast Lanes are great for Lotus sites, and they allow players to get onto the site for a quick plant before playing elsewhere to prevent a defuse.
As for defense, this is where it can get nasty. One of the most important things in Lotus’s defense is control of the wide area ahead of A site. It’s not only the biggest open spot on the map, but it also has a wall that can lead to a quick B-site rotation.
Controlling it is key, and the combo of this wall and stun can help shut down any opponent’s key to push A quickly. Plus, this can be copied for B and C holds as well.
Using these combos can allow Neon to get the most value out of what she does best—playing fast. It can be a bit worrying to do so on defense, but on Lotus, it is arguably more crucial to play quickly than on offense due to how the map is designed. Three sites make it crucial for defenders to know where enemies are at all times, and Neon can help get that information quickly, probably with a couple of kills.
Use any of these lineups well, and you’ll start to get better with Neon in VALORANT in days.
