The next VALORANT agent has arrived and the Scotland native Clove looks poised to drastically shake up the meta with an ultimate ability that can truly change the game.
Clove’s ultimate, Not Dead Yet, permits them to resurrect themselves immediately after death—but with a small catch. The ultimate has to be cast within two seconds of being killed and Clove has roughly 11 to 12 seconds to get either a kill or a damaging assist, or they will die again. League of Legend fans will be familiar as we’ve seen an effect like this in the MOBA via Renata Glasc’s Bailout ability.
Even without their ultimate online, Clove can still provide value to their team when they’re dead, as they can use their smoke ability Ruse even after death. When Clove casts Ruse, they bring up a global map that’s strikingly similar to Brimstone’s, and Clove can deploy multiple smokes concurrently.
Rounding out Clove’s ability kit is a Molotov-like ability called Meddle that applies Decay to caught enemies rather than deal damage, and a Reyna-like ability called Pick-Me-Up that Clove can absorb from an enemy they’ve killed or damaged for haste and some temporary health.
To say this is a controller ability kit that strays from convention would be an understatement, as it encourages players to be more aggressive with angles and playmaking. Even if Clove dies, they can still make an impact in the round—especially if they have their ultimate online. “You need to take risks and trade your own life for the greater good to remove enemy utility from the round,” said agent gameplay designer Dan Hardison. “Sometimes it’s correct for Clove to run in and die.”
The ability kit design for Clove is meant to significantly shake up the “very retake heavy” controller meta in VALORANT, as the current crop of controllers are “often forced to use utility to just stall and leave the site to wait for their teammates to show up.”
