VALORANT: Killjoy – Guide – abilities and tips

Main information

VALORANT has released its second act and introduced a new agent – Killjoy. She is the 12th agent of the roster. Even before her release, the community had questions, one of them concerning the agent's abilities – isn’t there too many of them? The answer is clear – Killjoy is very strong.

Bio

A genius from Germany, Killjoy successfully defends territory on the battlefield with her arsenal of gadgets. Even if the enemies aren't blocked, the weakening effects of the devices make them vulnerable so they can be easily defeated.

Abilities

C – Nanoswarm

Killjoy is an agent specializing in controlling particular areas of the map, and Nanoswarm is her most offensive skill. The Nanoswarm is a grenade made up of nanobots. You can only have two grenades at a time, and each one costs 200 credits.

The main distinction of this ability is that it doesn't explode automatically, but falls and remains invisible to the opponent. After that, Killjoy can activate it and cause some great DoT to opponents in the area of effect.

Nanoswarm works best when there is information about the location of opponents, so Cypher and Sova agents increase the efficiency of the grenade significantly. But even without them, this ability allows you to control narrow aisles and exposed flanks.

Q – Alarmbot

Alarmbot looks much like Cypher's Tripwire, but, unlike the latter, it is good not for information collecting but for preventing the enemy's attack.

Killjoy has to be close to the place she wants to plant the alarmbot in. Having been planted, it remains invisible until the enemy enters the covered area. Unlike Killjoy's grenades, this gadget doesn't inflict any damage, but it imposes a powerful debuff effect – for a short time, the enemy becomes vulnerable and receives double damage from any source.

The Alarmbot works great when defending points and provides an advantage in any shootout. Using the bot together with the Nanoswarm can be quite effective as well.

E – Turret

Killjoy's signature ability, available in every round; the Turret is fully autonomous and fires in three-shot bursts, each providing 3 DMG. But the damage is not the point of the ability: the gadget allows players to get information without any risk, it pulls down the enemy's sight, distracting them.

The Turret appears to be very effective when combined with other abilities, but it has only 125 HP, so it's better to put it in places that are difficult to reach.

Don't be upset if you lose your Turret: remember that the enemy who went into battle with it is the enemy who betrayed their location.

X – Lockdown

Killjoy's ultimate ability will separate professionals and amateurs. The lockdown is incredibly powerful, but at the same time, it is difficult to use.

Killjoy sets a long-range device that, after a long charge, disables all the enemies remaining in the area of effect. They slow down and cannot use their abilities.

The Lockdown charging lasts for a long time, but its successful use doesn't require catching anybody. When Killjoy uses her ult, the enemies have two options: try to get out of the area, or rush and try to break the device, which has 150 HP. It's useful for both defense and attack: the best moment to activate the Lockdown is protecting the point, protecting the bomb, or in a retake situation.

Unlike Reyna's ult, which should be used here and now, Killjoy's ult is better not to be wasted and be preserved for truly critical moments.

Tactics

Killjoy can start controlling the map from the first defense round: properly using abilities can give much more benefit than an expensive gun.

Killjoy is not the top DPS agent of the team – it is not her role, so it's reasonable (in a coordinated game) to sacrifice her firepower for the benefit of the teammates: give Vandal to Rayna, or Operator to Jett, whereas Killjoy can do with Spectre or Bulldog.

An important part of playing the young inventor is exploring the enemy's offensive patterns and the respective placing of traps. One of the best sites for an ambush at the moment is the passage from Haven to point B.

The best allies of Killjoy are scouts like Sova and Cypher. The information they provide allows optimization of Killjoy's gadgets. It is also very important to have a DPS agent around, who can fully take advantage of the Alarmbot debuff.

Killjoy is an agent for those who want to enjoy seeing opponents deprived of their enjoyment.