Valorant's Episode 4 Act 1 is here and with it comes a whole bunch of balances, map changes, and more. However, the star of the show is undoubtedly set to be the latest agent to join the Valorant Protocol, Neon.
Neon looks like she could be a major player in Valorant. With her speedy electricity-based abilities being a huge part of her identity, she could well run rings around other Agents. She also looks poised to take on Jett, another movement-based agent who has sat on top of the meta for nearly a year now.
One thing seems certain, though, things are going to change once Neon finds her groove, one way or another. With that in mind, here’s everything you need to know to keep up with her blistering pace.
Neon’s story and background
Neon hails from Manilla in the Philippines. She's found herself on the Valorant team and like some other members of the organization, she is Radiant. She gained superhuman abilities thanks to the First Light event, making her an insanely powerful individual. This event saw multiple individuals gain these abilities through exposure to Radianite, Valorant’s mysterious material that seems to be linked to Dark Matter.
In Neon’s case, her abilities manifested in the form of electricity-based powers which also assisted her speed. She can also summon electricity from within her, creating bolts, as well as dense walls of static electricity.
She’s one of the youngest Agents on the Valorant roster, but that won’t stop her. Neon has just joined the Valorant Protocol, helping protect Earth from dangerous Radianite incidents. Her reasons for doing so remain unclear at this point.
Valorant Neon breakdown
Neon has access to a whole host of powerful abilities that give her a frenetic and speedy kit. Her abilities are High Gear, Relay Bolt, Fast Lane, and her ultimate is Overdrive. Neon is an Agent that looks to run rings around opponents. Her kit comes together to make her the most mobile character in the game, and in Valorant, that speed goes a long way.
Neon is a Duelist Agent like Jett, Phoenix, Raze, Reyna, and Yoru. Jett has remained on top of the meta for the best part of a year now, but with Act 4, Neon looks like she might be ready to give Jett a run for her money.
Signature Ability - High Gear
Description: Allows Neon to channel her ability to gain a burst in speed. Once Charged, Neon can then trigger a slide. After two kills, the slide ability resets.
Cost: Free.
Charges: Movement on duration meter, 1 slide per round (reset after two kills).
High Gear tips
- High Gear makes Neon run 35% faster
- Neon moves faster than any other agent in the game while this is active, making this exceptionally good for quick rotations
- High Gear oddly functions like Viper’s toxic gas in so much that it exists on a regenerating meter at the bottom of your screen
- While this ability is active, if you hit alternate fire, you'll perform a slide, giving you quick re-equip times and a huge element of surprise. Use it to slide around corners when opponents don't expect it
- You can only slide once per round unless you get two kills. Doing so will replenish the slide, not unlike Jett’s dash.
Basic Ability 1 - Relay Bolt
Description: Throws an energy bolt that can bounce up to once, leaving a concussive blast. The bolt eventually drops, causing another concussive blast when it hits the floor.
Cost: 200 credits.
Charges: 2
Relay Bolt tips
- The bolt can bounce once before it ends its trajectory
- Relay bolt can place up to two areas to stun. The first will be where the bolt first bounces. The second will be the bolt’s final destination
- The bolt is a stun rather than a flash. You won’t be blinded like from a Skye bird, but you will become "woozy" like from a Breach ultimate.
- Neon can absolutely stun herself, so be careful about how you bounce it
- The stun affects people behind walls. The area of the effect circle will penetrate walls and hit anyone on the other side. This is unlike something like a Killjoy grenade that functions with a line of sight.
Basic Ability 2 - Fast Lane
Description: Brings up two walls on either side of Neon. These Walls will erect forward, blocking vision and damaging anyone who walks into them.
Cost: 300 credits.
Charges: 1
Fast Lane tips
- The walls are similar to Phoenix, and behave very similarly. They however will not heal Neon
- The walls last for around six seconds
- They will cover vision as you walk through the walls, much like Phoenix
- The Fast Lane walls may seem like they can’t pass through obstacles but they can. The cast of the ability acts as a projectile. If your crosshair goes past a surface in front of you, the walls will too. If your crosshair is on a surface when you cast, the walls will stop on that surface
- The walls can do up to 170 damage during their entire duration
- Fast Lane can do damage to some objects like Sova’s drone, Cypher’s camera, and Skye’s dog. It won’t, however, do anything to a Killjoy ultimate or her gadgets
Ultimate - Overdrive
Description: Neon speeds up for a set duration. During this time she can shoot electricity from her fingers, which has a high mobility accuracy. The duration then resets after every kill.
Cost: 7 ultimate points.
Overdrive tips
- The ultimate uses the same fuel as the sprint, so will eat through it quickly if paired with High Gear
- Neon will get 40 “bullets” for her electricity beam. It will however recharge after a short break not firing
- If you run out of ammo, Neon will do a small animation to indicate it. To avoid this, try not to let your ammo hit 0
- Every kill will replenish the fuel bar by a quarter
- There are no criticals with the ability. It will do the same damage no matter where you hit an opponent.
That's everything you need to know to get the basics of Neon. The character looks like she has been designed to give Jett players another option, but her kit isn't purely reactive. The Relay Bolt and Fast Lane walls show she still needs brains to succeed in order to control space.
So get out there, and ruin a Jett main's day by taking over the server as the speedy menace.
