VALORANT Exec claims Clove will be a ‘curveball’ for competitive play

Over the last two years, the new characters landing in VALORANT have struggled to make much of an impact on the competitive scene and high-level ranked lobbies. 

Since the release of Chamber, all released agents have been rather mundane with their impact, with Riot Games appearing to tone down the power of such characters. That was until Gekko's most recent buff, and even then he needed a lot of help to become meta.

So with the announcement of Clove, who will become Agent 25, Riot Games' Anna Donlan is quite hopeful that the character can make a dent in team compositions, although only the most daring players will take the risk early on.

VALORANT Executive Producer excited over Clove's creativity and zaniness

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In response to a question posed by GGRecon in a press conference prior to the start of the VALORANT Champions Tour Masters Madrid Grand Finals, Donlan struggled to contain her excitement about Clove, as they prepare to land later this week.

"I can't wait to see Clove, and for pros to get their hands on Clove too, honestly. They bring something so interesting into the game," Donlan said.

"I think they're going to bring a level of depth and a level of creativity and zaniness that will be really interesting to see how those pros adapt to."

Clove to become a competitive 'curveball' in VALORANT

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Clove will arrive as the first non-binary agent in VALORANT, heralding from Scotland with a rather rapscallion attitude.

But it is their abilities that have been quite eyebrow-raising, with the possibility of self-reviving, or affecting games despite being dead (throwing smokes from her ethereal state).

Donlan is hopeful that once Clove is added to the professional patch, VCT teams will begin experimenting with them, daring the risk-takers to get on them first.

"We all get really excited when we see new agents find their way onto a live event, and although it might take a little while with Clove, given that we're right at the start of the season - we'll see how quickly they're integrated - I do think this one is a little bit of a curveball," she continued.

"So it'll be exciting to see where they end up."

Clove will be released into VALORANT as Agent 25 on March 26, where they will likely be quite the hit given their completely unique skill set.