Michael ‘shroud’ Grzesiek has explained why Valorant’s terminator-esque new Initiator KAY/O will be a “well-balanced” addition to the game’s pool of Agents, ahead of the release of Episode 3.
While we’ve seen some revolutionary updates to Valorant in the past, the release of Episode 3 will bring a level of change we’ve not seen since the game’s release.
With a host of changes to the game’s economy, consisting of price overhauls to both weapons and abilities, it feels like the perfect time to introduce an Agent whom the devs believe will add a greater focus on gunplay than ever before.
And KAY/O’s kit seems to synergize perfectly with this transition towards greater gunplay focus. Equipped with two forms of suppression – a mechanic that prevents opponents from using abilities – as well as a flash and frag, KAY/O fits the bill as Valorant enters Episode 3.
And on his June 18 stream, Twitch streamer and former CSGO pro player shroud broadly praised Riot for the new update, and explained why he thinks KAY/O is a healthy addition to the Agent pool.
“The new character’s cool,” he said. “They don’t seem absolutely stupid insane, it just seems functional overall. You have a ‘nade, you have a flash, you have something for info, and you have silences.
“It just seems like a functional, well-balanced overall character. Like when Astra came out you were like ‘holy s*** that’s a lot of control’. With this character it feels like a well-rounded kit.”
Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates on Esports, Gaming and more.
And shroud believes KAY/O’s balance and versatility will mean he should have little trouble finding a spot in the meta. “I don’t think he is insane, but I don’t think he’s bad either,” he added. “He’s well-rounded, and he’ll fit on any team in any composition.”
Shroud then explained why it’s important that KAY/O’s suppress mechanic identifies the Agent being target. Shroud said: “If you don’t know who you’re suppressing, then what’s the point of suppressing anyone or trying to go for a suppress.
“If you’re trying to suppress someone on the other side of the wall, and you don’t know who it is, you just have a feeling someone’s playing that site, you kind of have to know who you’re suppressing or it defeats the purpose of the suppression.
“Because imagine there’s a Cypher trap set up and you want to go through it, and then you try to suppress that Cypher because you have a read on where he might be playing, and then you suppress somebody thinking it’s Cypher but it’s not. It just totally f***s up everything.
“You have to know who to suppress or else it doesn’t make much sense.”
With Riot having released two very polarizing Agents in Yoru and Astra in Episode 2, Valorant players and devs alike will hope KAY/O can hit the ground running in a massive shakeup of the meta.
