Neon is a unique agent who utilizes abilities that are a direct opposite of what we know about tactical shooters. She is fast, she is reckless, and she implements movements seen in games like Halo and Apex Legends. Will Riot double down on this new direction of gameplay or will she receive nerfs in the future to counter her movement?
Run, Dash, Wall, Slide, Shotgun to the face. This is how I have been watching my friend play Neon. He’s an aggressive player who has been held back by the agent pool thus far. Then came Neon. Neon’s ability to take a site expeditiously on attack, while offering a quick rotation on defense felt like the perfect agent for his type of gameplay. Really, it is the only way to play Neon as far as I have seen and tried. Aggressiveness on the borderline of recklessness is something that newly Neon mains have approached the game. But in a game like this, a tactical shooter that rewards methodical and sometimes slow play, where does Neon’s inclusion fit in with the style of gameplay?
The inclusion of this type of Duelist must mean Riot is okay taking this game in a far different direction. At some points Valorant looks like Overwatch; smokes, flashes, blinds, walls, and tracer rounds being fired all around you as you are overwhelmed by the amount of stuff on your screen. At times this game feels like Counter Strike; slow, predictable executes perfected by superior mechanics. When Riot introduced Neon into the game, it leaned more heavily toward the Overwatch-like gameplay some people were complaining about. It also introduced a style of movement that players compared to sliding and movements in Apex Legends.
Neon’s slide can be used in a number of ways; this post on Reddit shows three different ways Neon can slide. It introduced a new mechanic that was not yet seen in Valorant but is common in first person shooters. The ability to use her slide this many ways introduced a fast and almost gimmicky agent that players felt like had a low technical floor. Players were also afraid that this agent would add a level of chaos that was not going to benefit the game. But like Yoru’s release, weeks have gone by, and players have seen that she is not as effective in her gameplay as they were thinking she would be.
Even though Neon is not as effective as a Duelist as Jett or Reyna, her inclusion still shows that Riot wants to stray from the traditional tactical shooter further and further. As a duelist her abilities allow her advantages to get picks on her own, however the way in which Neon does this can hinder a team trying to play a little slower or more tactically. Her speed promotes running onto site rather than checking corners. Her double wall acts as a racehorse blinder only seeing what is in front of her and nothing outside of it. Neon can be good in the hands of a very talented player, but then again, a lot of agents are. Neon is a turning point for the future of Riot’s upcoming agents.
If you look at the recent agents that Riot has released, you see hybrid agents. This is because the base agent types have been covered, which allows for more creativity and more niche roles to fill. KAY/O is an Initiator that can gather information and lead pushes. On defense KAY/O can also stall a site using his knife and molly. He also can be used to flex as another Duelist in a single Duelist composition. Even though KAY/O is labeled as an Initiator, I believe he is more of a Swiss Army Knife type of flex agent. After KAY/O’s release was Chamber. Chamber is labeled a Sentinel, but his ability to take duels and create his own kills are reminiscent of a passive Duelist agent like an OP’ing Jett. He is also a hybrid, a mix of Duelist and Sentinel. Neon’s release is the first to break the recent trend, however she still fills a niche. This agent was introduced as a pure duelist for players who are more aggressive and are used to faster gameplay like Apex Legends and Call of Duty. This fits their playstyle much more and allows them to be effective in a tactical shooter without making changes to the actual gameplay.
Future Valorant agents will fill niche roles that will appeal to more and more types of players. A diverse cast of agents appeals to a wider audience who all have different styles of play. The more agents that could fill the more styles, the better. However, tactical shooter purists will see the game shift and adapt to its player base, which will stray further and further from games like CS:GO. This is something I look forward to seeing even though, initially, I am not a fan of Neon as an agent. Other players, like my reckless friend, love Neon and are glad about her inclusion in a tactical shooter.
