How To Use the New Duelist in Valorant — NEON

Valorant is the first-person shooter game from the Creators of League of Legends — Riot. It took the world by storm when it was released in 2020 and has been one of the most played FPS games since. What makes Valorant unique is their agents’ roster with their own set of skills. Mastering the agents is one of the keys to thoroughly learning and enjoying the game. This will prove difficult because unlocking agents in Valorant is not easy — or cheap. The agents are divided into four types: Duelist, Sentinel, Initiator, and Controller. If you want to learn more about Duelists, we’ve got you covered.

Duelists are agents that have the greatest firepower in the game. The description in the game reads :

“Duelists are self-sufficient fraggers who their team expects, through abilities and skills, to get high frags and seek out engagements first.”

This is how Riot describes Duelists. Plain and Simple. Duelists are the cornerstone of damaging and cleaning the enemies’ ranks. It is fair to say that all agents have the same level of importance in the game, but Duelists are critical in a straight-up gunfight. They are the true carriers in the game and should have the most kills at any time. That said, there are five Duelists in the game with unique personalities: Raze, Jett, Yoru, Phoenix, Reyna, and Neon. They have very different skills and, therefore, their specialty and playstyle.

Let’s check one of these Duelists out and help you figure out if she will suit your playstyle.

Neon

Neon is the latest addition to the growing number of agents in Valorant. With the start of Episode 4 Act 1, this lightning-fast agent from the Philippines opens the Valorant’s new act with a loud, thunderous bang. As expected from Riot, Neon’s introduction was grandiose, and as we discuss her abilities, you will find it very well-founded. The beautiful Neon has made waves all over the globe, especially in the Philippines, where her introduction even included billboards in the middle busy cities.

The 19th agent of Valorant is a beautiful brown-skinned Filipina sporting blue athletic leggings and sneakers. She has shoulder-level blue hair that stands up when she enters her ultimate form due to the electricity flowing in her body. Neon’s skills are as flashy as her getup and demand great focus and reflexes. Are you looking for a fast-paced agent aside from Jett? We will tell you all about Neon and help you decide if she will be your next main agent for you.

Skills  Energy- Passive Skill

Neon’s abilities use Energy. When empty, the energy gauge takes 60 seconds to refill fully. Using Highgear uses up all the Energy in 15 seconds, while using the Energy for Overdrive takes 20 seconds to be fully consumed.

Fast Lane – 300 credits

When you press C, Neon deploys two rows of electricity walls along the ground that damages anyone that passes through them. These walls act similar to Phoenix and Viper’s wall abilities, only with two rows in a short, straight line. Passing through the walls will damage enemies and allies alike while not affecting Neon.

Fast Lane lasts for 6 seconds and deals 30 damage per second. Neon can only use this ability once in each round. This first wall ability in the game creates two rows, literally creating a pathway for Neon to her and concealing her from enemies’ sights. There is so much practical use for this, depending on how it is used.

Relay Bolt – 200 credits

When you press Q, Neon throws an electric projectile that bounces once and electrocutes both surfaces hit from the ground up. The concussion effect is similar to skills like Breach’s Faultline and Skye’s Trailblazer. You can only equip a maximum of two per round, so use it wisely.

Relay Bolt does not blind you but rather dims the affected agent’s vision and stuns them for three seconds. This ability is particularly useful when you know enemies are hiding behind corners by bouncing the electric projectile off a wall or the ground. It should be noted that this ability affects allies, enemies, and Neon herself. So make sure to throw the skill without the risk of it coming back to you or your allies and stunning them.

Throwing the Relay Bold will require some practice. The key is to remember that this ability has almost no vertical fall, and it doesn’t suffer any momentum loss after bouncing off a surface. Considering this, it is best to aim low and make sure the bold does not bounce and fly off outside the playable map.

High Gear – Free

This is the signature skill of Neon. Pressing E will give Neon a speed boost by consuming Neon’s energy bar until it is depleted or you press the skill button again. The sprint greatly increases Neon’s running speed allowing her to move from site to site at a fraction of the time it would normally take other agents to rotate. Neon will have no weapon equipped while sprinting.

A great perk of High Gear is the slide. Neon can slide when you press the Alternate Fire button while Neon is sprinting. This makes Neon slide a few feet forward, immediately equipping the weapon you had equipped before sprinting. From sprinting to equipping your primary weapon, the animation time is much faster than switching between a knife and your primary weapon. There is almost no delay allowing Neon to immediately respond to a surprise when she sees an enemy after turning past a corner. The slide can only be done once and recharged after two kills.

Overdrive – 7 Ultimate Orbs

This is the Ultimate Skill of Neon. When you press X, Neon unleashes all her stored Energy and increases movement speed. The moment Neon activates her ultimate skill; her Energy Bar starts to deplete until it goes empty. On top of this, Neon can shoot concentrated electricity from her hand with high movement accuracy, so you can spam shooting laser-like beams without having to worry about bullet spread and recoil.

The ultimate ability gives Neon a speed and power upgrade for 20 seconds. However, like Reyna’s ultimate, every kill refreshes the timer and prolongs Neon’s Overdrive state. The concentrated beam of electricity does an average of 20 damage per hit and can hit enemies by as much as 20 times per second. This power level gives Neon a great chance to ace whenever she is in Overdrive. When shooting the electricity beam, you would not need the greatest aim; drag and point the mouse to your enemies, and you will eventually hit them. Just remember that prolonged shooting of concentrated electricity shocks Neon’shands when her Energy is depleted. Make sure to watch your energy gauge before attempting to make a fast multi-kill.

Neon Bonus Tips

1. Fast Lane has great potential for entries befitting a Dueslist. Protect yourself and your allies as you enter a site by concealing them with the wall of electricity. Deploy this on a diagonal orientation to give your allies cover and a quick access to the target site.
2. Neon works well with short range weapons like the Bucky and Judge. Her ability to get close to enemies very fast makes good use of these weapons.
3. Utilize the Relay Bolt to prevent enemies from forcing a push in a narrow corridor. This ability is also great for flushing out enemeis hiding behind cover, but learning the bounce patterns on the map may take some time to master.
4. Neon’s Overdrive does not have a headshot. So shoot at the biggest target which is the enemy’s body. The damage on the head, body, and legs will be the same. So take exert less effort to aim and focus on wiping enemies off the face of the earth.

Do you think Neon is for you? an attack specialist who moves fast and kills even faster. Her abilities enable her to rotate at half the time and sprint around the map to take enemies by surprise. Her sprint is a fun skill to use, but her ultimate is a death machine. The newest addition to Valorant’s growing roster of agents makes sure she is seen in battle, loves the attention, and kills everyone foolish enough to linger a bit too long. If you like fast-paced, action-packed, electrifying gameplay: Neon is the one for you.