It’s official – Riot Games has unveiled Agent 24, who we now know is named ‘Iso’, a Chinese Duelist with some incredible abilities. He’s an assassin by trade and a phenomenal fighter by nature, and his abilities have been designed in a way that’ll make him an immediate favourite amongst players who enjoy offensively dominating their opponents. There’s a gameplay trailer being released that’ll showcase Iso’s abilities a little better tomorrow, October 20th, but we already know plenty about him.

Iso – the new VALORANT Agent – certainly is one of the most unique characters we’ve seen bursting onto the competitive scene in recent months. It was a couple of days ago that this new Agent was leaked, but now that Riot Games has published a trailer exploring his backstory, we know basically everything about this all-new Duelist. He’ll be arriving in VALORANT on October 31st, 2023, emerging as part of hte Episode 7, Act 3 update.

What’s Iso’s Backstory?

Image Credit: Riot Games

As I’ve just said, Iso is a unique Agent with some fantastic abilities – most of which are sure to change the face of any game. Before we get into Iso’s abilities, check out the three-minute-long trailer that explores his intense backstory:

There’s a sizeable amount of lore being expanded on in that trailer, and it’s good to see Omen getting pulled into the fray. For those curious about what Iso says at the end of the trailer, it reportedly translates into, ‘What a great story you have.’ So, maybe Iso is the new boogeyman of VALORANT – a horror story for his enemies.

But what exactly are his abilities?

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Powerful, Unique, Disruptive

Iso, like every other Agent ever introduced, has three core abilities and an Ult… Anything else would just be bizarre, right?

Here’s the breakdown:

E – Double Tap

With the press of a button, Iso players can activate a brief focus timer. Once that’s timed out, Iso will be able to absorb orbs from downed or damaged enemies – kind of like Reyna can. If those orbs are shot, Iso will take on an instant shield that’ll absorb a single count of damage from any incoming source.

Q – Undercut

With Undercut, Iso can hurl an energy-based bolt through any walls or solid objects – like Sova’s Ult – and instantly throw enemy players into a fragile state.

C – Contingency

Every good bounty hunter has a contingency, and Iso’s is remarkably effective. With the tap of a button, players can send out a temporarily indestructible wall of energy that will block all incoming fire.

X – Kill Contract

It’s the final blow – and this is where Iso gets truly unique. When Iso’s Ult is triggered, he will cast out a column of near-solid energy. As soon as a player comes into contact with the column, they – along with Iso – will be teleported into a 1 v 1 arena. Only one player can leave alive. Here’s an example of that Ult in action:

Overall, I predict that Iso will be a game-changer of a Duelist, and his abilities are going to allow players to soar across the map, soak up and deflect incoming attacks, and shoot back with unerring accuracy. There are obvious limitations to his Ult – such as the fact that he’ll reappear exactly where he disappeared, but everything has to have some kind of vulnerability, right?

Are you excited about Iso making his way into VALORANT?

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