Many questions will, erm, Fade with Agent 20’s official reveal.
It has been some time (three months) since Riot last treated VALORANT fans to a new map, let alone a new Agent. We can not complain, though, as Riot previously expressed the importance of improving VALORANT’s gameplay first before they introduce yet another Agent to its ever-growing roster back at the beginning of Episode 4.
Three months have passed since the last major VALORANT update. In that period, Riot has aggressively released gameplay, weapons, Agents, and map improvements aiming to balance and refine the meta in preparation for the upcoming 2022 VCT Masters Reykjavík.
The moment we have all been waiting for has finally come: Riot has officially revealed the newest addition to the VALORANT roster – Fade.
The image above was first revealed on the big screen at the 2022 VCT Masters Reykjavík right before DRX faced off against ZETA DIVISION.
The poster confirms four important tidbits about Agent 20, namely:
- The newest Agent is a female (when KAY/O called her a “she,” as teased in the radio transmission on Cypher’s laptop in The Range). Fade also resembles Reyna a lot.
- Her name is indeed Fade. BountyHunter was her codename.
- The newest Agent is an Initiator.
- She is confirmed as the Blackmailer responsible for the red envelopes scattered around various spots on VALORANT maps (Indicated by the poster’s background logo, which dons the same logo found on the red envelopes.)
Based on several rumors and information about her leaked Abilities, everybody was expecting the newest VALORANT Agent to be an Initiator, which Riot would confirm through their State of the Agents blog.
Riot says that Fade’s abilities will give players an “intimate feeling when hunting down enemies.” All we can do is rely on our imagination as to what that would feel like – reading about Fade’s leaked abilities and listening to the radio transmission on Cypher’s laptop in The Range should give players a good idea, though.
In Patch 4.07, entering Brimstone’s office in The Range’s basement briefly applies a spooky “nearsighted” effect, which hints at how Fade’s abilities might affect players in an actual match.
The VALORANT official Twitter page also released five 13-second clips on every Agent part of the operation to capture Fade in Turkey.
Knowing Riot, these teasers will play a significant role in advancing VALORANT’s lore.
Riot is set to release an official reveal trailer for Fade in the 2022 VCT Masters Reykjavík Grand Finals event on April 24, so make sure you tune in to that.
Fade is set to debut upon the release of VALORANT Episode 4 Act 3 on April 26th.
