Icebox was, and might still be, one of the most polarizing maps in VALORANT. When the map first came out, many players hated it to the point where players often dodged a match queue whenever they found out Icebox was the map being played.
Shroud, ex-CSGO pro and one of the most popular FPS streamers shared his sentiments regarding Icebox. He explained many FPS players currently playing VALORANT hate the map because Icebox introduced verticality, which was rare for tactical FPS games that focus more on horizontal aim.
For an Agent like KAY/O, however, Icebox is a playground where his Signature Ability, ZERO/POINT, can be used to its full effect.
Today we look at some of KAY/O’s ZERO/POINT lineups for Icebox. Let’s get started!
Robot Initiator: KAY/O
KAY/O is a humanoid robot from the distant future. As some of the lore suggests, humans built KAY/O to kill Radiants.
It seems a divide between humans and Radiants has ensued in the distant future, causing humans to fear Radiants and, simultaneously, Radiants to despise humans. Of course, Radiants would have the upper hand in the ensuing war seeing as Radiants are super-powered humans like the X-Men.
Read: KAY/O Knife Lineups on Haven
This is probably why humans were forced to make a ruthless Radiant killing machine in KAY/O.
Everything about KAY/O is aimed toward the destruction of all Radiants. His skill set revolves around the disruption of any Radiant Ability. Figuring out how to render Radiant Abilities useless through KAY/O is an impressive feat for the human race and most likely gave them the upper hand in the war. Through KAY/O’s voice lines, he shares how many times he has killed Reyna in his lifetime, and we all know how powerful Reyna can be.
Riot has done a fantastic job of injecting tasteful storylines into the game. KAY/O’S lore is no exception. More information about the lore surrounding KAY/O, the Radiants, and the human race will only be revealed as time passes.
ZERO/POINT
KAY/O’s Signature Ability is his third ability, called ZERO/POINT.
When activated, KAY/O pulls out a small blade from his forearm and equips himself with a suppression blade that sticks to the first wall or objects it comes into contact with. KAY/O throws this knife with the precision only a humanoid robot can achieve.
The blast from ZERO/POINT affects Radiants and human technology, disabling every Agent’s Ability within a large spherical area.
ZERO/POINT is KAY/O’s Signature Ability which disables the abilities of all Agents hit by the EMP blast radius. As a bonus, ZERO/POINT pings you and your allies on the number of enemy players hit by the EMP blast. The pings give information about which Agents were hit by the EMP blast and how many were hit by the blade’s area of effect.
Read: KAY/O Knife Lineups on Breeze
ZERO/POINT is an excellent tool for determining which players play which sites on most maps in VALORANT. A good ZERO/POINT lineup on Icebox can give you and your team an idea of how many players are currently playing on which side of the map.
The information given by ZERO/POINT is valuable in a map such as Icebox. It can help you and your team attack and rotate accordingly using this useful information provided by ZERO/POINT.
ZERO/POINT’s projectile travels quickly and has a consistent trajectory making lineups straightforward. ZERO/POINT’s area of effect is quite large. The large area of effect makes this ability very forgiving regarding where your knife must be thrown to utilize its radius effectively. It also has the bonus of tagging enemies even behind walls since the EMP blast goes through walls and other types of in-game cover.
The ability does not cost any credits to equip. However, it has a slightly long cooldown time of 40 seconds.
Chilly Icebox
As we have mentioned before, the characteristic that makes Icebox unique from other maps is its excessive verticality.
Icebox features a variety of platforms, boxes, rafters, rooms, and stairs, making the map very exhausting to play initially. These vertical angles must be religiously cleared because you never know which feisty bastard on the other team will be playing a cheeky angle.
Also, Icebox is a standard map with two bomb sites with a middle lane. Standard fare for a tactical FPS map layout.
Icebox A Site Attacking – A-site/Generator/Nest/410/Rafters ZERO/POINT
VALORANT players will know taking Icebox A-site is more difficult than taking Middle control or even B-site. The reason for this is because of the aforementioned Icebox-verticality that A-site introduces. There are many angles to cover when entering A-site as an Attacker.
Fortunately, through this first ZERO/POINT lineup, you can disable the enemies’ utilities so you and your team can enter A-site with less resistance.
- Get on top of these stacked boxes at A-Ramps.
2. Turn around and look towards the upper platform:
3. Place the horizontal part of your crosshair just above this line while keeping it vertically aligned with the red arrow:
4. Left-click to throw ZERO/POINT:
ZERO/POINT should land on A-site Nest and cover most of the A-Site correctly.
Icebox Middle Attacking – Boiler/Blue/Kitchen/Snowpile
Icebox Middle is an important space in Icebox to gain control of because it enables Attackers to pick and choose whichever site they want to Attack freely. Defenders will have a player at Boiler almost 100% of the time to get a quick pick-off or gather information on enemy locations.
Read: KAY/O Knife Lineups on Fracture
With this in mind, the next lineup on this list tags anyone holding a Boiler, Snowpile, Kitchen, Tube, and the close angle below Tube.
- Stand anywhere at Mid Blue and look for this corner:
2. Place your crosshair on the corner of this window:
3. Left-click to throw ZERO/POINT:
When done correctly, KAY/O’s knife should land on the corner and cover these areas:
Icebox B Site Attacking – Tube/Double Box/Kitchen ZERO/POINT
Icebox B-site is a breath of fresh air from the claustrophobic A-site. Icebox B-site is a more open layout once you get past B-Lobby and Green.
This ZERO/POINT lineup covers most default angles Defenders will likely hold in B-site. The spot beside the double box is the most common planting spot on Icebox B-site. Teams with a Sage, Omen, wall, or smoke can wall off enemy players coming from B-Orange, get the plant, and then run back to a more passive position at B-Green or behind Yellow.
KAY/O’s Knife can make this process more seamless by tagging and disabling Defenders around this Default Plant area.
- From Attacker-Side Spawn, look for this corner by the boxes:
2. Tuck yourself within the corner and look up towards this crane:
3. Place the Left Tip of the FLASH/DRIVE charge indicator on top of this antenna:
4. Left-click to throw ZERO/POINT:
When done correctly, the Knife should land on top of B-site Tubes:
And cover all of these areas in the B-site:
Icebox A Site Defending – A-Main/Nest/Belt/Pipes
The most critical areas to cover with KAY/O’s knife on Icebox A-site are Belt, Nest, and Pipes. These are the most common places. Attackers tend to take it because it gives them verticality and a high-ground advantage.
Read: KAY/O Knife Lineups on Split
With this in mind, this KAY/O Knife lineup aims to cover most of these areas to disable enemy abilities that Attackers might use against you to gain the upper hand in taking control of Icebox’s A-site.
This knife lineup can also serve as a deterrent to stop the rushing attackers from overwhelming you and your partner at A-site. This can also give your other teammates time to rotate to A-site to help you.
- Stand anywhere in the A-site Nest:
2. Look towards the opposite Nest on the other side:
3. Aim for this middle line at the opposite Nest’s window lightbox:
5. CROUCH + Left-click to throw ZERO/POINT:
When done correctly, the following areas will be affected by the EMP blast:
Icebox Middle Defending – Tube/Mid Blue/B-Lobby
As mentioned before, Icebox Middle is an important space to control for both Attackers and Defenders.
For Defenders, an early headcount of enemy players currently standing around Mid Blue can give the defending team a quick guess about which bomb site the enemy team will try to take.
This ZERO/POINT lineup for Middle aims to control Mid Blue and give your team an early headcount about how many players are playing Mid Blue. More than three players suggest they attempt to take Middle Control and run through B-Orange to get to B-site.
- Stand anywhere on this ramp at the Boiler:
2. Aim for the top of the topmost white container van so the Knife lands just above the second white container van:
3. Left-click to throw ZERO/POINT:
When done correctly, ZERO/POINT should land just above the second Container Van:
And cover these at Mid Blue/B-Lobby/Some of Tube:
Icebox B Site Defending – B-Lobby/Green
The last lineup on this list is for B-site Green and B-Lobby. This lineup is useful for when the enemy team plays at a slower pace, and your teammates back at A-site report that no players are on site.
Attackers tend to rush this area to B-site since B-Green is dangerous to get caught in. B-Green is a Killzone-type area because of how narrow the passageways are.
This lineup aims to deter the inevitable Attacker rush through B-Green. This lineup will more or less tag everyone around the B-Lobby and 3/4 of B-Green.
- Look for this platform just outside of Kitchen:
2. Stand on this corner:
3. Turn around and look up towards these pipes:
4. Place this tip of the HP border on the corner between the pipes and the white box:
5. Left-click to throw ZERO/POINT:
The Knife should land on this wall at B-Lobby and tag enemies at B-Lobby and B-Green when done correctly.
ZERO/POINT is more useful than an Icepick
KAY/O’s ZERO/POINT is a non-flammable piece of ability with a cooldown of 40 seconds. KAY/O players need to maximize the value they can get from every ZERO/POINT charge.
As it stands, KAY/O’s EMP Knife is nothing but a glorified alarm at this point in the VALORANT Meta, but that does not mean it is entirely useless. With the proper communication and coordination with your teammates, you and your team can take advantage of the information given by these ZERO/POINT lineups to gain the upper hand on Icebox.
These lineups maximize the area covered and focus on some of the most critical spots to cover on Icebox.
That is about it! We hope you find these lineups useful when stuck in Icebox with KAY/O.
