Iso joins the VALORANT Agent roster as a Chinese fixer for hire

Brandon Moore

Brandon Moore

Iso is the newest VALORANT Duelist, bringing precise and confident abilities that fit well in the hands of players described as the same.

The roster of VALORANT Agents continues to grow. The latest one is Iso, who arrives on Halloween 2023. Iso enters VALORANT as a Chinese Duelist with a knack for a killing. The fixer for hire brings a unique shield and dueling system into the game.

Every Iso ability in VALORANT

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Here are all of Iso's abilities you can put to use when the new Agent becomes available in VALORANT:

  • Double Tap (E): Start a focus timer. Once completed, enter a flow state during which downed enemies you kill or damage generate an energy orb. Shooting this orb grants you a shield which absorbs one instance of damage from any source.
  • Undercut (Q): Equip a molecular bolt. Fire to throw it forward, applying a brief Fragile effect to all players it touches. The bolt can pass through solid objects, including walls.
  • Contingency (C): Equip to assemble prismatic energy. Fire to push an indestructible wall of energy forward that blocks bullets.
  • Kill Contract (X): Equip an interdimensional arena with this Ultimate. Fire to hurl a column of energy through the battlefield, pulling you and the first enemy hit into the arena. You and your opponent duel to the death.

Iso' Agent contract rewards

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Iso comes with an Agent contract, just as all other VALORANT Agents do. You are able to unlock rewards pertaining specifically to him. There are 10 tiers and are as follows:

  1. Don't Ask Spray
  2. VALORANT Iso Player Card
  3. Tuned In Title
  4. In The Zone Spray
  5. 2,000 Kingdom Credits
  6. Peripherals Gun Buddy
  7. Callsign Spray
  8. Fixer Title
  9. The Hourglass Turns Player Card
  10. Mythmaker Sheriff Skin

Quotes from the devs regarding the new Duelist

(Image via Riot Games)
(Image via Riot Games)

Every new VALORANT Agent is designed with care by the team at Riot Games. They want to ensure their vision is realized, all while keeping things balanced in their first-person shooter. When it comes to Iso, the VALORANT developers had this to say about design goals:

"The goal was to create an exciting Duelist that emphasized gunplay and excitement. We had a few outputs we wanted to avoid, specifically healing and mobility. Since we weren't doing mobility or healing, I wanted Iso to feel distant and what I'd call a Juggernaut. It's why we created the shield, and that he'd run a team through and keep on going without mobility or healing."

- Nicholas "Nickwu" Smith

Iso was not without challenge. The Riot team had to create an entire new section to put in every map due to his Ultimate ability. They shared their thoughts on that process:

"The Ultimate world was a big undertaking for the whole team. Adding a new environment to every map took a ton of work. On top of that, there was understanding how it would interact with the state of the game no matter what was happening at the time. We have times when a rogue Raze rocket would hit it, or an Astra Ultimate would cut the map in half. All of these scenarios needed to be kept in mind."

- John "Riot_MEMEMEMEME" Gosicki"

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