Content creators got access to the new agent Neon today. What were their impressions? Spoiler: You’ll be seeing her alot in ranked.
VALORANT content creators around the world were given access to the new agent Neon today, giving us our first taste of her in a 5v5 environment. Content creators got their hands on new agent Neon. Here's what we learned
Her abilities look strong, and well-suited for specific playstyles. The jury is still out on her effectiveness at a pro level, but it seems you'll be seeing her plenty in your ranked games.
W-key warriors rewarded
The first thing I think of when seeing Neon's ability to traverse the map very quickly, and her laser of an ultimate, is how good she'll be in lower ranks. Where the play is lower quality, and rushing can catch your opponent completely off guard, the new agent will excel.
AverageJonas showcased this throughout the day, racking up highlight clips of beaming people down in a chokepoint with her ultimate, or sliding into a huge group of kills with the Judge.
Flights' experience was similar. As someone who made his name for aggressive Raze plays, he was right at home with Neon, and racked up aggressive clips in his own video. In a tweet, he compared her to Jett, the agent that's been the best in the game since release.
Neon's potential depends on the map
One thing we saw with trials of Neon is that her strength really depends on which map she's used. On a map like Breeze, with a ton of room to maneuver, Neon players were making a lot of plays on attack. On a more closed-in map like Ascent, defenders found more use, able to surprise attackers with her quick gap-closing.
"I feel like the W-keying is much better on defense," AverageJonas said while playing on Ascent in a Youtube video released today. "Cause you wanna have a Judge and catch them off guard, or something."
Neon is clearly an agent that can excel in the right circumstances. We don't have any read on what she'll be like in pro play yet - while she seems stronger against uncoordinated opponents, that doesn't necessarily mean that pros will have an easier time handling her. And a fast-paced Jett-Neon combo at the pro level seems like a scary prospect.
But be ready to deal with w-key warriors in your ranked games when Neon releases to the public with the launch of Episode 4.
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