Among the list of changes upcoming in Act 3 of Episode 7, Riot Games has confirmed a new Valorant agent is in the making that is all set to shake up the Valorant agent meta this October end and November start! As such, if you haven’t had time, now is your chance to refresh your skins collection and welcome the new duelist in the family with style!
Since Episode 7 Act 2 is soon to end, one cannot help but wonder what this new duelist will bring to the table in terms of innovative gameplay strategies, tactical abilities, and the intricate art of team coordination.
Therefore, in this article, we will explore all the easter eggs that Riot Games have dropped till now and predict what this new Valorant duelist agent will be capable of. Now, without further ado, let’s get started!
But before we begin, allow us to equip you with the necessary background.
When Was the Last Time a Duelist was Introduced?
It has been quite a while since a duelist has made an entry into Valorant. The last time Riot Games introduced a duelist in the game was way back in January 2022 when developers introduced Neon.
Neon hails from the Philippines and is best known for her colorful and energetic personality. She is a very agile agent in Valorant and can cover the entire map within a couple of seconds with her Overdrive Ultimate.
As such, since her introduction as the 6th duelist, we haven’t seen any new duelist agents in Valorant up until now.
The Current Latest Agent in Valorant as of Oct 2023
Deadlock is currently the latest agent in Valorant that came with Act 1 of Episode 7. She is the 5th sentinel agent in the game and is best known for her Ultimate nano wire trap, also known as “Annihilation”.
Upcoming Valorant Duelist in Episode 7 Act 3
With that said, let’s cut to the chase.
Riot Games is notorious for subtly dropping hints before adding any agent to the game. We have witnessed it many times now, so much so that I would be surprised if I don’t see any news or leaks before a new character agent is introduced. As such, there have already been a couple of major easter eggs for the upcoming Valorant duelist agent.
These are explained below:
A Simmering Hotpot
One of the first major hints dropped by Riot Games regarding the upcoming Agent 24 was in their State of the Agents blog post.
The blog included a snapshot of a mysterious figure enjoying a mouth-watering mala hot pot meal. As many pointed out, this hot pot meal resembles a traditional Chinese dish, indicating that the upcoming Valorant duelist might be of Chinese origin.
However, if you ask me, I don’t think Agent 24 will be of Chinese origin. Firstly, we already have a Chinese-origin agent, Sage. Secondly, to date, we have not seen any 2 agents with the same nationalities in the game. Lastly, there is yet another easter egg about the upcoming Agent 24 that significantly nullifies the rumor of the upcoming duelist’s Chinese origins.
Inspiration from Paper Rex’s Jingg
This is something that caught my attention.
Paper Rex’s Wang Jing Jie player, also known as “Jinggg” is renowned as one of the world’s top duelist players in Valorant. He is the inspiration behind the upcoming duelist agent in Valorant as stated by Goscicki, the Valorant Character Developer, in a State of the Agents blog post.
In the post, Goscicki said “At its core, Valorant is a team-based Tac Shooter where gunplay shines. For some of you, that means aspiring to plow through enemies like Jinggg and putting hours in clicking those orbs with aim trainers for a clean 5k.”
Now, given that Paper Rex’s Wang Jing Jie is of Singaporean origin and the fact there has not been any agent in Valorant with Singaporean nationality, the upcoming duelist in Valorant might hail from Singapore.
However, that’s not the end of the picture yet. There are a couple of other easter eggs as well that further sheds light on the upcoming Agent 24 in Valorant.
Bullet Proof Player Card
One of the rewards in the Battle Pass of Episode 7 Act 2 included a bulletproof player card that had an octadecagon shape on it. Although the player card caught the attention of many players due to its unique combination of purple, black, and white colors initially; many soon ignored the hidden clue visible in plain sight.
Upcoming Agent Ability in Sunset
It was not until the same octadecagon shape was spotted in Valorant’s Sunset map, subtly laid in one of the corners, that sparked the curiosity of many players and its potential link with the ability of an upcoming agent in Valorant.
As spotted by many players now, it insidiously shows up in one of the corners before the start of a match in Sunset and disappears in a couple of seconds.
Because it appeared on the map and had some sort of unfinished ability, many have started to link it with the upcoming Agent 24’s ability to absorb damage without taking any damage.
Or maybe it could give rise to some teleportation powers as seen in Valorant’s latest lore surrounding the fictional Kingdom.
Color Code
The ability color of the octadecagon shape gives us yet another clue to the agent’s overall attire. Since every agent’s ability color matches with their overall outfit getup in one way or the other, Agent 24 will likely follow suit.
As such, one would not be much wrong in predicting that the upcoming duelist’s outfit attire would follow a purple color theme along with an intricate art of white and black color combination.
Jollz’s X Post
In order to further capitalize on the upcoming duelist’s hype, Riot Games collaborated with Jollz, an influencer with 116K+ followers on X.
In an X post, Jollz shared some pictures of promotional items and one of them was a rectangular-shaped box with 4 symbols imprinted on it, strongly hinting at the upcoming duelist’s abilities.
Interestingly, one of the abilities is an EXACT MATCH with the bulletproof player card’s octadecagon shape which is also the teaser ability found on the Sunset map.
Final Thoughts
With so many easter eggs and clues discussed above, it’s very likely that this upcoming Valorant duelist will be a game-changer character. Since we had a female agent last time, it seems we will get a male agent this time.
As such, whether this new duelist will break the current meta of duelist agents or not remains yet to be seen. What do you think? Share your thoughts with us and let us know in the comments below!
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