Clove is the newest agent released in one of my favorite games Valorant. And with the release of Clove, we see some new tech that we’ve never seen in Valorant before. Clove is a blend of several popular agents already in Valorant and introduces two abilities that have no comparable utility in the game. Clove is a real game-changing character and has big potential in the competitive/professional scene, and although Clove is one of the more skill-dependent agents her kit is still simple enough to be picked up and understood by more casual players. Clove is one of the most balanced releases we’ve seen from Valorant in a while and it’s exciting to see something so new and interesting implemented by the dev team at Riot.
Clove’s first ability, Meddle, is quite like an ability already in the game but with its own twist. Meddle is throwable, which has an area of effect, and anyone in that area is put in the “decayed” state, which means their health is temporarily decayed down from 100 to 10, but regenerates back over time. This is similar to another character Viper, and her orb which also decays enemies. But unlike Viper orb which needs to be placed and manually activated, Clove’s Meddle goes off upon impact and instantly decays anyone inside, making it a much stronger ability than its counterpart in Vipers orb. Personally, I think the ability is a little too strong and the decay time needs to be brought down a little bit, so I’d give this ability an 8/10.
Clove’s second ability, Ruse, is an exact copy of another character Brimstone. They both open a mini-map and select one or more locations to drop a vision-blocking smoke, but Clove’s ability has a twist we’ve never seen before. Clove can use this ability even after dying, making her the first and only character that can impact the game after death and use abilities post-mortem. This ability is a 10/10, it is not too strong and is extremely effective.
Clove’s third ability, Pick-Me-Up, is another copied ability but this time with no twist. It’s simple, once you get a kill you can choose to use your ability a short time after the kill to get a temporary over-heal healing you to your maximum health for a short period. This is a copy of the agent Reyna and her ability to devour. It is unique in the sense that this makes Clove the first smoke agent to be encouraged to take fights and battle more mid-round. I give this ability a 5/10 as it’s good but not unique.
Clove’s last ability, Not Dead Yet, which is its ultimate power, is one of its kind. When she dies, revive herself and be invulnerable for a short period of time to get to cover, then start a timer to get a kill to fully revive herself or get killed and stay dead. This is the first time any character has been able to revive themselves after dying, and it’s such a cool ability that makes for some intense last-second clutches. I’m giving this ability a 10/10 as it is not only unique but not too strong and very easy to learn.
Overall, Clove is a big splash in the competitive scene of Valorant and my new personal favorite agent. Clove combines what I love about lots of other agents but with their flare and mixes it up enough for it to feel fresh. I’m excited to see what other tricks people learn to do with Clove and to learn more about them myself.
