When a new character is released in a game there’s always a learning period, which can take more or less time depending on the person and the agent. However, this is a time you can use to your advantage as it allows you to have a higher range of action in matches. To make this learning stage a little easier, we’ve put together a guide with tips for playing Fade, agent 19 in Valorant.
Ability kit
[E] — Haunt (1 charge) — Free
Equip a nightmarish entity. Throw the orb and it will plummet to the ground after a set amount of time. Upon hitting the floor, it will reveal the location of enemies caught in its line of sight and track them. Enemies can destroy this entity.
The ability can be re-activated to make the orb fall earlier on.
[Q] — Seize (1 charge) — 200 credits
Equip a nightmarish entity. Throw the orb and it will plummet to the ground after a set amount of time. Upon hitting the floor, it’ll explode and create a zone that traps enemies, leaving them without a means of escape.
Like with the [E], you can re-activate this entity to make it fall earlier.
[C] — Prowler (2 charges) — 250 credits
Pressing fire will send the Prowler out in a straight line, locking on to any enemies or trails in their vision cone and near sighting them if it reaches them.
Hold the fire button to steer the Prowler in the direction of your crosshair.
[X] — Nightfall — (7 charges needed) — Apply trail
Fire to send out a wave of nightmare energy that can traverse through walls. The energy creates a trail to the opponent as well as deafens and decays them.
How to play
Fade works best as a Controller Agent since her kit is designed to collect information, control areas and reveal enemies. At this point she’s able to isolate and eliminate unsuspecting targets or let a colleague take care of them. If you have to attack a point, she’s also good for initiating fights. After having collected information and detected the priority target, she’s very effective at leaving enemies useless with Prowler or Nightfall, giving the team an advantage in the first seconds of the fight.
In both defence and on the attack, Fade’s goal is to reveal enemies and monitor halls and entrances. Haunt is her main tool for this. This ability for revealing enemies is excellent if it lasts long enough as it can be destroyed by the enemy but has no time limit. And when it comes to defending, she’s very useful if you decide to leave a flank exposed because she can detect enemies approaching from the backlines.
Fade’s true power comes from her ability to help allies, both with information and actions. Her Seize ability can be a game-changer if you’re unable to get rid of an enemy or several—she can help you escape, but she can also leave them exposed allowing a colleague to catch them off guard from behind.
If we add to all this that most of her skills don’t require her to be in exposed positions to unlock their full potential, you have an agent who can be really useful in games without having to leave safe areas.
