Valorant: New Agent Skye’s Release Date Revealed in Teaser Trailer

Riot Games revealed via Twitter that Valorant‘s next agent will be a healer named Skye.

The pack leader is on your tail.

Heal your allies and tear down your foes as Skye on October 27th. https://t.co/jGlCXjgBr6

— VALORANT (@PlayVALORANT) October 8, 2020

As Riot notes in that tweet, Skye is expected to join the Valorant roster on October 27. The studio previously stated that they had intended to release a new agent earlier but ultimately decided to focus on ensuring that the game’s most recent balance patches were performing as intended before they introduced such a major new variable.

While Riot hasn’t yet revealed the new agent’s full abilities, a seemingly reliable leak tells us pretty much everything we need to know about Skye and how she’ll play a rather unique role in the game’s competitive meta.

Skye’s abilities revolve around different trinkets she can equip. The most notable of these trinkets is arguably her “Healing” trinket which allows her to heal allies within line of sight and a certain range. That effectively makes her an AoE healer, but the twist is that Skye cannot use this ability to heal herself.

She also has the ability to control the spirits of creatures with their own beneficial abilities. For instance, Skye can send out a hawk that’s not only useful for scouting the area ahead of her line of sight but can also be turned into a flash should the player encounter an enemy along the way. She’s also capable of summoning a Tasmanian Tiger which can quickly be “detonated” in order to produce a concussive blast that damages any enemies it directly hits.

Finally, Skye’s ultimate ability allows her to shoot out “Seekers” that hunt down the three closest enemies. If they make contact with an enemy, it will produce a “Nearsight” effect that limits their field of view.

Skye certainly sounds like an interesting character whose unique skill set could come in handy if she’s paired with the right group and is used properly. While it seems that many of her skills will be limited in some way by her line of sight, the potential of an AOE healing effect (especially for a defending team) could be a game-changer.

We’re waiting to hear more official information about Skye (and to see more footage of her in action), but we can see why Riot may have hesitated to release Skye alongside a major balance update. She seemingly continues the studio’s trend of releasing additional Agents who push the limits of the game’s mechanics and offer players more distinct abilities and options.