How to play Killjoy in Valorant: Abilities, tips & tricks
Riot Games / DexertoValorant’s German genius, Killjoy, isn’t an easy Sentinel to master, as her abilities rely on strategic placement in order to be of use. Here’s a rundown of how to master this perplexing Agent.
Killjoy is one of Valorant’s more unique Agents because she focuses on deployable gadgets, rather than moment-to-moment abilities that help during gunfights. She’s extremely powerful once you’ve got a site locked down, and she can be even more effective on the retake thanks to her Ultimate.
While some of her abilities might appear pretty overpowered at first, she’s a well-rounded character that fits nicely into the flow of the game. Here’s a detailed look at the Sentinel so that you’ll be able to use her arsenal of inspired creations to decimate the enemy team.
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Riot GamesKilljoy’s abilities
Killjoy’s kit is designed to help you scout and shut down enemy attacks, making her literally the perfect Sentinel. No different to her defensive counterpart, Cypher, the intention here is to unravel enemy plans and stop them in their tracks.
- Ability 1 – Alarmbot (200 Creds) — EQUIP a covert Alarmbot. FIRE to deploy a bot that hunts down enemies that get in range. After reaching its target, the bot explodes, applying Vulnerable. HOLD EQUIP to recall a deployed bot. Deactivates if Killjoy is more than 40m away from them. Re-entering the 40m range reactivates it.
- Ability 2 – Nanoswarm (200 Creds) — EQUIP a Nanoswarm grenade. FIRE to throw the grenade. Upon landing, the Nanoswarm goes covert. ACTIVATE the Nanoswarm to deploy a damaging swarm of nanobots. NOTE: the grenade is visible to enemies while in covert mode and can be broken too.
- Signature Ability – Turret (Free) — EQUIP a Turret. FIRE to deploy a turret that fires at enemies in a 180-degree cone that deals 8, 6, or 4 damage per burst. HOLD EQUIP to recall the deployed turret. Deactivates if Killjoy is more than 40m away from them. Re-entering the 40m range reactivates it.
- Ultimate Ability – Lockdown (7 points) — EQUIP the Lockdown device. FIRE to deploy the device. After a long windup, the device Detains all enemies caught in the radius. The device can be destroyed by enemies. Enemies detained by the ultimate can neither shoot nor use any abilities for 8 seconds.
The most important thing about Killjoy’s kit is those Turrets. Adorable but deadly, Turret placement is everything when you’re looking to suck the fun out of the enemy team’s game.
With 8. 6, or 4 damage per burst depending how close you are, and a healthy 180-degree radius, utilizing these well will ensure every site is totally impenetrable unless you fancy a face full of lazer.
Killjoy’s Ultimate is clearly a game changer. Although her Lockdown has a pretty long wind-up, it can literally force enemies out of an area into one that you want them to be in. The obvious place for this is when you want to retake a site or filter your enemies into the site you have armed to the teeth. It’ll be like guiding them into a meat grinder, only less messy (maybe).
Riot GamesHow to play as Killjoy
One of the most important aspects of playing Killjoy is understanding that she’s a slow Agent. You can’t just drop your Turret and Alarmbot wherever you like and expect them to recall immediately. Her kit is characterized by lengthy cooldowns, which mean you need to really take some time on the Practice Range to truly understand her.
Through the tactical placement of her Turret, opponents can be spotted without you ever laying eyes on them, but it’s important to remember that the tiny weapons will deactivate when you move outside a 40m radius.
This is the same for her Alarmbot, so if you’re relying on these to create a fortress around your site, you need to be in the neighborhood or they’ll be rendered useless. This is especially true after Episode 3, given Killjoy now has a 20 second cooldown on replacing her robots after recalling them.
The other main takeaway here is to make sure that you coordinate yourself. Through the strategic use of her Nanoswarm Grenade and her Alarmbot together, enemies can fall in the blink of an eye. While nerfs knocked the Grenades down a bit, they’re still deadly. Throw them on the Spike while the enemy is trying to defuse, as it’s an instant deterrence or a kill (or two).
This works for tight spaces as well. Throw the Nanoswarm Greande into a chokepoint and chuckle away at the panic that ensues. That’s the great thing about Killyjoy: you can sit back, relax and watch the world burn.
So that’s how to play Killjoy in Valorant and utilize her abilities to take down swarms of enemies. Looking to brush up on your Valorant skills? Check out our other Agent guides:
Astra | Breach | Brimstone | Chamber | Cypher | Jett | KAY/O | Killjoy | Neon | Omen | Phoenix | Raze | Reyna | Sage | Skye | Sova | Viper | Yoru