Who is Phoenix in Valorant?

The poster boy for much of Valorant’s launch phase, Phoenix. The hot-headed Duelist is one of the game’s best trash-talkers, and he has a ton of carry-potential to back it up.

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After a few sneak-peeks at Phoenix and the rest of the Valorant roster in the tactical shooter’s early life, audiences were instantly drawn to the UK’s hot-headed Agent. This made Phoenix an instant fan-favorite among the community, coupled with the fact that he’s just a really good pick in-game.

Since Phoenix has made plenty of appearances in Riot’s trailers, we know a lot about him, his personality, and how he relates to the other characters in the game like rival Jett.

Phoenix’s gameplay

Phoenix isn’t a covert Agent. When he goes in, it’s going to be flashy, aggressive, and deadly. Phoenix isn’t for the Agents who wait on a play, but for the people that are looking to disrupt a round at a moment’s notice.

With or without a team, Agent 2 is always looking to take fights or prowl for an unsuspecting kill. His ability kit has plenty of tools to move up the line.

He has a flash meant for close-to-mid range engagements, a fireball that damages enemies and heals Phoenix, and a fire wall that also heals while letting him ruin the opponent’s sightlines.

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If you didn’t get a hint that Phoenix is meant to be the fast marksman, his ultimate gives him free reign to carelessly jump into a reactor site to start picking apart the other team without consequence. He’s a fun Agent for people looking to start the action.

Phoenix’s abilities in Valorant

Phoenix’s kit is entirely useful for most playstyles, but there’s a catch to every one of his abilities. Getting used to his moves will be key to pulling off incredible highlight reels.

• Q – Curveball: EQUIP a flare orb that takes a curving path and detonates shortly after throwing. FIRE to curve the flare orb to the left, detonating and blinding any player who sees the orb. ALTERNATE FIRE to curve the flare orb to the right.
• E – Hot Hands: EQUIP a fireball. FIRE to throw a fireball that explodes after a set amount of time or upon hitting the ground, creating a lingering fire zone that damages enemies.
• C –Blaze: EQUIP a flame wall. FIRE to create a line of flame that moves forward, creating a wall of fire that blocks vision and damages players passing through it. HOLD FIRE to bend the wall in the direction of your crosshair.
• X – Run it Back: INSTANTLY place a marker at Phoenix’s location. While this ability is active, dying or allowing the timer to expire will end this ability and bring Phoenix back to this location with full health.

Phoenix’s lore & personality

Phoenix, who Riot confirmed comes from the United Kingdom, if his accent wasn’t obvious enough, seems to be a cocky character. As well as his debut quote in the tweet ⁠— “you know the name” ⁠— his bravado comes across in-game.

“Oh, you want to play? Let’s play,” the British agent says as he activates his first move in his inital teaser trailer, and once he’s finished dismantling the enemy team with his flashy abilities he adds a simple taunt too: “One shot!”

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One final clue for Phoenix’s cocky nature was already given to us when the eight agents were first revealed. The agent’s reveal description tells us he will be “rushing into fights on his own terms… whether he’s got back up or not.”

This is an Agent for the natural-born carries and someone who people will just enjoy having on their team. He’s going to be a big part of Valorant’s future as the franchise progresses.