Who Is Phoenix From Valorant

Riot Games has a new title in development. Valorant has been described as a fascinating mishmash of CS:GO and Overwatch. While the gameplay appears similar to Counter Strike in the way it focuses on tactical shooting and close-quarters strategy, the characters — called agents — in Valorant are enhanced with "hypernatural" abilities much like the heroes of Overwatch. Through the official Valorant Twitter, prospective players are finally learning about these agents and their extra special skills.

Phoenix was the first agent Riot introduced. He's a kind of cocky, very much stylin' guy from the UK with a proclivity for pyromancy. His codename is pretty telling as to what kind of powers he wields. Phoenix can throw flames he's not shooting down enemies. His signature ability, Curveball, is especially handy for the cramped quarters of the current Valorant map. All he has to do is snap his fingers and ta-da — he has a tidy little fireball he can throw around corners to surprise the enemy.

What's more surprising is the fact that his fires can also heal. Phoenix's Hot Hands ability allows him to drop a grenade-like fireball that will explode after some time. This will damage enemies, but heal Phoenix. That's a pretty nifty trick to have up one's sleeve.

The short, but sweet gameplay trailer showed off another Phoenix ability: Blaze. Bigger and badder than simple fireballs, Blaze allows Phoenix to summon a wall of flame. This cuts of the enemy's visibility and creates a barrier that will cause some serious damage if walked through. Fire burns, after all.

Phoenix has one more trick Riot decided not to show off. Run It Back, Phoenix's ultimate, allows him to mark a location on the map. The next time Phoenix dies — or when the duration expires — he will respawn at this location with full health. Yes indeed: Phoenix will rise like his namesake. 

Riot has yet to reveal much about his backstory — or anyone else's. As Valorant inches closer to its summer release, the developer will surely reveal more about these interesting agents.