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Valorant's newest agent has completely changed the game

30K View2023-03-15

Valorant’s latest released agent called Gekko has completely taken over the game and it’s bloody amazing. I’ve been playing here and there since the game’s release and I’ve never quite seen a character that’s changed Valorant as much as Gekko.

See, every character that’s ever stepped foot in Valorant has something that makes them unique. Harbor has a bazillion smoke utilities, Fade can track enemies, and Neon can zoom through the battlefield. And although each character is designed differently and features unique abilities, they all have a few things in common that tie them together.

Duelists usually have a way to gain speed and disorient enemies for one-on-one fights, while Initiators start the battles themselves using stunning or tracking abilities. Controllers secure areas with smoke or concussive equipment. As for Sentinels, these characters heal allies and help hold down defenses. Almost every character has some sort of utility, whether that’s a flashbang or a smoke grenade, to help their team. However, Gekko has something else that completely changes the game.

Like most agents, Gekko can blind and concuss enemies. Heck, the character can throw a ball of acidic ooze to cover an area and deal damage too. But that’s not all. Gekko can use one of his pets and plant the bomb without planting it himself. Yes, that’s right, Gekko doesn’t actually need to physically activate the bomb on site to plant it. The same works for defusing an enemy-planted bomb too.

Gekko’s Q ability called Wingman allows the character to send out a little bird-like pet in one direction that can bounce off walls and concuss enemies. If Wingman's shot by an enemy, it dies. But if Gekko is near a bombsite and attacking, the character can order his pet to plant the bomb on the site. If Gekko is defending, the character can also use Wingman to defuse already-planted bombs.

This is an insane ability because it allows me to plant or defuse the bomb with Gekko. It would take seven seconds to defuse or plant the bomb without this ability, putting a tremendous amount of risk on me getting shot or killed by an enemy. With Wingman, I can march forward, and secure the bomb, while helping my team eliminate the remaining opponents.

The ability revolutionizes the way players can attack or defend an area and tips the odds toward the team that has Gekko on their side. I mean, wouldn’t it be nice to have more people seeking out enemies or defending an area, while Wingman takes care of things on the bombsite? I know I would enjoy a little more help.

It’s hard to say right now since Gekko was only released a little while ago, but I think the character will be a must-pick in the future. The entire meta up until Gekko’s release has focused on quickly securing areas using defensive utilities like Sage’s wall or Killjoy’s grenades.

However, that all changes with Gekko. This hyper-defensive strategy becomes harder to pull off, especially in higher-ranked matches, and will likely reshape the competitive scene too. I think matches will become a lot more fast-paced and chaotic and that players will tend to prioritize eliminating the enemy team instead of winning off of bomb plants. I feel like the meta will shift toward using characters like Neon, Viper, or Jett with Gekko to quickly secure a bombsite or regain one from the enemy.

That said, it’s only been a little while since the character was released, so who knows what might happen in the future. For now, Gekko is one busted character that I'll continue to use in my ranked matches. If there's anyone that will help me get out of silver rank, it's Gekko.

Feel free to check out the trailer for Gekko in Valorant below.