Valorant: How to master Fade in 2023

Valorant's Agent 20, Fade, belongs to the Initiator class. She is, quite literally, a nightmare to face, having abilities that will haunt you throughout the match. Hailing from Turkey, she delivers nightmare visions to enemies and hunts them down while they are weak. Fade was introduced in Episode 4 Act 3 in Valorant and has been a top choice among pros since then.

Fade can reveal enemies, nearsight them, and mark them for you and your team. In a game like Valorant, where sound cues are extremely important, she snatches that power from you and renders you helpless. Let us dive into an in-depth analysis of Fade's abilities and playstyle in Valorant.

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Fade’s abilities in Valorant

Terror Trail (Passive)

Haunt and Nightfall abilities mark enemy trails. Prowlers can follow trails to chase enemies directly.

Haunt (E) – Free Signature Ability

Fade launches a watcher that drops after a certain period of time. You can use the primary fire button to drop the watcher early. All enemies in its line of sight are revealed, and a Terror Trail is formed toward them.

Prowler (C) – 250 credits each

Fade summons a prowler, which can be controlled by holding down the primary fire button. It locks onto an enemy in front of it and chases them, nearsighting them on impact. They can also follow previously formed Terror Trails as well.

Seize (Q) – 200 credits

Fade throws a terror ball that falls to the ground after a certain period of time. You can drop it early with your primary fire button. Seize locks down enemies in place within its area of effect. Held enemies are deafened and decayed.

Nightfall (X) – 8 ultimate points

You release a wave of nightmares. It covers a large portion of the map, and all enemies caught by it are marked with Terror Trails, deafened, and decayed.

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Tips to use Fade effectively in Valorant

Fade easily locates enemy positions and marks them for you and your team.

Haunt Mastery

Haunt gives real-time enemy locations. The advantage of Fade’s recon is that it has no visible range, and anyone in its line of sight gets revealed and marked with Terror Trail, which stays up for twelve seconds. You can place this ability on top of tall buildings, which will scan a wide area for you.

Having said that, players have developed several lineups for perfect Haunt positioning to achieve the best outcome. You can learn them here.

Prowler Mastery

Your Prowler can clear multiple angles or corners at once. For example, on Pearl, you can clear pillars and cubby at B Long with one Prowler. You should remember that the Prowler automatically detects enemies in front of it so you can safely clear corners until it does so.

A unique mechanic of Fade’s Prowler is that it can follow Terror Trails. You can guide your Prowler on top of a Terror Trail, and it will be on its way to the marked enemy. An enemy hit by your Prowler will be nearsighted and deafened. You and your team can take this opportunity to kill the enemy or take up better positioning.

It is very important to note that both your Haunt and Prowler can be destroyed by enemies.

Seize Mastery

Fade’s Seize is a one-of-a-kind ability in Valorant. You can use it to stop enemies at choke points or clear corners. However, your Seize is best used in combination with other grenade abilities. For example, Seize, along with Raze’s Paint Shells, is a deadly combo, and enemies caught by it are guaranteed to die with no counterplay.

Another combo would be Seize with Brimstone’s Orbital Strike.

You should remember that Seized enemies are easier to kill in gunfights since they are decayed. You can also use this ability in one-on-one situations to give yourself that extra edge.

Nightfall Mastery

Her ultimate, Nightfall, has a lot of utility. It marks enemies, cuts off their sound, and starts health decay with a click of a button. There are a variety of combinations that you and your team can come up with using this ability.

One example is the Nightfall and Prowler combo. Nightfall creates Terror Trails, which your Prowlers can follow for additional utility. Enemies, who are already deafened and decayed, have to deal with the Prowlers and your team simultaneously.

Another combo found by players is Nightfall with Yoru’s Dimensional Drift. Since Nightfall deafens you, you do not hear Yoru exiting his ultimate behind you. Other Duelist abilities like Jett's Dash, Neon's High Gear, or Raze's double satchels would be equally good with Nightfall.

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Best maps to use Fade in Valorant

The best maps for Fade in Valorant at the moment are Fracture and Lotus. There are a lot of good Haunt placements and lineups, and the small bomb sites make it ideal for Nightfall. She can also be made pretty useful on Pearl with the correct team composition.

Fade, overall, is not that difficult to play. You can start winning at any rank once you learn a few lineups and coordinate well with your team.