Clove in Valorant: All abilities, release date, design inspirations, and more

Riot Games held a show match in VCT Masters Madrid to showcase their upcoming Agent, Clove. This new Agent will be the 24th one in the game. With the new addition, the list of Controllers in Valorant has increased by one. However, Riot Games devs want players to use the upcoming Agent for aggressive playstyle, granting many perks.

In this article, we will delve into all the available details about Clove, ranging from abilities to release date. Let's explore what Riot Games has in store with their new Agent.

---

Clove's release date in Valorant

The release of Agent 25 is arguably one of the most talked-about things in the game. This is mainly because this Agent did not arrive at the onset of Episode 8 of Act 2. Rather, Riot Games waited till the end of VCT Masters Madrid, almost three weeks into the current season, to showcase the Agent.

Clove's release has now been revealed globally. The new Agent will arrive in-game on March 26, 2024, as part of the Valorant Episode 8 Act 2 mid-season patch. Riot Games describes the upcoming agent as:

"Scottish troublemaker Clove makes mischief for enemies in both the heat of combat and the cold of death. The young immortal keeps foes guessing, even from beyond the grave, their return to the living only ever a moment away."

---

Clove Agent gear

Riot Games will add multiple Agent gears along with Agent 25 on March 26, 2024:

• Tier 1: Spray - Gloomheart
• Tier 2: Player Card - VALORANT Clove
• Tier 3: Title - Mischievous
• Tier 4: Spray - Wee Punk
• Tier 5: Kingdom Credits - 2,000
• Tier 6: Gun Buddy - Metal Wings
• Tier 7: Spray - Clove Spray
• Tier 8: Title - Undying
• Tier 9: Player Card - Metamorphosis
• Tier 10: Gun Skin - Flutter (Ghost)

---

Clove abilities explained

Although Clove is a Controller, their biggest ability in the game will be immortality. The Agent can return from the dead and deal more damage to enemies. Let's closely inspect their unique set of abilities:

Ruse (E): Using this ability, Clove can project the battlefield and drop vision-obscuring clouds in battle. An interesting thing about this ability is it can be triggered even after the Agent has died.

How to use Ruse in-game:

1. EQUIP to view the battlefield
2. FIRE to set the locations where Clove’s clouds will settle.
3. ALT FIRE to confirm, launching clouds that block vision in the chosen areas.

Meddle (Q): Clove launches a fragment of immortality essence towards enemies. After the initial burst damage, this ability also carries a decay buff. It gradually decreases the life of enemies in the vicinity.

How to use Meddle in-game:

1. EQUIP a fragment of immortality essence.
2. FIRE to throw the fragment, which erupts after a short delay and temporarily decays all targets caught inside.

Promotional artwork for Clove (Image via Riot Games)

Pick-me-up (C): This ability can be useful for aggressive players. It allows players to absorb the life energy of a defeated enemy, somewhat similar to Reyna's Devour. In turn, Clove gets health and increased agility.

How to use Pick-me-up in-game:

1. INSTANTLY absorb the life force of a fallen enemy that Clove damaged or killed, gaining haste and temporary health

Not Dead Yet (X/ULT): By triggering their ultimate ability, the immortal Agent can defy death to enter battle again. However, they arrive in the form of an energy construct. To stabilize again, they have to remove an opponent from the battlefield.

Talking about the ability, Valorant dev penguin said:

"Sometimes it’s correct to ultimate even if you don’t think you’ll be able to get a kill and stay within the round if it’s an important enough round for the state of the game or economy that your team wins."

How to use Not Dead Yet in-game:

1. After dying, ACTIVATE to resurrect.
2. Once resurrected, Clove must earn a kill or a damaging assist within a set time or they will die.

---

Design inspirations behind Clove

Clove facial expressions design (Image via Riot Games)

Valorant devs wanted the upcoming Agent to be capable of taking on 1v1s despite being a Controller. Valorant dev penguin said:

"We hypothesized pretty early on that naturally aggressive players didn’t have enough varied options within the Controller role. Prior to Clove, it was almost all Omen from Controller players who felt like they wanted to be aggressive"

After figuring out the theme of Clove's abilities to be immortality, the team decided to look for an apt design. The team wanted Clove to be an ideal mix of happiness and sadness around death. This led to the team experimenting with visuals of deteriorating fruits and vegetables when designing smokes.

Ultimately, the team decided upon iridescent butterflies and a pink/purple color for Clove. Explaining the design choices, Agents Lead John Goscicki said:

"While we always do our research, we are not the full experts in each space. For Clove, their Scottish culture and non-binary identity were big aspects of this. These take time and nuance to deeply understand so they manifest in authentic ways."

Clove is now ready to join the action in the game. Stay tuned for more details about the immortal Agent arriving soon in Valorant.