VALORANT Agent Neon abilities

Neon is the 19th agent to join the VALORANT Protocol, the 18th agent and sixth duelist to be released in the game. The agent hails from Manila, Philippines, is short-statured but makes up for her lack of height with her athletic abilities and bursts of speed. Equipped with the power to generate electricity to aid her in times of need, Neon quickly became popular in the competitive VALORANT scene by successfully disrupting the meta.

Obviously, the Jett changes coinciding with the release of the agent did help Neon's cause. However, her unique abilities changed the way a duelist has been looked at in the game of VALORANT. Neon is self-sufficient, with her abilities simplified to include stuns, change of pace in the form of sprint, a surprise factor with the slide, a vision-blocking ability and a damage-dealing ultimate.

Let us take a closer look at Neon's abilities in VALORANT.

Neon abilities VALORANT

FAST LANE - DEFAULT KEY (C)

The in-game explanation for the Fast Lane ability reads: "FIRE two energy lines forward on the ground that extend a short distance or until they hit a surface. The lines rise into walls of static electricity that block vision and damage enemies passing through them."

Fast Lane is basically a vision-blocking ability that creates a narrow pathway by creating walls on both sides. It obstructs enemy vision while also allowing Neon to isolate fights when required. Players need to aim at a certain area and press the C key, which will create the aforementioned pathway. Enemies trying to enter or exit through the created walls will be dealt some damage.

All in all, Fast Lane unnerves Neon opponents, almost asking them to brace for impact. An easy combination is the use of Fast Lane with Relay Bolt to stun specific areas before sliding either in or out of the pathway to isolate fights. The ability costs 300 credits and has a cast time of 1 second(s).

RELAY BOLT - DEFAULT KEY (Q)

The official explanation for the Relay Bolt ability in VALORANT reads: "INSTANTLY throw an energy bolt that bounces once. Upon hitting each surface, the bolt electrifies the ground below with a concussive blast."

To break things down, agent Neon's Relay Bolt is a stun ability that is capable of stunning two different areas around the same time, depending on how and where it bounces. The ability will land where the player's crosshair is aimed at once they press Q, bounce off the surface (if any) and deal another stun wherever it ends up. Players can choose to stun two different areas or chokepoints or bounce it off closely to behaviorally convert it into one large stun around the same area.

Players can ideally combine the Relay Bolt with the Neon slide in order to take a favorable fight while peeking a certain angle or opponent. A maximum of two Relay Bolt charges can be purchased every round, with each costing 200 credits.

SIGNATURE ABILITY - HIGH GEAR - DEFAULT KEY (E)

According to the official explanation in VALORANT, High Gear allows you to "INSTANTLY channel Neon’s power for increased speed. When charged, ALT FIRE to trigger an electric slide. Slide charge resets every two kills."

High Gear is activated by pressing the E key. It allows Neon players to speed up whenever required, with an additional option to slide available if and when they choose to press the SECONDARY FIRE or ALT FIRE key. The change of pace combined with the slide allows Neon players to peek guarded angles efficiently and navigate through areas with much ease.

The Sprint and Slide ability is slightly comparable to the post-nerf Jett dash as it is also two-pronged. While both provide a change or burst of pace, the Dash and Slide both need users to use the keyboard once again (ALT FIRE to Slide) in order for the action to happen in game.

The High Gear ability has a fuel while it is being used, much like Viper and will only replenish while it is not activated. Once the slide option is used, it refreshes after two kills in that particular round. Neon users can also use the slide ability on a slope on some maps to create a super slide effect.

ULTIMATE ABILITY - OVERDRIVE - DEFAULT KEY (X)

Overdrive allows players to "Unleash Neon’s full power and speed for a short duration. FIRE to channel the power into a deadly lightning beam with high movement accuracy. The duration resets on each kill."

The term Overdrive perfectly explains the nature of the Ultimate ability that VALORANT agent Neon has. The ability costs 7 Ultimate orbs and can be activated by pressing the X key. Upon activation, Neon gains a passive High Gear boost while also channeling electric bolts through her fingers that deal damage to enemies for every second it manages to connect. Simply put, whenever Neon players press the X key, Neon goes into Overdrive and can deal damage from her fingertips for a specific duration.

Think of it as an Ultimate ability that could be compared to Raze's, who also has a damage dealing ability, albeit it deals instant damage upon impact rather than damage over time. However, the ultimates have a timer after which it can no longer be used. This makes the timing of activation crucial. The ultimate ability can alternatively be used as a zoning ability to delay enemies from engaging on or capturing a certain area of the map.