Raze

Twelfth agent of VALORANT and one of the original trio of Duelists in the game, tech user Raze is all about puttin’ the hurtin’ on the enemy, whether she’s straight-up obliterating them with her explosives, painting the walls with her colorful space-clearing ‘nades, or striking terror with her rocket launcher.

Players who thrive on mayhem, aggressive plays, and a heft dose of BOOM should be lining up to play this high-octane Brazilian Duelist (though we don’t recommend a five-Raze comp!).

"I shouldn't have to say this because, you know, my vibe, but, stay clear of my explosions, okay?" Tayane “Raze” Alves

Lore

Before becoming VALORANT’s agent Raze, Tayane Alves was a street artist with a fondness for tagging abandoned Kingdom plots with her rebellious art. She was never afraid to break the rules, which led to her willingness to help the congenital amputee criminal who would become Breach.

She has long held a strong dislike for Kingdom and their “infestation” in her home of Salvador, Brazil, and was actively involved in fighting to force them to abandon the region of Bahia. It was her anti-Kingdom efforts that put her on VALORANT Protocol’s radar, and led to her recruitment as its twelfth agent.

Even faced with the gravity of situations VALORANT regularly deals with, Raze’s explosive, colorful personality remains as vibrant as ever. She’s always there to crack jokes and lift spirits, as well as lend a hand with her considerable tech-savvy ways.

She creates all her own gear, enhanced Breach’s prosthetic arms, and struck up a quick friendship, rivalry, and eventual romance with fellow tech-head agent Killjoy.

“Raze explodes out of Brazil with her big personality and big guns. With her blunt-force-trauma playstyle, she excels at flushing entrenched enemies and clearing tight spaces with a generous dose of "boom."” Riot’s official description of Raze

FAQs

Where is Raze from?

She’s from Salvadore, the capital of Brazil’s northeastern state of Bahia.

How old is Raze?

Official VALORANT sources cite Raze’s age as between 25 and 30 years old.

What is Raze's real name?

Her real name is Tayane Alves, but Raze’s friends call her Tatá.

What happened to Raze?

Over a series of voicemails in 2022, we learned that Raze, Killjoy, and Phoenix went to a large concert in Berlin, but that Raze got separated from the others in all the chaotic celebrations. Even Killjoy was unable to locate her, despite some frantic scans of comms devices.

VALORANT and the fandom were all left wondering where Raze went… only to find out soon after in a voicemail from Raze to Brimstone that she’d woken up the next morning on an island in the Bermuda Triangle, with no memory of how she travelled so far overnight.

Nothing has been confirmed yet, but the top theory suggests that Raze was captured and replaced by her Omega counterpart that night. Is Raze part of a sly plan to spy on the VALORANT Protocol for Legion, or is Raze just one wild party animal?

One way or other, we hope to find out soon enough what really happened to Raze.

How do you unlock Raze in VALORANT?

There are three ways to get Raze on your squad – spend real-world money, spend Kingdom Credits, or have an Xbox Game Pass.

You can unlock Raze by spending 1,000 VP (roughly $10), or 8,000 Kingdom Credits (which you earn by playing matches and completing daily challenges). Or, if you have the Xbox Game Pass, just link your Xbox and Riot accounts and you’ll have instant access to every agent!

Is Raze any good?

Raze isn’t just easy to use, she’s mighty fun, too! Her abilities can deal some scary damage while also giving her a super fluid, mobile play style that makes gaining map control and pushing sites easy as one, two, boom!

There’s a good reason Raze is a hot contender for the best Duelist in VALORANT.

When did Raze come out?

Raze was released during the VALORANT beta back in April 2020, as one of the original three Duelists added to the roster.

Gamer’s Guide

Ready to learn how to play Raze like a pro?

Before we take a look at the tips and tricks for some epic Raze plays, here’s a quick rundown of her explosive abilities…

Raze abilities

Here are all of Raze’s abilities, their official descriptions, and key stats. Armed with these, you’ll be well on your way to using Raze like a boss.

E – Paint Shells

EQUIP a cluster grenade. FIRE to throw the grenade, which does damage and creates sub-munitions, each doing damage to anyone in their range. ALT FIRE to lob. Paint Shells charge resets every two kills

• Ability type: Signature
• Total deploy time: 2.9 seconds (including cluster explosions)
• Damage: 15–55
• Cost: Free
• Max charges: 1 (recharges after 2 kills)

Q – Blast Pack

INSTANTLY throw a Blast Pack that will stick to surfaces. RE-USE the ability after deployment to detonate, damaging and moving anything hit. Raze isn't damaged by this ability, but will still take fall damage if launched up far enough.

• Ability type: Basic
• Duration: 5 seconds (max)
• Health: 20HP
• Damage: 5–15 (instant) or 20–50 (once armed)
• Cost: 200 creds
• Max charges: 2

C – Boom Bot

EQUIP a Boom Bot. FIRE will deploy the bot, causing it to travel in a straight line on the ground, bouncing off walls. The Boom Bot will lock on to any enemies in its frontal cone and chase them, exploding for heavy damage if it reaches them.

• Ability type: Basic
• Deploy time: 0.7 seconds
• Duration: 5 seconds
• Damage: 30–80
• Health: 60HP
• Cost: 300 creds
• Max charges: 1

X – Showstopper

EQUIP a rocket launcher. FIRE to shoot a rocket that does massive area damage on contact with anything.

• Ability type: Ultimate
• Equip time: 1.4 seconds
• Duration: 10 seconds (max)
• Damage: 30–150
• Ultimate cost: 8

How to play Raze

Fly like the wind with Blast Pack satchels

She may not have Jett levels of mobility, but Raze can absolutely fly through maps in the most unique of ways thanks to her Blast Pack.

There’s a reason you always see her using this ability to get around in any cinematic.

Follow Raze’s explosive example and use your Blast Pack not just to boost yourself into sneaky spots with tasty off-angles, but to propel yourself into unexpected peeks or dodges, too.

Triggering a well-placed Blast Pack off a wall when you get near it can rocket you into a crazy fast swing that your enemies could blink and miss.

You can even trigger the Blast Pack stachel mid-air and use it to boom you into a quick dodge.

The first step towards using Raze badly is forgetting how mobile she can be. Stay agile, create unexpected opportunities, and be hard as hell to hit. Definitely get comfy with how far she throws these packs though – it’s not far, and you don’t want that to throw your game off.

Oh and spoiler alert: this ability + a shotgun like the Judge = a lethal combo. Normally firing while mid-air isn’t worth it, but it can be super effective with a shotgun to hand.

Approach with caution, Mr Boom Bot

Raze is a Duelist, and her kit is definitely aggressive, but she’s actually best played in a more middle-ground capacity, due to her lack of any blinding or vision-obscuring abilities.

Use Raze to push the pace and take space, rather than rush in to engage in 1 vs. 1 duels.

Her ability to clear corners with utility like Boom Bot is insanely useful when pushing into new sites. Combo this with another agent pushing up beside this little explode-o-bot and you’ve got yourself a razor-sharp tactic that can easily overwhelm enemies.

Since Boom Bot chases any enemy it sees, it’s also a killer info-gathering ability (literally!).

This is an especially handy strat if you’re not confident peeking for whatever reason. It’s also an always-effective bait that forces enemies to reveal themselves by either shooting or running – win win!

On Attack…

Lean into your Boom Bot and Paint Shells – both are invaluable ways to create space and deal heavy damage.

As we just mentioned, let Boom Bot lead your charge and make sure those corners are clear. Paint Shells is a great ‘nade follow-up, especially if any enemies take out Boom Bot.

If your team needs you to be the true Duelist, get one of them to support you with a smoke or flash – this will make up for Raze’s lack of any blinding utilities.

And lastly, remember to stick close to your team, it’s not always easy with fast agents like Raze, Jett, or Neon, but it’s always important – VALORANT is a team FPS, after all.

On Defense…

Again, lean into Boom Bot and Paint Shells, but this time focus on delaying enemies. Boom Bot is a beast for gathering early intel, and Paint Shells is a fierce way to delay enemy pushes.

Getting early picks will serve you well, and both those abilities are great at doing that too.

If you’ve got your Ult, use it liberally, especially if it helps you score those early frags.

And lastly, as we’ve already covered, get creative with your use of Blast Packs.

Paint Shells tips

Paint Shells is carnage in a can if you use it right. It’s best suited to tight spaces like alleyways or corridors – anywhere your enemies’ ability to escape the blast is restricted.

This ability isn’t just an explosive way to score picks though, it’s also dead handy for…

• Gathering intel
• Buying yourself move time
• Forcing enemies to make mistakes
• Following the destruction of your Boom Bot

As with most of Raze’s kit, effective use of Paint Shells is all about how the enemy reacts (if they survive the fireworks, that is!).

Oh, and pair Paint Shells with the likes of Sage’s Slow Orb or Fade’s Seize ability for a seriously deadly combo.

Showstopper tips

Most importantly, don’t mistake Raze for being explosion-proof – Showstopper can and will cause damage to you if you’re not careful!

This Ult is best used to take sites or obliterate enemies who think they’re safe behind a wall. It’ll stop an enemy’s defuse attempt dead, and can turn any narrow space into screaming hell on Earth.

Besides being carful, there’s not a lot to Showstopper – you point it at what you want to die, pull the trigger, and let it fly.

It does launch you backwards when the rocket fires though, which you can use as propulsion to get into the safety of a defensive position.