VALORANT’s Episode 8 Act 2 becomes more exciting with the introduction of Clove, the Scottish troublemaker, into the fray.
Riot Games and VALORANT today revealed Clove, a brand new Controller joining the agent roster. 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.
Episode 8 Act II kicked off on March 5, which brought players the Primordium Collection, a skinline inspired by ancient beings of lava and bedlam. Weapons included in the Primordium Collection are the Vandal, Phantom, Spectre, Shorty and new dual swords – the Blades of Primordia. An all new Battle Pass also went live, featuring items such as the Retrowave Sheriff, Shellspire Sword and Sending Love Spray.
Clove releases on March 26, 2024 as part of VALORANT Episode 8 Act II.
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Clove’s abilities include:
- (E) Ruse
- EQUIP to view the battlefield. FIRE to set the locations where Clove’s clouds will settle. ALT FIRE to confirm, launching clouds that block vision in the chosen areas. Clove can use this ability after death.
- (Q) Meddle
- EQUIP a fragment of immortality essence. FIRE to throw the fragment, which erupts after a short delay and temporarily decays all targets caught inside.
- (C) Pick-me-up
- INSTANTLY absorb the life force of a fallen enemy that Clove damaged or killed, gaining haste and temporary health.
- (X / ULT) Not Dead Yet
- After dying, ACTIVATE to resurrect. Once resurrected, Clove must earn a kill or a damaging assist within a set time or they will die.
Q: What were your goals and inspiration behind Clove’s design?
Dan Hardison, Agent Gameplay Designer: “As far as goals are concerned, early on into the process we identified the controller role as ripe for opportunity for more aggressive playstyles, as prior to Clove we felt that choices were limited outside of Omen for players who wanted to really take the fight to their opponents. We were also inspired by MOBA characters that taught specific lessons to players through their gameplay – For example, Annie teaches League players not to bunch up and Twisted Fate teaches players the importance of their position around the map. We wanted Clove to teach VALORANT players how to assess the value of their life within any given round. I was also asked about ANGE1 and if I was making this character specifically for him by several other Rioters throughout development.”
Q: How did the team approach authentic representation with Clove?
Ryan Clements, Senior Narrative Writer; Antoinette Chable, Narrative Writer: “Authenticity remains one of our foremost pillars when it comes to Agent development. We champion that effort even before we’ve decided on the Agent’s country of origin, and it’s a rallying cry across all members of the team.
With Clove, that effort looked like a lot of different things. Narrative did preliminary research into Scotland and Scottish culture to find the touchpoints that matched our overall creative goals for the character and kit. Finding resonant music, art, literature – it’s all part of the process.
Then we bring in professional consultants, because no matter how much research we do, we’ll never acquire the level of lived-in expertise that a consultant can share. For Clove, we were extensive. We collaborated with an academic consultant, a linguistic consultant (specifically for fine tuning accent and regional authenticity), and more.
We also cast and recorded in-person out of Edinburgh, which enabled the Narrative team to get additional firsthand experience with the city and its culture. And of course, we always welcome the opportunity for our performers to channel their own unique perspectives into the character.”
Q: Were there any unexpected challenges or novelty stories you’d like to share when designing Clove?
Dan Hardison, Agent Gameplay Designer: “One of my favorites that was obviously not workable was an ethereal state where you could cast all your abilities and move around very slowly within the world as an untargetable player, but it was very prototype-y. For our player labs we had to ask Clove players to move out of the way of their opponents after they died because they could grief them by flying into them and blocking them from movement, which wasn’t exactly the kind of controller playerstyle we were going for. It was very cute seeing players nicely shuffle out of the way for their opponents, and something that never would have happened with RR on the line.
One of the design challenges that came along with post-death was the amount of restrictions it placed on the rest of the kit – obviously, post death casting is a lot of power. The guiding light design principle that we used to reign ourselves in was that shooting Clove should almost never be the wrong play – this helped orient around the tactical shooter space we live in and steer us away from ultimates with outsized impact. For example, we tried ultimates that had large map impact but could only be cast after death, but we never wanted Clove to be running into someone trying not to kill them just so they could access their ultimate, as the game was insanely goofy when that was the case.”
Q: How would you describe Clove’s gameplay style?
Dan Hardison, Agent Gameplay Designer: “Optimal Clove gameplay is about playing with fire – you need to take risks and trade your own life for the greater good to remove enemy utility from the round by killing opponents to have success – They’re unlike other controllers in that their raw execute utility should be weaker on average, but their ability to contribute post-death means that you should almost always fight to the death rather than cower from your opponents. Sometimes it’s correct for Clove to run in and die as long as they’re traded by an ally – 1 for 1s are advantageous for them if their life is traded for a non-Clove opponent! You have to be willing to die for the squad to play Clove.”
Q: How do you think Clove will shake up / change the current meta?
Dan Hardison, Agent Gameplay Designer: “The current VALORANT meta is very retake heavy, and controller players are often forced to use utility to just stall and leave the site to wait for their teammates to show up. We think Clove will encourage a lot more risky solo plays around sites, as they don’t lose as much value as other agents would if they died before casting their Ruse. It’s probably more likely that this type of agent will have a larger impact on ranked than professional play, but hopefully they can make a splash on pro play as well!”
Q: How did you approach Clove’s gender identity?
John Goscicki, Agents Lead: “When creating an Agent, we strive to authentically represent a cast of diverse characters that reflect our global player base. This extends beyond just location and culture – Clove’s gender identity, along with their personality and unique gameplay style, is an equally important facet that has helped shape who they are as a VALORANT Agent.”
Agent Gear:
- 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)
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Cover photo courtesy of VALORANT
