| ▲ Valorant’s 21st agent ‘Gecko’ Source: Riot Games |
An all-round agent with surveillance, bondage, and variable creation abilities was born.
VALORANT’s 21st agent, ‘Gecko’, uses various skills in a scouting position to create gaps between enemies and secure a path for the team to infiltrate. The composition of skills is prepared from damage dealing to surveillance, blocking of sight, and restraint, showing the aspect of an all-round agent depending on the use.
The biggest feature of Gecko is the skill that utilizes summoned animals. There are 4 types of summons, and they have cute appearances that resemble slime (detonation bot), owl (support bot), armadillo (stun bot), and shark (shake bot). The four types of summons often have different effects depending on how they are used, so quite high proficiency is required.
 ▲Gecko selection screen source: game capture |
The method of using the skill is similar to that of the existing scouts, so it is a level that can be grasped quickly. In particular, there are many aspects that are very similar to ‘Sky’, which shares the summoning mechanism, and the blast bot and stun bot also operate intuitively like ‘K/O”s fragment/shot (C) and flash/drive (Q), making it close to a classic FPS. show appearance
The method of using most skills is similar, but the effect and application are slightly different from those of existing agents. The support bot (Q) rushes into a path and inflicts concussions on enemies when used as it is, but when used with right-click, you can install or dismantle spikes, so you need to quickly judge the situation.
 ▲Support bot installing Spike Source: Game Capture |
Placing and disarming summons’ spikes creates enormous variance and strategic advantages. When installing or disabling spikes, there are many cases where enemies intrude following hearing the sound, and the support bot can keep the enemy in check while installing and disarming, resulting in a high attack and defense success rate.
The stun bot (E) fires paint-like liquid to block the enemy’s view, and when the skill is activated, it tells you how many people were disturbed, so you can grasp the enemy’s location and condition in detail. Like support bots, they are well-suited to keeping an eye on enemy intelligence and creating favorable situations.
Most of the skills can be reused, but once used, the summoned person remains as a small sphere in a specific location and can be used once more by concentrating the mind for a certain period of time like when acquiring an ultimate orb. As for the skill recovery, it is good to make a variable by applying the ultimate oscillation bot once.
 ▲ A stun bot that flies in the direction you are looking at. Source: Game capture |
However, it takes regarding 2 seconds to retrieve the skill, and since you are exposed defenselessly during that time, you need the protection of your allies to safely retrieve it. Unlike other scouting agents, who use a skill once and then recharge following a certain amount of time, Gecko can only use it once per game if the skill is not retrieved, so the more safely the skill is retrieved, the faster the win rate increases.
In the end, Gecko has excellent strategic utilization, but at the same time, it requires very high team play and combinations such as smoke screen and wall. In fact, when you play with a like-minded user, you can shoot and press your opponent with overwhelming tactics, but when you meet a user who ignores the order and plays arbitrarily, a more difficult environment than when playing other agents is created.
 ▲ You can command the installation of spikes through the smoke screen, but it is too dangerous, so it is better to avoid it. Source: Game Capture |
Gecko is more likely to play an active role in the new mode premiere that will appear in the next season rather than in a competitive match where individuals match the sum. Premier is a competitive game where teams are formed in advance, so the strategic utilization of Gecko can be highly evaluated.
The figure of identifying the enemy and digging into gaps feels like a condensation of all of the missions assigned to the scouts. With good performance and cute pets added, there is no reason not to play Gecko.
 ▲ A stun bot in the shape of an armadillo Source: Game capture |
 ▲Explosive bot that embodies slime Source: game capture |