Hailing from the sunny streets of Los Angeles, new Valorant agent Gekko is an initiator akin to the FPS game‘s resident environmentalist Skye, but instead of totemic animals he uses slimy little creatures known as ‘buddies’ to break through enemy ranks and cause absolute chaos.
Dancing onto the Valorant character roster to the beats of up-and-coming rapper ericdoa, Gekko stands out from the crowd with his neon-green hair, plaid brown trousers, and, most of all, his tetrad of adorable little critters.
Dizzy, Mosh, Thrash, and Wingman each have their own unique abilities, and play a key role in Gekko’s kit. Narrative writer Joe Kileen emphasises that the so-called buddies are “characters unto themselves,” with senior game director Jon Goscicki stating that their very existence made designing Gekko a challenge as “trying to create four super distinct creatures that you will fall in love with, while keeping them within certain game limitations, is… hard.”
Either way, Riot achieved its aims with Gekko, as his floating friends are absolutely adorable. They vaguely remind me of all of the Slime Rancher 2 slimes, and if the devs don’t decide to make plushies of them, I will Riot (ha ha, funny pun).
Valorant Gekko abilities
As I mentioned above, Gekko’s adorable little critters each lend themselves to different parts of his kit. Here are all of Gekko’s abilities in Valorant:
- Dizzy (E) – Equip Dizzy. Fire to send Dizzy soaring forward through the air. Dizzy charges then unleashes plasma blasts at enemies in line of sight. Enemies hit by her plasma are blinded. When Dizzy expires she reverts into a dormant globule. Interact to reclaim the globule and gain another Dizzy charge after a short cooldown.
- Wingman (Q) – Equip Wingman. Fire to send Wingman forward seeking enemies. Wingman unleashes a concussive blast toward the first enemy he sees. Alt fire when targeting a Spike site or planted Spike to have Wingman defuse or plant the Spike. To plant, Gekko must have the Spike in his inventory. When Wingman expires he reverts into a dormant globule. Interact to reclaim the globule and gain another Wingman charge after a short cooldown.
- Mosh Pit (C) – Equip Mosh. Fire to throw Mosh like a grenade. Alt fire to throw underhand. Upon landing Mosh duplicates across a large area then after a short delay explodes.
- Thrash (X) – Equip Thrash. Fire to link with Thrash’s mind and steer her through enemy territory. Activate to lunge forward and explode, detaining any enemies in a small radius. When Thrash expires she reverts into a dormant globule. Interact to reclaim the globule and gain another Thrash charge after a short cooldown. Thrash can be reclaimed once.
I’m a little bit obsessed with all of Gekko’s abilities just because they’re so damn cute, but his Wingman (Q) feels incredibly powerful. Having a creature plant or defuse the spike while you play around it and clear out the site is a massive advantage, and I can immediately see it being very powerful in both low level and competitive play.
New Valorant agent Gekko releases alongside Episode 6 Act 2 on March 7, and looks as though he’s the perfect pick to help you grind through the Valorant ranks. Character selection is just one part of the puzzle, though, as you’ll need one of the best Valorant crosshairs to help you land your shots.