Valorant Chapter 5: III. Curtain, Harbor tried, new Agent

Act three of Valorant Episode 5 opens with a wave of innovation, literally. In fact, Riot Games presented the twentieth Agent of tactical shooter Harbor. A strategist who arrives after an Assassin (Neon) and a Demoman (Fade) are unleashed and appears ready to steal the show from the poisonous Viper. We had the opportunity to try the new Agent and we will tell you all the news. Valorant Chapter 5: III. Curtain – Harbor on Trial.

History and characterization

Before we dive into Agent’s kit and unpack our impressions, let’s start with some context, as always. narrative, presenting the new character properly. Varum Batra, codenamed Harbor, is a former Realm agent of Indian origin. In the trailer “manage stream“, We see the Harbor pass by a group of mercenaries on the trail of an artifact. The relic, consisting of a bracelet and five rings, is activated and bound by Batra. From there begins a long escape from the Realm agents, all the way to the Haven. Not saved by Brimstone and enters the Valorant protocol. .

Like other Agents before Harbor, Riot has worked extensively. characterization of characterespecially by carefully describing cultural aspects. “We relied on a number of outside consultants from India to gather an enormous amount of information (…). Then a continuous series of checks followed to ensure we had an accurate interpretation. Our authors worked closely with Rebels in India. MENA and Los Angeles offices shape Harbor’s voice and behavior, as well as his use of Hindi language,” said Joe Killeen, Narrative Lead at the Riot team.

That’s why the inspiration for Agent comes from Indian folklore, full of heroic tales well suited to the Harbor. Killen continues: “We Indian narrativesis inspired by the stories of countless legendary heroes who became unstoppable warriors and true legends thanks to their heart, determination and strength. The challenge was to bring all this to Valorant, where every agent had the same level of heroism.”

From our point of view, Harbor is a very successful character: charismatic and charming, we are sure that he will win the hearts of many actors and actresses. To make a difference, a bit like all the agents on the roster, detail clothes and appearance. They are clearly tactical garments worn by Harbor, but their shape vaguely resembles a kurta, the typical dress worn in India and neighboring countries, while the colors are reminiscent of the water element that Harbor manipulates through his work. The embroidery on the inner collar and the mandala tattoo on the sleeve are those little touches of style that ultimately characterize the character even more and which we’ve obviously come to expect from a team as caring as Riot’s.

Skill Kit

As expected, Harbor is able to control and manipulate water using his bracelet, just as Phoenix does with fire. But Harbor is the strategist class, and his abilities put him very close to the Viper. Let’s see them in detail together:

• Waterfall (C): equip a water wave. Shoot to send the wave forward and through walls. Use the skill again to stop further progress of the wave. Players hit by the wave are slowed down.
• Gulf (Q): Equip a protective water globe. Shoot to throw. Use alternate fire to throw from below. When it hits the ground, the orb creates a water shield that blocks projectiles.
• high tide (E): equip a water wall. Shoot to send the water forward along the ground. Hold down the fire button to direct the water in the direction of your reticle, make it cross the playing field, and build a wall along the way. Use alternating fire to stop the water early. Players touching the water are slowed down.
• Reckoning (X): equip the true power of your creation. shoot to summon a gushing geyser from the ground. Enemies in the area are targeted by successive geyser explosions. Players hit by the jet from the geyser are stunned.

Already looking at the gameplay trailer, it’s easy to understand why the comparison between Harbor and Viper: Baia and Alta marea is Miasma and Quarantine, respectively, with some twists. Actually, Baia may seem like a normal person. To smoke, but adding a shield changes the cards a bit. There barrier It’s not particularly durable and can be broken by a barrage of bullets, but this significantly changes the timing of the attack, causing the team to gain a few precious seconds. We also see in the trailer that Harbor uses Baia to secure Spike’s position. The teammate will not have infinite cover and will not be able to attack from inside the bubble either, because gunfire hits and weakens the barrier even from within. However, in this case, the ally has time to complete the device’s position and find a shelter, while if the enemy wants to enrage Baia, he will have to reveal himself by unloading a clip on him and risk running out of ammunition as a result. nice middle of the conflict.

High Tide, on the other hand, has a similar function to Quarantine and has the same effect on fire lines as Viper’s venom screen. Viper’s ability stays on the ground after it’s deployed and activates with each smoke grenade charge, instead losing High Tide. Besides skill can be bent, unlike Quarantine, which is a barrier in a straight line and goes through walls. A good example is always seen in the trailer used at Breeze base A: Port throws a High Tide from Arm A’s balcony and does it. bend to close the line of fire of wooden doors.

We tried to use it in the same place on the map but activated it by staying in the trench behind the wall to the left of the south entrance of Point A and curved to protect the pyramids in the center. Outline a curve With Alta marea it’s very complex and even harder to do from behind a wall, but we see significant potential fueled by the creativity of the players. Cascade and Showdown, on the other hand, are much less creative skills suited to an aggressive playstyle. After all, we’re talking about Cascade, a groundbreaking ability that excels in the offensive and defensive phases, and Resa dei Conti, a crowd control skill, respectively.

Strategies and impressions

Alexander MistakidisThe Senior Technical Game Designer has this to say about Harbor’s capabilities: “We wanted to create one. Strategist Enemies don’t need to enter another world or look at a map to block their view. Also, our goal was to create an agent that could compete with the Viper on maps where it’s almost always used. After a series of initial analyzes by Kevin Meier, we settled on the idea that Harbor should be an agent who could creatively block the view of the battlefield. “After trying Agent, we find ourselves at the developer’s words, perhaps with some reservations.

viper It has a very high learning curve, but is an extremely “educational” Agent for new players because it has the skills to neutralize opposing lines of fire and control crowds. So playing with Viper helps novices have more awareness of the map and rewards those looking for the tactical approach. However, at the end of the learning process we find ourselves dominating a very powerful Agent, but that makes the game experience repetitive and somewhat mechanical. In this sense, Harbor brings a period of fresh air and gives extra pleasure in creative terms.

On the other hand, we find ourselves with a character who, despite the nature of a Strategist, has strong aggression, especially useful in quick actions and is consumed in a matter of seconds. For this, for us, the Harbor is very stronger on offense than defense and we’ve seen this especially on some maps during our games. We don’t understand why a player becomes a player while Harbor shimmers through Haven’s long corridors and manages to keep Fracture’s lines of fire in check thanks to its High Tide curve. viper-main In maps like Bind and Icebox, he must abandon the poisonous scientist in favor of Harbor. Of course, Harbor is also good at defense, don’t get us wrong: Pearl, whose skills make him valuable in both phases of the game, could possibly also be a Goal Agent.