While Riot Games detailed upcoming balance changes to Chamber, Fade, and Cypher in its new State of the Agents blog post, it also included a cheeky teaser for Valorant Agent 21 (codenamed Mage) — the next agent to join the roster.
Featuring a seemingly nondescript notebook, a glass of tea, and snacks overlooking a harbour, the picture holds several clues to the origins of the next agent.
John “RiotMEMEMEMEME” Goscicki, Senior Character Producer at Riot Games, penned the accompanying writeup, dropping a handful of not-so-subtle hints about Agent 21’s abilities.
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Valorant Agent 21 is an Indian controller with water-based abilities
The teaser also shows a sliver of what appears to be the Gateway of India, a monument in Mumbai, India. The distinct arches clearly belong to the historic structure, erected to commemorate the landing of King George V.
The Gateway also faces the Mumbai Harbour, which lines up with the boats and open water visible in the picture.
Shown from the perspective of Agent 21, the picture also includes a glass of chai, an Indian tea beverage, and a plate of samosa chaat.
The pencil in the middle of the notebook is a nod to Nataraj pencils, a popular brand in India, with distinctive red and black stripes and a black-tipped top.
A map of the Indian subcontinent sits in the notebook, with the location of the city of Mumbai marked out on it. An arrow is pointing outward from Mumbai, similar to the map on the board at the practice range.
In the practice range, the second location is also accompanied by a small picture of a symbol that looks a lot like a Hamsa hand.
If you needed more proof of Agent 21’s Indian origins (thought to go by the name Varun Batra), Goscicki’s blog ends with a short message in Hindi — Jald hi milte hain — which translates to “see you soon.”
The rest of his message is couched in references to water, reinforcing earlier theories that the next agent would have abilities linked to water. More tantalizingly, it all but confirms that the agent will be a controller, marking the first smoke agent introduced to the game since Astra way back in March 2021.
“We have seen that controllers are in a bit of a drought,” he wrote. Agent 21 may also be able to influence the game in a fashion similar to Viper, with Goscicki describing agents that can cover large open areas as a “blue ocean of opportunity.”
“We’ve let this soak long enough, and Agent 21 is almost ready to go out,” he teased. However, he stopped short of revealing more details, saying that he didn’t want to “flood” players with too much information.
You can read the full blog post here.
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