As new Agents are continually introduced to Valorant every few months, it’s not an easy task to anticipate how each Agent’s abilities will interact with those of other Agents.
Turns out, even the game’s developers can sometimes have a difficult time predicting ability interactions between Valorant Agents, as a recent clip that has surfaced on social media forums seems to have stumped the shooter’s players and devs alike.
The interaction in question involves the ultimate abilities of KAY/O and ISO. When these two Agents are on opposing teams and activate their ultimates simultaneously, a bizarre interaction ensues.
A Reddit clip that has been posted on the platform by user ‘pigster007’ showcases the interaction.
As prominent in the video, if Iso uses his ultimate on a KAY/O who also has his ult activated, Iso can die even after winning the 1v1 duel against his opponent.
This happens because KAY/O enters a ‘Downed’ state once he is killed while having his ult activated. If the Iso is unable to finish off KAY/O’s entire 1,000 HP pool in the Downed state, then both of them will end up dying since the game identifies that no one has won the fight inside the Kill Contract.
This is undoubtedly one of the most bizarre Agent ability interactions in Valorant, to the point where it has even baffled the developers. Riot CombatCube, a software engineer at Riot Games, commented on the post, saying, “Not sure if this is intended, but I reported it to the team.”
Players were quick to point out that this interaction between Iso and KAY/O isn’t a bug, but an intended game mechanic. Some players have even urged Riot to not change the mechanic since it should still be possible to kill a downed KAY/O within the time limit of the Iso ult.
