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Waylay Valorant Guide: Abilities, Hindering Mechanic & Counters

James Leeland

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Publish Date: 21/04/2025

Fact checked by: Mike McKean

Key Points

Learn about Waylay’s new abilities and the Hindering mechanic
See why Waylay is one of Valorant’s best new heroes
Find out Waylay’s strengths and weaknesses

Master Waylay in Valorant with Her New Powers and Strategies

Like playing Waylay in Valorant? Then you will definitely need to check out this guide as it’ll reveal some amazing new abilities that you can enjoy when playing this character.

Here you will learn all about the Hindering mechanic and discover how other abilities such as Light Speed and Refract make Waylay such a memorable character. Plus, with tips on what counters Waylay, should you find yourself up against this light-powered hero. Keep reading to learn all you need to elevate your Waylay gameplay.

Waylay abilities

A brief guide to Waylay

Waylay is a fast-paced character in Valorant who uses light to devastate her enemies and dazzle her way around the battlefield. Such is her power that she’s quickly become one of the most popular heroes, and it seems that she is about much more than just those speedy bursts of fighting power.

Above all, she is a character who really benefits from those maps where the terrain is cracked, revealing lots of hiding places and areas from which to launch stealth attacks. Her duelist powers have earned comparisons with the likes of Raze and Jett, and she has the perfect blend of aggressiveness and defensive capacities. What’s best is that Riot Games is already on the case with upgrading Waylay to ensure that she continues to offer you fresh and innovative ways to play.

The basics of Waylay’s Hindering mechanic

Waylay's new Hindering mechanic has the potential to significantly boost your gameplay. This is because it is a debuff that has a major effect on everything from fire rate and recoil recovery through to equip time and reload speed. Plus, when you consider how your movement speed and jump speed will be enhanced, you'll understand why this is an ability that you'll need to seize upon.

Your three other main Waylay abilities explained

While the Hindering ability is a great new ability for Waylay, you should still remember that the three abilities can also work wonders in your gameplay:

💡 Ability	❓ What Happens
Refract	Creates a ball of light on the floor, makes Waylay invulnerable
Light Speed	Dash forward twice with fire or once with alt-fire for burst mobility
Saturate	Throws a cluster of light that slows enemy movement and weapon speed

Get top cosmetics for your Waylay build

As one of the most popular agents in Valorant, you will find that Waylay has no shortage of cosmetic items that you can pick up. From the Kaleidoscope weapon skin to the Dawnstrike player card, there are plenty of ways that you can make this character even more interesting. So be sure to check out what's available and get a superior way to play.

waylay valorant

Check out these Waylay counters

If you manage to find yourself playing against Waylay, you will need to focus on her weaknesses. Here are the key things to keep in mind:

1️⃣ Play defensively:

Waylay is primarily an aggressive attacker without too much in the way of fancy options like mollys or smokes. This means that you will just need to play defensively and wait for a weak moment to make your strike.

2️⃣ Wait for the dashes and recalls:

Anyone who's played against Waylay will know that it's only a matter of time before she does another dash and recall, so anticipate this move.

3️⃣ Try counter strafing:

While Waylay is a good shot, you can limit her shooting abilities by trying the counter strafe move.

waylay

Conclusion - Make the most of these Waylay abilities

Waylay was already one of the most popular characters in Valorant, but these new abilities are sure to take things up a level. While she won’t be featuring at any Mobile Legends betting sites anytime soon, she’ll be sure to keep making Valorant a hugely popular esport.

The new Hindering mechanic in particular is an excellent example of this, while all of the other abilities such as Refract, Light Speed and Saturate are well worth a closer look. So be sure to give Waylay a try the next time that you play Valorant.