Valorant Pros react: Will Valorant agent Iso be viable in pro play?

Riot Games announced the Valorant agent Iso on 19th October in an amazing trailer. They followed it up with a gameplay trailer release on 20th October.

The gameplay trailer and multiple VODs from pro players released since the announcement reveal all of Iso's abilities. The newly recruited assassin’s kit revolves around dueling. Let’s look at all of Iso’s abilities.

Valorant agent Iso abilities:

Basic ability - Contingency (C):

Press C to equip a prismatic energy wall. FIRE to push the indestructible wall of energy forward to block the incoming enemy fire.

Max charges - 1 Cost - 250 Credits

Basic ability - Undercut (Q):

Press Q to equip a molecular bolt. FIRE to throw it forward, applying a brief FRAGILE to all the players it touches, similar to Killjoy and Viper abilities’ Vulnerable effect. The bolt can pass through solid objects.F

Max charges - 2 Cost - 200 credits

Signature ability - Double Tap (E):

Press E to start a focus time. Once you enter the flow state, a killed or downed enemy drops an energy orb. Shooting the energy orb grants you a shield that absorbs the first instances of damage from the enemy. The focus timer resets with every kill during the flow state.

Max charges - 2 (1 base charge) Cost - 150 credits

Ultimate ability - Kill Contract (X):

Press X to equip an interdimensional arena. FIRE to hurl a column of energy through the battlefield, once the energy hits the first enemy it pulls the opponent and you into a dueling arena.

Abilities can’t be activated inside the arena. Moreover, it disables Raze’s ult, Sova’s ult etc. But Iso can activate Double Tap before entering the ‘Gulag’ i.e. dueling arena.

The duel’s winner returns to the round with full health.

Ult points - 7

Pros react to Iso’s kit:

Despite the seemingly amazing kit which involves an unbreakable wall, an ability that can tank Sova’s Ultimate, Raze’s rocket or a damaging utility and an ultimate which is a direct counter to Viper’s Pit. Most professionals aren’t as happy with the new agent.

Nikita “Derke” Sirmitev, the duelist for Fnatic, talked about the agent and its usage in his ability showcase video. Derke emphasized that Iso might not see enough pro play as his kit doesn’t necessarily replace a lot of agents in the current meta.

Talking about the new agent, Adam "kaplan" Kaplan Sentinel’s Head Coach, talked about how Iso doesn’t necessarily fit within the current meta.

Fnatic’s ex-Head Coach, Jacob “mini” Harris pitched in to Kaplan’s criticism and talked about how the Valorant meta revolves around “dive duelists” and “irrelevant* duelists”.

Melanie “meL” Capone, said it feels like Iso is a “nuanced” agent and will likely be left out similar to Deadlock.

Liquid’s ex-Head Coach Connor "Sliggy" Blomfield, has a positive approach to the agent.

Would Iso be another disappointment similar to Deadlock?

Iso’s kit is amazing, atleast from its first look. The agent’s kit emphasizes on aiming and dueling, with most of his abilities triggered with shooting. His ultimate Kill Contract is the ultimate testament to dueling. With the winner being the only to get out of the Kill Contract’s arena.

The Contingency helps you isolate fights, the Undercut gives an advantage in a fight and Double tap helps convert a single kill to a multi frag. Obviously, it sounds like an amazing duelist, and he is.

Especially in casual games (and unfortunately for smurfs), Iso will be a top pick. Iso can easily replace Reyna. Moreover, Iso is a better Reyna, he will also act as a replacement for Reyna in pro-play but that’s all there is to him.

Unfortunately, the current meta of Valorant involves duelists (as mini said) that can break a choke. Iso will definitely not be the duelist of choice in a single duelist composition, but he’d definitely be a good second entry.

Players like TenZ, Demon1 which thrive on aim, can have a field day with Iso. Unfortunately, only a few maps allows for a double-duelist composition. Moreover, even in the second-entry, flex roles, Skye, Kay/O, Breach provide a much better value than Iso in the current meta.

The Nuanced agents:

Similar to Gekko, Iso isn't a piece that can fit into the meta. A lot of recent Valorant agents haven’t been. Since Harbor's release, Valorant agents have been nuanced(credits meL). Gekko is a good pocket pick but the utility is easy to dodge. Deadlock isn’t viable enough to replace Killjoy, Cypher or Chamber.

These agents are definitely strong in their own rights, but strictly in the esports sense, the game is played to win. Thus, a meta is developed creating a combination of agents that maximize the chances of success on a level playing field. This 'maximizing' requires agents that create a significant advantage in a duel. Unfortunately, 50% of Iso's abilities rely on the player winning a duel, which is a 50-50 on pro level, thus it'd be hard to justify picking Iso on pro level.

Fortunately, that is not the case in Casual play. Iso will be an instalock similar to Jett and Reyna. With his release set for 1st November, 2023, the community awaits the release of the new duelist.

Follow Strafe for a detailed guide on how to play Iso.

Featured Image Credits: Thumbnail via Iso Gameplay trailer // Valorant YouTube Channel

Read More: 

Valorant ISO: When will Valorant agent ISO release?

The growing number of Valorant agents: How many is "Too many"?

What is Valorant? An Introduction to Riot's Hero Tactical FPS