New Valorant agent Shatter has exploding clone, more abilities

Leaked files show that Riot Games is hard at work on Shatter, the character many believe will be the next agent released for the shooter.

Information and teasaers from offical Riot accounts, a hidden image in an Instagram story, and files from the game itself show that the studio is preparing to release Valorant’s 14th agent. The teases began when Riot suddenly posted desktop backgrounds for players to download on the official Valorant website showing the silhouette of man surrounded by Valorant’s trademark numbering. Soon after, Valorant data miners discovered sound effects for the agent in addition to finding a hidden image on the Valorant instagram account.

Shatter is Valorant’s newest duelist, will have flashbangs and exploding clone

Riot developer John Goscicki revealed that the next Valorant agent will be a duelist, but one that will be more sneaky than most. Since then, the first images of Shatter have been discovered. During Riot’s string of Instagram stories and blog posts, Valorant leakers found an image of the agent in a video tweeted out from the official Brazilian Valorant account. Images of the agent were also found embedded inside Riot’s social media videos.

Audio related to Shatter’s clone ability were uncovered early on in Valorant’s open beta, and more files from the game show the agent as having flashbangs and the ability to clone himself. No one knows whether the clone is controlled by AI or placed by Shatter, but it’s likely his clone will either be stationary or have limited movement as Shatter lurks around the enemy team.

Valorant’s game files show first look at Shatter

Files from inside Valorant are labled as abilities for Shatter, and even included an for an his ultimate ability. In addition to the icon, the game also included material files that are wrapped around the game’s models. Clad in purple, it looks as though Shatter will join Omen and Reyna as one more agent employed by the game’s mysterious Kingdom Corporation.

His abilities make him a duelist, according to Goscicki, but players should know more by the time WWFEST comes around in January. A partnership between Riot and Amazon’s Twitch will likely kick off with Shatter’s reveal at the online music festival, as Shatter can be seen lurking behind Valorant’s other agents in the festival’s branding. 

Valorant fans won’t have to wait long. WWFEST is set to start on January 15, 2021.

What kind of Valorant agent will Shatter be?

Valorant currently has 13 different agents with all kinds of abilities. Characters like Sage can heal and ressurect her teammates during Valorant’s explosive rounds, while others like Sova have abilities that revolve around gaining information for the team. Shatter is expected to be a duelist, meaning that his abilities put him in a great position to take fights and pave the way for his team’s attack.

What abilities will Shatter have?

Shatter is expected to have an ultimate that allows him to clone himself, as well as flashbangs and an ability that affects the amount of sound his footsteps make. He won’t be a duelist in the same way that Jett or Phoenix are, but the shadowy assassin will be able to flank the opposing team before outdueling them in the resulting chaos.