Everything known about Valorant agent 21 Mage so far

Fariha Bhatti Published 15/09/2022

Valorant Episode 5 Act 3 is a month away and excitement regarding agent 21 has reached a fever pitch. Here’s everything known about Mage’s abilities, release date, origin, and more.

Nothing compares to the build-up towards a new agent release in Valorant. With leaks coming in from left and right, it’s tricky to differentiate between what’s real and what’s not. Similar to Chamber and then Fade, a string of rumors have been linked to the release of Valorant agent 21 weeks away from release. Here are all the crucial details about the upcoming character in one place.

The highly anticipated new character in Valorant will join the crowded protocol in Episode 5 Act 3. While Riot Games is mostly tight-lipped about the kit, there’s plenty to glean from teasers and leaks.

Who is Valorant agent 21?

Valorant agent 21 will likely be the “keeper of Legion’s power source,” Varun Batra, according to an email in Fracture’s computer.

https://twitter.com/ValorantSource/status/1553612590060032001

The rumored name is of Indian origin, which aligns with official hints dropped by Riot in the recent State of the Agents blog. The developer made a mention of samosa chaat, a Nataraj pencil, an Indian gateway, and the country’s map in a pleasant image. All of this further corroborated the leaks that painted agent 21 as Indian. So, it won’t be a surprise if Varun Batra hails from South Asia, likely as a magician who tinkers with nature.

Finally, the Hindi text in the official blog further confirmed Varun Batra’s nationality as Indian. The text read “Jald he milte hain,” which translates to “see you soon.”

It’s been a while since Riot added a character that draws powers from a supernatural source. Astra was the last controller who toyed with stars to create globes of smokes. The word “Mage” is typically used for a magician, hinting they will have supernatural Radiant powers rather than relying on sci-fi tech.

What are the abilities of the upcoming Valorant agent?

The same blog also confirmed Varun Batra, or Mage, as a controller. So, players should prep to learn a new smoker in Valorant.

While the exact toolkit of Mage is still a mystery, the developer dropped plenty of hints regarding the nature of their powers in the blog. The continuous mention of water suggested that Valorant agent 21 may be a hero that controls water to block sight. This theory is further corroborated by the name “Varuna,” which is the god of sea and rain.

“We’ve let this soak long enough, and Agent 21 is almost ready to go out. I don’t want to flood you with too much information in this blurb here, so I’ll hold off on saying much more,” Riot Games said.

Agent 21 could bring unique water-based smokes or a screen similar to Viper, Phoenix, and Neon. The developer mentioned Viper in the blog as an inspiration as she blocks large, open areas. Besides her, no other controller can control large locations without raining down multiple clouds of smoke. So, it’s possible that Mage may bring an ocean with them as a damaging screen against enemies.

There was previously a leak in-game that revealed entire toolkit of Mage. While the abilities mentioned do align with the water concepts, it’s unknown how authentic the leaked screenshot is.

https://www.reddit.com/r/VALORANT/comments/wx95h8/leaked_valorant_agent_21_mage/?ref=share&ref_source=embed&utm_content=body&utm_medium=post_embed&utm_name=d19985b275f942e6823032434b4e996d&utm_source=embedly&utm_term=wx95h8

When’s Valorant agent 21 release date?

Valorant agent 21 will be released in Episode 5 Act 3. The current act ends between October 18 to 24, which means Mage is about a month away from the official release date.

Fariha Bhatti

About Fariha Bhatti

Fariha Bhatti is a long-time gaming writer who loves competitive FPS games and slots with particularly fun themes. She got her start playing classic games developed by SNK, from legendary fighting game series The King of Fighters to challenging platform franchise Metal Slug. She now spends most of her time playing Valorant and Counter-Strike 2 while working her way through new slot releases to find her next favorite. Fariha has been published at PCGamesN, TalkEsport and ONE Esports.

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