Neon Valorant: Abilities, Lore and Tips

Neon joined the Valorant roster as the 6th duelist at the start of Episode 4, back in 2021. After some initial hype, she fell into obscurity for a long time. But finally, with some recent changes in the meta, she has become a hot prospect in both casual and pro play boasting a high pick rate in maps like Pearl, Icebox, and Fracture. 

If you’re also planning to pick this hyper-aggressive mobile duelist to drop those 30 bombs then you’re at the right place. In this article, we’ll talk about everything there is to know about Neon including her origins, abilities, and some tips on how you can effectively use her to outplay your opponents.

Character Overview

She’s a powerhouse who quickly traverses the map, creates space, and stuns/electrocutes enemy players that come in her way. Valdez is the 19th agent to join the VALORANT Protocol, and she’s also one of the youngest. Neon is a fast-paced agent whose playstyle isn’t for everyone. 

Role

Neon is a duelist with a rather unique kit that once mastered, can be annoying to play against. During the defense, she can make lightning-fast rotations and secure critical angles to support teammates before attackers enter the site. She’s also a potent lurker that can collapse on the enemy flank before they even realize what hit them.

But of course, as a duelist, where Neon truly shines is on the attacking side. She can easily create space for her team with the help of her Fast Lane ability. Combine that with other team utilities like flashes and recon and you’ll have the site vacated in no time! 

Origins and Lore

Neon is a Radiant capable of producing bioelectricity. Her real name is Tala Nicole Dimaapi Valdez and she used to work for K/SEC before being recruited by the VALORANT Protocol. She’s a Filipina who’s loyal to a fault and she isn’t afraid of risking her own life during combat for the Earth she knows and loves.  Neon’s age is 15-20 (most likely 19).

Her bioelectric powers have her usually combatting on the front lines. She’s a strong-willed character who loves her family and the first thing she did after being recruited was call them and inform them of the news.

Neon was recruited to power a portal using her bioelectrical powers, to allow the VALORANT Protocol access to the Mirror Earth. Chamber was the one who recommended her after they both ended their service at Kingdom (K/SEC is a subsidiary).

Her father is the creator of her radiant support technology. His contributions to developing radiant support technology helped millions of radiants control their powers. Her mother was an anti-corruption official working to reform Manila, the place of Valdez’s birth. 

Abilities

Signature: High Gear (E Ability) 

This is Neon’s signature ability that increases her movement speed as long as the energy bar on the screen isn’t depleted. She can use it for about 20 seconds until the juice runs out. But the good thing is that the bar starts to replenish once you stop running. You can also trigger her slide ability while running by pressing ALT fire. The slide recharges after every two kills. 

Tips: Use the slide ability to close in the distance between your enemies and enter good duels by catching them off guard.

Basic: Relay Bolt (Q Ability)

Neon can carry two throwable relay bolts that you have to purchase at the start of the round for 200 credits each. The bolts ricochet off the surface and concuss players who are at the point of contact for 3 seconds. This unfortunately also includes your teammates so you have to be extra careful while using this ability.

Tips: Throw your projectiles in closed corners before pushing the site to force duels and get an advantage by concussing enemies. You can also use Relay Bolt to slow down enemy attacks to give your teammates time to rotate.    

Basic: Fast Lane (C Ability)

Fast Lane only has one charge that you can buy for 300 credits. It allows Neon to create two vision-blocking straight flame walls that extend to about 20 meters and last for 6 seconds. This is a great utility to not only create space on-site during the attack but also on defense to stop enemy pushes and ensue chaos on the battlefield. 

Tips: Communicate with your team to clear the corners while entering the site and be careful as some enemy players might push into the wall to catch you and your team off guard.  

Ultimate: Overdrive (X Ability)

Overdrive is Neon’s ultimate that unleashes her High Gear ability for 20 seconds combined with a lightning beam that has a consistent fire rate and no recoil. The bar recharges each time Neon gets a kill. It deals around 20 damage per hit and can obliterate enemies within seconds. The laser beam’s impressive accuracy and the insane movement speed of Neon makes it one of the most fearsome ultimates in the game. 

Tips: Don’t make yourself an easy target by standing still. Utilize the high movement accuracy of Overdrive to run and gun your enemies. 

Final Thoughts

Neon is a fast-paced agent with a powerful kit, making her an ideal choice for aggressive players. But before you pick her in your competitive matches just remember that Valorant is a team game. 

We know it can be tempting to make hero plays on an agent like Neon, but pushing mindlessly into enemy lines every round isn’t a good idea as you might throw the game without even realizing it. 

So instead, focus on making coordinated plays and use Neon’s powerful kit to create space for your team and you’ll climb the ranks in no time!