The Valorant Protocol is about to get a new addition soon.
A new email from the practice range in the Public Beta Environment (PBE) may provide clues to Valorant Agent 21’s identity (codenamed Mage), including their country of origin and background.
Riot Games has never been shy about dropping hints and teasers in the lead up to a new agent release, so you can be sure that the email is just the first of more clues to come.
Here’s everything we’ve gathered about the game’s next agent, including their background, role, abilities, and potential release date.
Who is Valorant Agent 21?
Riot Games hasn’t made an official announcement on who Valorant agent 21 is going to be, but a name has been linked to the competitive first-person shooter’s new character.
The email mentions one Varun Batra, the keeper of Legion’s new power source. Legion is Omega Earth’s version of the Valorant Protocol. However, unlike their Alpha rivals, they operate in the open and are publicly celebrated for their operations retrieving Radianite from Alpha Earth.
Valorant lore is only now delving deeper into Omega Earth. The Shattered cinematic and the introduction of Pearl, the first map to be set on Omega Earth, is expanding the narrative in new and fascinating ways.
While Omega agents have long been framed as the villains, perhaps things aren’t quite so straightforward after all.
Varun’s Alpha counterpart is a REALM operative and an antiquities expert, part of a multi-national taskforce that recovers historical artifacts from the black market.
As the keeper of Legion’s new power source, Varun Batra could be the one responsible for creating bridges from Omega Earth to Alpha Earth.
Fans were also quick to point out the Indian and Hindu origins of the name, sparking excitement for the game’s first agent from the country. And given Valorant’s surging popularity in South Asia, an Indian agent would hardly be surprising.
Another clue is a new symbol found on the bulletin board of the PBE’s Range. The image could be tied to Ella’s Agent 21’s powers and abilities, similar to how they teased Neon by having her Ella’s energy backpack appear in one of the player cards in Episode 3 Act 3’s Battle Pass.
The symbol also looks similar to the Hamsa hand, as pointed out by YouTube channel Valorant Update, yet another hint at the new agent’s possible Indian origins.
What are Agent 21’s abilities?
The name has also given rise to speculation about their abilities. Varun is evocative of Varuna, the Hindu deity commonly associated with the oceans.
This could mean that Agent 21’s abilities will be centered around water. Several other Valorant agents already have powers linked to elements. For instance, Phoenix uses fire, Jett maneuvers using air, Astra taps into her cosmic, ethereal abilities, and Sage wields the power of earth.
What role will the new agent fill?
Valorant currently has six duelists, five initiators, four sentinels, and four controllers in its roster. To keep things balanced, Riot Games could look to release a controller agent.
After all, the last time we got a new smoke agent was during Astra’s release in patch 2.04 in March last year.
When will Agent 21 be released?
Fans can expect Riot Games to share more details about the new agent toward the end of Episode 5 Act I, which will end on August 23. The new Valorant agent will likely be released alongside Episode 5 Act II.
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