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Popular Twitch streamer and former pro player Michael ‘shroud’ Grzesiek shared his thoughts on KAY/O and how the new Valorant agent introduces CS:GO strategy to Valorant. After initially saying that the new agent is “not that good” in one of his first streams of Valorant’s latest patch, he has started to like the new Initiator’s flash mechanic and believes that it bridges the gap between CS:GO-style strategies and Valorant’s gameplay. KAY/O is capable of forcing players to rely on gunplay as the new agent can completely shut down enemy abilities which is something Shroud likes about the new agent.
Shroud’s thoughts on KAY/O as a disruptor agent
The new agent KAY/O was introduced as part of Valorant’s Episode 3 update and he is a part of the Initiator class. One of the biggest differences between CS:GO and Valorant is the introduction of abilities in Riot Games’ FPS and KAY/O forces players to rely more on raw gunplay by disrupting enemies. Shroud talked about how KAY/O’s flashes opens up strategies for teams to use and force opposing players to rely on gunplay to fight instead of having access to abilities to get an edge.
In one of his first streams during Episode 3, Shroud said “The new character’s cool. They don’t seem absolutely stupid insane; it just seems functional overall. You have a nade, you have a flash, you have something for info, and you have silences. It just seems like a functional, well-balanced overall character. Like when Astra came out you were like ‘holy s*** that’s a lot of control’. With this character it feels like a well-rounded kit.”
He posted a new video dubbed ‘KAY/O 101 with Professor Shroud’ where he talked about the fundamentals of the character while showing off gameplay. He talked about how KAY/O’s flashes are the best part of the agent’s kit as it opens up CS:GO style initiations. Long range flashes are very useful in CS:GO and it was something that was amiss in Valorant due to the short range previous flashes had. Agents like Phoenix or Breach cannot flash at very long ranges which is why KAY/O can be used as the perfect initiator while shutting down enemy abilities to force them to rely on pure mechanical skill to fight.
Srhoud thinks that “he’s got such a well-rounded kit that you’ll probably see him more. Like when Astra came out in ranked, nobody played her. She’s amazing, but nobody played her in ranked because she’s just too much.”
