Valorant Agent 18 Neon Leaks: Release Date, Abilities, What We Know So Far

2022 is a new beginning for Valorant and we are just days away from getting our hands on the game’s next major update. Riot Games started teasing the new agent since the Champions main event and as we get closer to the agent’s release, we have more leaks pointing to her abilities and playstyle. Here is everything you need to know about Valorant Agent 18 who is allegedly named “Neon.”

Valorant Agent 18 Release Date

Valorant Agent 19 is expected to release on 12th January along with patch 4.0. With Valorant Episode 3 Act 3 set to end next week, a new Episode will kick things off and we can expect Neon to make an appearance for the first time. An official release date is not yet available but we can figure out the release date based on the current battle pass’ end date.

Valorant Agent 18 Abilities

Currently we have no information about Neon’s abilities in Valorant. But given the game’s files refer to her as “Sprinter”, and various teasers hinting at lightning or speed being a part of her kit, we can expect mobility-based abilities to be a core part of Neon’s kit.

Valorant Agent 18 Lore

Going by the teasers and the hidden pieces of information picked up by the Valorant community, Agent 18 will be a Radiant. In the game’s lore, an event known as the First Light occurred on earth which gave a select few people special powers. The last Radiant agent we received was Astra and Valorant Agent 18 also has special powers as per the teasers by Riot Games. The teaser references lighting and speed multiple times, and she has lines like “hope they like getting hit by lightning.”

During the opening ceremony of Valorant Champions’ grand finals, there was a clip that showcased various coded strings with numbers and letters. An unknown female voice spoke in Filipino and English. In the sound bits that fans got to hear, there were some teasers about the agent’s abilities.

Riot started teasing Valorant Agent 18 since the launch of December’s Night market, with a number of star-shaped lanterns that resemble Filipino lanterns used during the country’s local holidays. It will be interesting to see what elements of Filipino culture Riot manages to imbue within the upcoming agent.

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