Iso can survive VALORANT’s spike explosion—but only if you’re good enough

There have been many different duelists to grace the ever-growing cast of VALORANT agents, but deadly Chinese headhunter Iso has a ton of unique skills at his disposal—including one ability that players have now discovered allowing him to dodge the spike when it explodes.

One of Iso’s regular abilities is called Double Tap, which he can activate at any time during the round. If he scores an elimination during the ability’s duration, a purple orb appears over the enemy’s body, and when broken, it gives Iso a temporary shield that absorbs one tick of damage from any source.

After some testing, it’s been proven that if Iso can perfectly time his Double Tap shield with the explosion of the spike, he will be able to stand in the explosion radius without instantly dying. He can also continue moving within the explosion even though the shield is already gone, unlike Reyna, who is the only other agent who can temporarily survive a spike explosion with her Dismiss ability.

Reyna can’t, however, stick around in the explosion radius, since she’ll immediately die once her Dismiss invulnerability runs out. Iso, on the other hand, can run around and interact with fallen weapons while in the explosion, saving himself some time if he needs to retrieve an expensive weapon to save credits, such as a Vandal or Operator.

It is an interaction that could prove useful for defending players, since they can defend the spike from incoming enemies while also having a surefire way to survive the ensuing boom, but only if you’re able to get a kill and shoot the orb. But if you’re playing Iso, you must be confident in your fragging skills, since he thrives on taking—and winning—as many duels as possible.