Over the weekend, streamers and pros were invited to partake in a “secret” alpha playtest for Riot’s upcoming tactical shooter, VALORANT. Everything is under strict embargo for now, but some vital information slipped through the cracks.
Several people with inside knowledge of the playtest spoke to Dot Esports about what they saw and experienced playing the game. One of the biggest surprises of the report was Breach, VALORANT’s ninth and previously undocumented playable character.
Here’s everything we know about Breach.
Breach is reportedly a ginger-bearded assailant, similar in appearance to Brimstone—the game’s buff and burley token American commando. We don’t know his nationality at the moment, but Scottish would be a safe bet. He has long hair, bushy eyebrows, and a well-groomed beard and mustache.
During last weekend’s playtest, Breach was one of the most powerful agents in the game, according to several playtesters. The combination of his abilities and his ultimate made him stand out among VALORANT’s nine agents.
Breach, like every agent, has four unique abilities: Aftershock, Flashpoint, Fault Line, and Rolling Thunder.
We don’t know what Aftershock does at the moment, but we assume its damage-based. Flashpoint, however, as its name implies, is similar to a flashbang—a standard item that can be found in first-person shooters like Counter-Strike and Call of Duty. It impairs vision for a few seconds, allowing for a quick and easy kill. Fault Line, on the other hand, is comparable to a stun grenade, slowing opponents and pushing their aim off-kilter.
In VALORANT, abilities are often utility-focused, but Breach’s ultimate deals massive amounts of damage to enemy players, according to playtesters. It apparently caused an outcry due to its overpowered nature. We don’t know what it does exactly, but it sounds like a large AoE ability that could potentially help secure a bombsite or even wipe out a whole team.
VALORANT’s closed beta launches on April 7. A Twitch Rivals event, however, will reportedly take place on Friday, April 3.
