Everything we know about VALORANT’s Brimstone

Brimstone is VALORANT’s buff and burley token American agent.

He has a dashing mustache, a rugged brown beard, and a fluorescent orange beret—making him stick out like a sore thumb. He’s basically a dollar store Captain Price.

Over the weekend, streamers and pros were invited to partake in a secret alpha playtest. Despite the strict embargo, a few screengrabs were leaked revealing Brimstone at the top of the tables. 

Here’s everything we know about Brimstone.

Abilities

Incendiary – Launch an incendiary grenade that deploys a damaging field of fire.

Stim Beacon – Target a nearby location to call in a Stim Beacon, giving all players near it Rapidfire.

Signature Ability: Sky Smoke – Use your map to call in orbital deployment smokescreens that obscure vision. Click to set the locations, and confirm to launch.

Ultimate: Orbital Strike – Use your map to target a location, launching a devastating orbital strike that pulses for high damage over several seconds.

Game plan

Abilities in VALORANT almost always revolve around utility and Brimstone’s kit is no exception. He has the potential to deal a considerable amount of damage, but his strengths lie in boosting his teammates.

Brimstone’s Stim Beacon ability is perfect for carrying your team. Clump up around a bombsite, or in a choke point, and your teammates will reap the rewards. We don’t know the full extent of its Rapidfire, or how much of an increase it will provide, but AoE buffs (especially in tactical shooters) should never be underestimated.

Sky Smoke, Brimstone’s signature, is another strong utility ability. It’s essentially a smoke grenade on steroids. You should use it fend off a rush, to secure a bombsite, or to simply confuse your enemies. It has endless uses, and depending on the map, it could be game-changing.

Incendiary is comparable to a Molotov cocktail from Counter-Strike and it can be used to a similar effect. When rushing, launch an Incendiary into a camping spot or throw it on the bombsite when you’re on the defensive.

But Brimstone’s ultimate, Orbital Strike, is his real damage dealer. Once you’ve secured a few kills and your ultimate is ready to go, you can rain down fire with Orbital Strike. It can be used to secure a bombsite or even wipe out several enemies. Its large radius makes it almost impossible to avoid.