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Valorant is all set to welcome its newest Controller Agent, Harbor, in less than a week's time. As proclaimed, Riot Games utilized a mix of intriguing inspirations and novel ideas to create Valorant's first Indian Agent with a recognizable formal name of Varun Batra.
This article will shed light on Harbor and his unique abilities, the inspirations behind his creation, and more.
Everything you need to know about Harbor in Valorant
While his hunky appearance has impressed many, Harbor's most exciting characteristic is his ability to command the power of Water. As a Controller Agent, he will support his team with vision blockers and non-permanent status effects, as the Valorant development team revealed in today's Agent Showcase. The official description for Harbor reads:
"Hailing from India’s coast, Harbor storms the field, wielding ancient technology with dominion over water. He unleashes frothing rapids and crushing waves to shield his allies and pummel those that oppose him."
Harbor is Valorant's first water-based agent whose power comes from an ancient relic. The game already features Agents based on the remaining elements of nature, namely air, earth, aether, and fire. It will be interesting to witness the introduction of water-based abilities to the game and how it will affect the current meta.
Release date
Riot Games has finally confirmed the release date for Harbor. He will be officially released on October 18, alongside a brand new Battlepass while marking the commencement of Episode 5 Act 3.
All abilities of Harbor in Valorant
Like all Agents in Valorant, Harbor will have one Signature, two Basic, and one Ultimate ability. Here's a description of his utilities:
High Tide (E) (Signature/Free Ability)
Equip a wall of water. Fire to send the water forward along the ground. Hold Fire to guide the water in the path of your crosshair, passing through the world and spawning a wall along the water’s path. Alt Fire while bending to stop the water early. Players hit by the High Tide will face a 'Slowed' status effect.
Cove (Q) (Basic Ability 1)
Equip a sphere of shielding water. Fire to throw. Alt Fire to underhand throw. Upon impacting the ground, Cove spawns a water shield that blocks bullets.
Cascade (C) (Basic Ability 2)
Equip a wave of water. Fire to send the wave rolling forward and through walls. Re-use it to stop the wave from moving further. Players hit by the Cascade will face a 'Slowed' status effect'.
Reckoning (X) (Ultimate)
Equip the full power of your Artifact. Fire to summon a geyser pool on the ground. Enemy players caught in the area will be hit by successive geyser strikes. Players caught by a strike will face a 'Concussed' status effect.
Agent contract
Just like other Agents, Harbor's contract will consist of ten tiers, with intriguing rewards offered alongside each tier. After the launch, one will need to activate his contract. Players will need to complete the fifth tier of Harbor's contract to unlock him for matches. Here are all the rewards one can gain by completing Harbor's contract:
- 3 Sprays
- 2 Player Cards
- 1 Gun Buddy
- 2 Titles
- 1 Sheriff Skin
- Harbor (Agent unlock)
Design inspirations
When prompted to share the inspiration behind Harbor's idea, Joe Killeen (Narrative Writer) mentioned how the team looked into countless mythical heroes and their mysterious and powerful lore. He also stressed how tricky it was to attain balance with Harbor in Valorant, where every Agent features a heroic background.
"We looked at a huge breadth of Indian media and were inspired by the countless tales of mythic heroes whose heart and conviction and strength allows them to become an unstoppable force for good and become legends themselves. Finding the right way to do that in VALORANT, where every Agent shares that heroism, became the trick."
Killeen further revealed that the idea of a powerful artifact being the source of Harbor's abilities came from instances in Indian legends and stories.
"To that end, we were inspired again by the many objects of power and mystery that are scattered throughout Indian legends and stories. It was from there that the idea of an ancient radianite artifact wielder was born."
Harbor's idea was given shape with the help of research data procured through consultants and through an iterative feedback cycle. Riot's Central Valorant team worked in conjunction with Indian Rioters to create the best version of Harbor (language and lore-wise) that fans will get to play in a few days.
His impact on the meta
Harbor is the fifth Controller Agent to join Valorant's roster. His introduction will definitely expand the existing meta, giving players newer ways to control sites and provide support. In fact, Harbor will be a worthy competitor to Viper, who is widely regarded as the strongest Controller Agent and has been a versatile choice for most maps.
Harbor will undoubtedly introduce a new learning curve that players will have to go through, regardless of whether they choose to master him or not. From the looks of it, he isn't going to be an easy Agent to deal with. Players will likely be seeing a lot more of him than other Controller Agents in the next couple of weeks. Hence, it's important to learn the 'Harbor 101' in order to know how to counter him in ranked matches.
