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Fairly recently, Valorant welcomed a new creature-wielding Initiator Agent named Gekko, who has already managed to catch the community’s attention with his quirky abilities. He is among the 23 playable characters in VALORANT Protocol’s roster and the sixth Initiator Agent to be added to the tactical hero shooter.
Despite being in the same category as Sova, Skye, Breach, KAY/O, and Fade, Gekko's abilities are quite different from his peers. Needless to say, Gekko’s addition has introduced a set of unique challenges that players must now deal with in the game. His pet animals not only reflect his colorful personality and graffiti-like style, but are difficult to counter in the current meta.
Without further ado, let’s take a look at how Gekko’s utility kit is different from that of the other Initiator Agents in Valorant. This may help players understand the new Agent and analyze his strengths and weaknesses, leading them to potential counters.
Here's how Gekko's unique powers compare to other Initiator Agents in Valorant
Gekko’s abilities in Valorant are significantly different from other Initiator Agents. For starters, he has tamed an arsenal of adorable Pokemon-like creatures to help him deal with his enemies.
While the idea of Radianite animals has been noted with Skye’s kit previously, the Los Angeles-based skateboarding pro has completely reinvented the concept with his abilities.
Gekko doesn’t have location-revealing abilities that can scan an enemy’s exact position like that of Sova’s Recon Bolt and Fade’s Haunt. Instead, his kit is more comparable to that of Skye, KAY/O, and Breach, also known as the “flash Agents.” Here’s a list of what he can do and a comparison with other Initiator Agents in the game.
Dizzy (Signature Ability, E)
This allows him to equip a creature named Dizzy, who can be projected forward into the air. Upon spotting an enemy, Dizzy charges and fires a plasma blast, which blinds them. Interestingly, Gekko’s blinding ability isn’t the standard kind that players get with Skye, Breach, or KAY/O.
Dizzy’s plasma blast sticks to the enemy’s face, but only blinds them partially. While affected characters can still view a part of the in-game world through their peripheral vision, their frontal line-of-sight is blocked for a second.
It’s important to note that although Skye, KAY/O and Breach can blind their enemies for a greater duration, their flash abilities have a steeper learning curve. Gekko can throw in Dizzy to clear out corners and help his team enter a site without having to execute complicated strategies in Valorant.
Although Dizzy isn’t a traditional location-revealing ability, players can still see the direction in which the creature fires its plasma blast, indicating an enemy’s location. While it's difficult to dodge, Dizzy can be destroyed by enemies (20 HP).
Wingman (Basic Ability, Q)
Wingman is one of Gekko’s most versatile abilities, allowing him to plant/defuse a spike or concuss an enemy in Valorant. Interestingly, his Wingman is a Pikachu look-alike that has garnered massive popularity amongst players for its adorable behavior style. Furthermore, it's a first-of-its-kind utility as no other Agent before Gekko could use their abilities to plant or defuse a spike.
When not planting or defusing a spike, Gekko’s Wingman can be used to seek out enemies and scout an area at an angle or in a straight line. When it spots an enemy, Wingman fires a concussive blast at them before changing into a globule, with the concussion lasting for a total of 2.5 seconds.
To plant or defuse a spike, players can simply point to the location for Wingman to do the job. It should be mentioned that the Wingman only has 100 HP and can be destroyed.
Due to its concussive effect, Gekko’s Wingman is slightly similar to Skye’s Trailblazer. While Skye has the power to fully control her Tasmanian Tiger, Gekko can only partially direct his Wingman. Furthermore, Skye can damage her opponent for 30 HP (upon direct contact) with Trailblazer, which isn’t the case with Gekko’s Wingman.
Mosh Pit (Basic Ability, C)
Being a Deterrent ability in Valorant, Gekko’s Mosh Pit is extremely useful for flushing out enemies holding a critical spot. Mosh is the third animal that Gekko has trained to get his job done and can be thrown as a grenade. Upon landing, it spreads across a large area and detonates after a short period of time.
The Mosh Pit deals a hefty amount of damage and will kill enemies if they choose to stay within its inner radius. The outer radius will deplete 75 HP, which can be lethal at times. A few good examples of Mosh Pit-like Initiator abilities in Valorant include KAY/O’s FRAG/MENT and Breach’s Aftershock.
Thrash (Ultimate Ability, X)
Requiring seven Ultimate Points to be charged, Thrash is the final pet in Gekko’s arsenal of Radianite creatures and his Ultimate ability. Gekko can control Thrash’s mind and steer it through enemy territory.
Upon spotting enemies, Gekko can activate Thrash to leap towards them and explode, with anyone caught in its small radius being Detained for six seconds. Thrash has 200 HP and can be destroyed by enemies.
Essentially, Thrash is a combination of Skye’s Trailblazer and Killjoy’s Ultimate - Lockdown. While the concept may seem familiar, no other Initiator Agent in Valorant has the ability to scout for enemies and detain them.
Another important element to note is that Gekko’s kit doesn’t follow the traditional ability-recharging mechanics. With Wingman, Dizzy, and Thrash changing into globules after use, Gekko can simply pick these up and reclaiming them will initiate a 10-second cooldown on that ability.
As a result, the Agent can reuse Wingman and Dizzy every time their globules are picked up. Although allowed only once, he can even reuse his Ultimate ability, Thrash, in the same round. While there’s a restriction on picking up Thrash globules, no other Ultimate ability in Valorant can be recharged in the same round of its use.
Gekko is not only a quirky addition to the game's Initiators, but he's also one of the most extraordinary Agents that's been introduced to Valorant in recent times.
