Riot Games has set the VALORANT community abuzz with the latest reveal of the game’s next agent, Iso.
Although he has a plethora of different skills, the Chinese fixer-for-hire has one ability that sets him apart from the rest of his peers. His ultimate ability, Kill Contract, effectively forces one enemy player into a one-vs-one arena for a battle to the death.
Kill Contract is the ultimate way to prove your dominance over the enemy team as you pluck them away from the safety of their team and force them to face you head-on in a true test of aiming skill. Whoever can hit their shot first can win, without any distractions from fellow teammates or the use of other abilities.
There are, however, a few special aspects to the ultimate ability that both Iso players and his foes must know if they wish to exit the interdimensional arena alive when he hits the live servers on Tuesday, Oct. 31.
What does Iso’s ultimate, Kill Contract, do?
When Iso equips his ultimate ability, he holds an interdimensional arena in his hands as he walks around, ready to throw it across the battlefield. When he finally casts the ability, it sends a column of energy through terrain and walls, similar to Fade’s ultimate ability, Nightfall. It isn’t as wide as Fade’s ultimate, but it has a similar range.
Iso pulls the first enemy hit by this wave of energy into the arena, where he will face off against them in a one-vs-one fight. There isn’t much inside the arena except for Iso, the opposing player, and three indestructible—but temporary—walls in between them.
At the start of the one-vs-one, Iso is given two walls in front of him, while the opposing player is hidden behind a single wall. If the players aren’t willing to peek out from behind the walls, after a few seconds, the walls disappear and make way for a quick duel.
Iso is given the advantage during the one-vs-one since the enemy won’t know which wall he is behind, but generally, this will be a duel based solely on aim. The ultimate ability lasts for 50 seconds, and if neither player dies in that duration, then both players will die when the ultimate expires.
What can you use in Iso’s ultimate?
During the arena phase of Iso’s ultimate ability, players can only use the weapons that they had on hand at the time of cast. For example, Iso could use this ultimate ability for an easy win during an enemy save round since he knows they have a weaker weapon than his own.
Additionally, Iso’s Double Tap ability can carry over into the arena, which means if he can activate this ability before launching his ultimate, he can block one shot from his enemy during the one-vs-one to give himself a massive advantage. If Iso kills his opponent, he can also grab a charge of his Double Tap from his fallen foe before respawning on the battlefield to avoid getting jumped by any enemies waiting for his return.
No abilities can be cast in the arena, and if an agent is caught by Kill Contract while in the middle of an ult—like Raze’s Showstopper, Neon’s Overdrive, and Jett’s Bladestorm—they will have their ultimate canceled and will be forced to fight in the area with whichever weapon they had on hand.
For any players who are fighting with limited health, don’t worry too much about an unfair fight. If you have low HP and are hit with Iso’s ultimate, both you and Iso spawn in the arena with full health and shields.
What happens after Iso’s ultimate finishes?
When Kill Contract finishes, the surviving player will re-appear right where they were when the ultimate ability started. They will also spawn back on the map with the same amount of health and shields that they had before the one-vs-one, whether they were untouched or sitting on one HP.
This does mean, however, that although Iso players might have won their one-vs-one duel, there could be an enemy waiting for them on the other side when they return. As a result, it is important for Iso players to communicate with teammates when using their ultimate so they can watch over their return point to avoid getting ambushed.
