VALORANT: Does Clove truly deserve the hype they've been getting?
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Clove's arrival in VALORANT has stirred up quite the buzz among players, especially those who main Controllers. Initially hailed as a more aggressive agent armed with smokes, Clove promised a refreshing change of pace from the typical hang-back-and-defend style. However, now that Clove has been around for about a week, some Controller mains are feeling a bit sidelined. Instalock-Clove players are swooping in, but they might not be quite familiar with the art of smoking, leaving some fans on Reddit scratching their heads and wondering where their role went.
In the past, ranked play often saw popular duelists like Reyna and Jett swiftly snatched up by eager players looking to rack up frags. This left the Controller role up for grabs, usually filled by someone willing to play it. But with Clove's arrival, the dynamic has shifted dramatically. Suddenly, everyone's clamoring to instalock VALORANT's newest Controller, not necessarily for their smoking prowess, but for their duelist-like abilities. Now, Clove players are charging into battle like Reyna or Phoenix, which can spell trouble if your team is counting on those much-needed smokes.
Firstly, they often neglect to lay down enough smoke because they're too engrossed in combat, leaving our team vulnerable to angles that could have been safely obscured beforehand. Sure, Clove is designed to play more aggressively, but if you end up getting caught in a bad spot and perish, those post-death smokes become utterly useless—which leads me to my next point.
Non-Controller mains who opt for Clove might not fully be able to use their unique post-death smokes. Even if they happen to die near their team, their immediate thought might not be about strategically placing smokes for the benefit of their allies. It's understandable—it's easy to overlook since Clove is the first agent able to use abilities after death. However, this is something Controller mains are likely more attuned to than duelist mains picking Clove.
Perhaps the most significant issue arises when Clove players inadvertently aid the enemy by misplacing their smokes. I once played alongside an Immortal-ranked Clove who positioned one-way smokes closer to my teammates than to the enemies. It should have been the other way around. This serves as a reminder that even high-ranking players can greatly benefit from mastering the basics of smoking if they're not already accustomed to the Controller role. It underscores the fact that Controller mains require an extra level of awareness, often overlooked despite their invaluable contributions to the team.
On the bright side, Clove-instalockers are also easing the burden on Controller mains, allowing for more double Controller compositions in ranked play. As players spend more time with Clove and become more adept at utilizing smokes, they'll undoubtedly prove to be valuable assets on any team.
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