Rise and shine. The Dawn of the Duelist is upon us with the arrival of Waylay\u2014Valorant<\/em><\/strong>\u2019s latest high-mobility Duelist hailing from Bangkok, Thailand. Here, you\u2019ll learn everything you need to know to get in the game and get fragging.<\/p>\n Waylay is a new take on an iconic subclass of Duelist. She\u2019s also the first new space-taking Duelist since Valorant<\/em>\u2019s launch with Jett and Raze.<\/p>\n \u201cWe saw an opportunity in this space since it\u2019s been so long since we\u2019ve created a Duelist like this,\u201d explains Waylay\u2019s Design Lead, June \u201cRiot Junebird\u201d Cuervo. \u201cWe wanted to add some more variety to this role since we see one on basically every team, especially in Pro play.\u201d<\/p>\n Space-taking Duelists are designed to be highly mobile in order to break chokepoints and displace enemy crosshairs. They\u2019re the tip of the spear for their team and create opportunities for others to follow-up and get on the plant site.<\/p>\n With Refract, Waylay instantly places a beacon of light on the floor. When she reactivates the ability, she travels back to that beacon\u2019s location as a pure mote of light, invulnerable to all damage and abilities. It\u2019s essentially a safety net for Waylay, but not necessarily one for her team.<\/p>\n \u201cWith Jett, once you\u2019re on the site, you\u2019re on the site. With Raze, once you\u2019re there, you live or die. But Waylay has this backup plan. She can still break that angle, displace crosshairs, and draw attention, but also keep herself safe,\u201d Riot Junebird says about Waylay\u2019s Refract ability. \u201cBut once she uses that ability, nobody has to pay attention to you anymore. All eyes are back on her teammates and now they have to be the ones to continue taking that space and getting those kills.\u201d<\/p>\n Light Speed allows Waylay to dash up to two times in the direction(s) of her choosing. However, only the first dash will allow you to move upwards at the same time, givingWaylay \u00a0a lot of potential to take some creative spots on site.<\/p>\n \u201cI wanted movement to be the focal point of Waylay\u2019s kit,\u201d Riot Junebird adds. \u201cRaze is an example of an Agent with really expressive movement utility, but with that comes a really high mastery curve. With Waylay, I wanted to provide the same amount of skill expression but make it a little bit more accessible.\u201d<\/p>\n Beyond the movement, Waylay has a couple of other tools at her disposal with a throwable cluster of light called Saturate. Saturate acts as a light grenade that debuffs enemies hit in its area of effect. Enemies are affected with a new debuff called Hindering. Think of Hindering as a softer version of a Concuss that slows vertical movement and reload times as well, without the blurred vision.<\/p>\n \u201cWe felt like it was probably really out-of-line from a power budget perspective for a Duelist to have all this mobility and also a debuff as strong as a Concuss,\u201d Riot Junebird explains. \u201cBut we thought there was an interesting gameplay space here where the character could have some kind of debuff that would help unlock their Duelist potential. We think that Hindering is like a softer, more appropriate debuff version of a Concuss for a Duelist.\u201d<\/p>\n With Convergent Paths, Waylay focuses her prismatic power to create an afterimage of herself that projects a beam of light. After a brief delay, you gain a powerful boost of speed and the light expands, Hindering everyone in its path.<\/p>\n \u201c<\/strong>Waylay is still a Duelist. The ult might make people think of initiator utility at first, but the way the ult is shaped, and the way there\u2019s that delay up front\u2014that\u2019s the moment where the Duelist part of her still shines,\u201d Riot Junebird reveals. \u201cThe delay from your afterimage casting the ultimate still gives you the window of opportunity to still be the first one out and on the site for your team.\u201d<\/p>\n Waylay is out with the start of\u00a0Valorant\u00a0<\/em>Season 2025 Act 2, coming March 5. You can get in game and start grinding during her recruitment event, or unlock her instantly with an active Xbox Game Pass subscription linked to your Riot Games account. GL HF GG.<\/p>\nAbilities Rundown<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Refract (Signature)<\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"Valorant](\"https:\/\/pub-f354ec240bea480db7320bd0e29d972e.r2.dev\/sites\/2\/2025\/03\/XboxWireWaylayAbilityScreenshot-Refact_02_1920x1080-5008fc536e8f0f686567.jpg\")
Light Speed<\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"Valorant](\"https:\/\/pub-f354ec240bea480db7320bd0e29d972e.r2.dev\/sites\/2\/2025\/03\/XboxWireWaylayAbilityScreenshot-LightSpeed_02_1920x1080-6fa7ae5fea0cee1d05ea.jpg\")
Saturate<\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"Valorant](\"https:\/\/pub-f354ec240bea480db7320bd0e29d972e.r2.dev\/sites\/2\/2025\/03\/XboxWireWaylayAbilityScreenshot-Saturate_02_1920x1080-77be56cf2e2656bc8830.jpg\")
Convergent Paths<\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"Valorant](\"https:\/\/pub-f354ec240bea480db7320bd0e29d972e.r2.dev\/sites\/2\/2025\/03\/XboxWireWaylayAbilityScreenshot-Conv-Paths_02_1920x1080-4fb078b23446b58a1290.jpg\")