Valorant's Fade: How to Master the Bounty Hunter
Updated July 17, 2023.
In the covert world of the VALORANT Protocol, a mysterious and formidable presence arises: Fade, the 20th agent to join the ranks.
» Level up your Valorant experience with Buff
Fade's Backstory
With a checkered past that involved blackmail and a breach of the organization's secrecy, Fade stands as an unparalleled enigma within its midst. Hailing from Turkish descent, her prowess lies in her uncanny ability to extract and exploit the deepest fears of her adversaries—combining ancient techniques of dream-reading with her own powers.
Fade navigates the darkness of her victims' nightmares, uncovering invaluable information for Fade and her allies. Her past as a bounty hunter has sharpened her combat skills and gives her a dangerous presence—yet her uniqueness lies in a connection to an ethereal entity known as "Nightmare" that grants her unimaginable power at the cost of her own sanity and comfort.
» Need more skins for Fade? See how to get Valorant Points and new skins for free
Fade's Abilities
E: Haunt
Fade whips out a creepy black orb and can toss/lob it to land on the ground, where it transforms into a nightmarish entity that highlights enemies and their trails for 12 seconds.
Pro tip: Fade's enemies can destroy the entity, but you can get around this by manually dropping the orb short before it travels the full distance, allowing you to drop it onto buildings or in harder-to-reach spots.
C: Prowler
Fade brings out her trusty Prowler to hone in on enemies or trails in front of her. The prowler chases them down like a determined bloodhound, messing up their vision when it catches them and making it more difficult for enemies to see what's going on. If you hold down the fire button, you can guide the Prowler in the direction you want.
Q: Seize
Fade grabs an orb filled with nightmare ink and hurls it to the ground like her Haunt, creating a zone of terror that traps enemies, inflicts decay damage, and deafens them completely. The orb drops automatically after a set time, but Fade can speed things up by activating the ability again.
Pro tip: Enemies can't free themselves by shooting the orb, so they're totally helpless if you can catch them.
X: Nightfall
Fade taps into the power of fear itself and unleashes a wave of nightmare energy that can pass through walls, leaving a trail that leads straight to the enemy. Anyone caught in its path gets a taste of the terrifying side effects—they'll be trailed, their hearing will be shot, and they'll take some decay damage. It's a real nightmare for them, lasting 12 seconds, and needs a justified seven ultimate points to pull off.
» Not a fan of the abilities? See the other OP agents for dominating ranked
How to Play Valorant's Fade on Offense
Strengths and Weaknesses
Fade's abilities are in-line with Sova's abilities as a reconnaissance Agent that can give visual information about enemy players to her and her team. Her Haunt and Nightfall abilities make short work of figuring out how many enemies are on sight, while the rest of her kit is excellent for disabling them.
Her downfall is her ability to solo-finish enemies—she can go down easily in 1v1 situations against duelists like Raze or Jett, so be sure to bring a buddy when you play as Fade.
Map Awareness and Positioning
Lineups for Fade's Haunt are basically essential for the offense game. Research which lineups work for each of the maps you play in your rotations, and try to land your Haunt ability on a ledge or similar spot that sees the maximum area of the zone you're about to push.
» Need help with maps? See our tips for Haven, Breeze, and Fracture
Advanced Techniques and Combos
When Nightfall hits an enemy, it shows the trail of where they've been, and not just where they are from the point of contact with the wave. You can use this information to determine their rotation path and understand your opponent's movements better. You'll also be able to send your Prowlers after your tagged opponent far easier than the trail from her Haunt.
» Losing too much? Here's how to play smarter in Valorant
How to Play Valorant's Fade on Defense
Strengths and Weaknesses
Fade's defense game isn't as strong as her offense, but she's still extremely useful at slowing down enemy pushes and isolating targets for your team to take out. Her defensive capabilities shine best when she hugs corners and uses cover while revealing and disabling attackers for your team.
Map Awareness and Positioning
Since Haunt is on a cooldown, finding a lineup to spot any attackers pushing to specific sites and throwing your ability there as early as possible is a great tactic since you'll have another charge by the time your opponents get to the site.
Advanced Techniques and Combos
If you've spotted some enemies who are pushing, use your Sieze to slow down their push and force them to take cover, then send a Prowler or 2 to blind them or cause them to change their aim focus- this opens an opportunity to either take them out or reposition if needed.
» More tips: How to climb the Valorant competitive ladder
How to Develop Your Own Playstyle With Fade
Mastering Fade in Valorant is no walk in the park. It's not just about her lore and abilities, it's about getting inside your enemies' heads and unleashing fear with precision. Haunt, Prowler, Seize, and Nightfall are your tools of psychological warfare. To truly excel with Fade, you need to understand the art of fear, predict enemy moves, and control the map. It takes practice, patience, and intuition—so embrace the shadows, conquer the nightmares, and become a force to be reckoned with.
