It’s been less than a week since Iso’s launch in VALORANT, and I already don’t want to play him. No, it’s not because his kit isn’t fun, it’s because the community’s unrealistic expectations of anyone playing him has worn me down.
After having a blast in early access, I shelled out the last 1,000 VP I had to unlock Iso early. Excited to try him out in ranked, I locked him in for a match immediately after. It was there I met two insolent, ignorant players on my team who didn’t even know Iso’s a duelist.
They proceeded to flame me for losing two out of three one-versus-one fights in Kill Contract’s universe. “How did you die in your ultimate?” Reyna asked, laughing. “Stupid duelist.” I chose to ignore how toxic the duo was, focusing instead on the part where they asked me how I died in my one-versus-one ultimate.
Somehow, those players had the notion that Iso is unkillable when Kill Contract is active, when literally no existing VALORANT ultimate is that powerful. I didn’t quite understand where they got the idea from, so I chose to ignore it, thinking it’s just a one-off situation. After all, not every player is this ignorant, right?
To my surprise, I met more players with the same misconception about Iso’s Kill Contract in every match I played him so far—that he shouldn’t, in any possible scenario, lose a one-versus-one fight. And after the fifth encounter, I was exhausted enough to switch back to my usual controller role.
To those players who think Iso isn’t allowed to lose in his ultimate, I ask, don’t you think he’d be a broken agent if he’s that powerful?
Let me take this opportunity to highlight what Iso’s ultimate does exactly, and in what ways you can use it to actually win a game—instead of picking on your teammates.
Iso’s ultimate lets him pull the nearest enemy hit with its boundary into an interdimensional arena, where both can fire guns and kill each other.
While in the ultimate, both Iso and the enemy are suppressed, meaning they can’t use any abilities, and they spawn with the same amount of health and shields. Both carry the gun they had before the ultimate activated with them into the arena. So, if Iso had a Judge before pulling out Kill Contract, he’d have to use the same to kill the opponent.
I had a few players screaming at me for not using my ultimate in an eco round, when I had a Sheriff and no shields and the opponents had full buy. Please don’t do that.
The only advantage Iso has in his ultimate is two bullet-bending Contingency shields; the enemy gets only one, so Iso has an easier time guessing their location. But all shields fade away after a while, leaving both players in a head-on gun fight. I don’t think this advantage is enough to make Iso “invincible.”
Another thing players forget is that Iso isn’t a selfish agent like Reyna. Sure, his kit has a lot in common with her, and he’s incredibly dependent on aiming skills, but his kit can bring a lot more value for the team than just increasing the kill count.
His ultimate, in particular, can be used to suppress certain agents who are giving your team a hard time for a while.
For example, if an enemy Killjoy is guarding Ascent’s B Site with traps, making it hard for your team to enter, and you manage to trap her in a one-versus-one, your team can seize the opportunity to flood into the site while the traps are deactivated.
Iso isn’t just a killing machine, and he definitely isn’t invulnerable. It’s time every VALORANT player notes his weaknesses and starts playing to his strengths.
