Air strikes. Sticky grenades. Homing missiles. A macho dude wearing shades. It all sounds very Call of Duty, if you ask me. However, this is actually a description of the new Valorant agent, Tejo, who will be kicking off 2025 as the tactical shooter’s 27th character. Act 1 of this year’s brand new season also introduces a totally new cosmetic type called a Flex, which will let you taunt and flaunt in a fresh way with a focus on “spamability.”
Tejo, though, is the headline act here. Valorant’s first Colombian agent looks like he’s been plucked straight out of a big budget action movie, with a fitting, explosive kit. Joining the FPS game’s roster of Initiators, Tejo comes equipped with some useful utility gadgets and a devastating ultimate that can clear out an entire site.
Special Delivery is a sticky grenade that will concuss any targets in its blast radius. It will stick itself to the first surface it touches, or you can make it bounce once before sticking by alt firing. Tejo’s Stealth Drone is a handy piece of recon gear that you can have full control over. While controlling the drone, you can fire a pulse that suppresses and reveals any enemies that it hits. His Guided Salvo ability, meanwhile, lets you pick two spots on the map that you can send guided missiles to. Once they reach their target location, they’ll detonate and damage players.
His ultimate is the real blockbuster. Armageddon is essentially a massive, rolling airstrike that covers a pretty large area. You pick the start point and the end point of the barrage, and a wave of explosions will follow the path you chose.
The other big addition to Act 1, alongside Tejo, is a brand new cosmetic type that may tempt you into spending some Valorant Points. Tapping into the joy of knife spamming whenever you’re waiting for a round to start or celebrating at the end of one, Flex items are random little objects that you can bring out and play with at any time.
“Like you know with melee weapons, spamability is really important,” says Valorant’s product lead for player expression, Jack Flannery. “We wanted to take that entire experience and put it into its own content type.”
The main one shown in today’s short reveal video, which looks to be free for all players when they log in to the new season, is a smartphone-style gadget that you can interact with. The second, which is available in the Act 1 battle pass, is basically a giant snowflake that you can spin around in the palm of your hand. If I’m honest, I don’t find either particularly inspiring or grabby, but I can imagine there will be some more impressive and desirable Flex items later down the line.
Act 1 of Valorant’s 2025 season begins on Wednesday, January 9. Make sure you’re prepared when it arrives and check out our guides to the best Valorant crosshairs and the best Valorant settings for getting max fps.
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