Phoenix is a duelist in VALORANT with an electrifying fighting style that ignites the battlefield with flash and flare. He’s a Radiant whose abilities center around his mastery of fire, which also heal him.
Phoenix’s fire abilities and their healing properties encourage aggressive play. His straightforward kit makes him ideal for beginners, as they can focus on learning the game without being overwhelmed. Despite his preference for head-on confrontations, his abilities offer plenty of versatile gameplay.
Background
Born Jamie Adeyemi, Phoenix grew up in the Peckham district in London and attended a Performing Arts school before his suspension (allegedly due to his burning down the building). Recruited into the VALORANT PROTOCOL as its ninth agent, Phoenix quickly became vital to the organization’s activities.
Phoenix’s first solo mission in Venice ended in a spike detonation, as seen in “Duelists.” However, in “Duality,” Phoenix’s resilience shows through the next day during an attack in Rabat. There, he encounters his Omega counterpart for the first time and successfully prevents another spike detonation with the help of his team. During this encounter, Phoenix realizes the threat of Omega Earth, encouraging him to push even harder in his missions.
In combat, Phoenix tends to charge head-first into fights, often without thoroughly assessing the situation. His reckless approach frequently frustrates Phoenix’s more strategic teammates. Despite his impatience, Phoenix possesses a remarkable ability to adapt quickly to adverse circumstances. He also likes to rub these successes in the faces of those who doubted him, emphasizing his cockiness.
Abilities
Curveball
Curveball allows a flare orb to take a curving path and detonate shortly after being thrown. Pressing the primary fire button causes the flare orb to curve to the left while using the alternate fire button makes it curve right. This flashbang-like projectile can be thrown around corners, blinding any player who sees it upon detonation.
When using Curveball, be mindful of your positioning relative to the corner you’re throwing around. The closer you are to the corner, the further the orb will travel before detonating. If thrown too close, it may only partially blind enemies. Consider curving the orb in the opposite direction in these situations to catch enemies off guard. While Curveball can be a powerful tool, becoming overly reliant announces your presence to the enemy, making it easier for your opponents to predict your next move and counterstrike. Also, be careful using it around teammates, as the flash also affects them.
Blaze
Blaze equips Phoenix with a potent flame wall, which he can also use to heal himself. Upon activation, Phoenix creates a wall of fire that moves forward, obstructing vision and inflicting damage on players passing through it. This firewall lasts 8 seconds, following Phoenix’s crosshair so he can control its placement and block off sightlines or points from the enemy.
With Blaze, Phoenix can adopt a more aggressive stance on whichever side of the flame wall he chooses. If there seem to be no enemies, Phoenix can use the wall to peek through or rotate to a different angle to keep his whereabouts unknown. As a high-pressure duelist, Phoenix can use Blaze with Curveball to cut off enemy escapes and blind them when they attempt to adjust.
However, be careful using sight-altering abilities in conjunction with Blaze. If Phoenix uses Curveball on the left side of Blaze while enemies are waiting on the other side, they may not be affected by the flash as expected.
Hot Hands
Hot Hands is Phoenix’s signature ability, allowing him to wield a powerful fireball. Upon activation, he throws a fireball that will explode upon impact with the ground or after a set amount of time.
Hot Hands covers a significant area on the ground, damaging enemies and allies within its radius while healing Phoenix. Although it lasts only 4 seconds, strategically placing it in chokepoints or areas where enemies are rushing can delay their push, allowing Phoenix’s team to reposition and mount a defense. Hot Hands’ trajectory also offers an advantage, as Phoenix can bounce it off walls or surfaces to surprise enemies.
One of the disadvantages of Hot Hands (or even Blaze) is that enemies caught in these fiery infernos won’t emit audio cues. When using either of these abilities, pay close attention to where the enemies are to capitalize on the damage. There also are no indications when Hot Hands ensnare enemies.
Run It Back
Upon activation, Phoenix’s ultimate ability, Run It Back, instantly places a marker at his current location. While the ability is active, he gains 15 seconds of death protection, during which dying or allowing the timer to expire will bring him back to the marked location with total health.
This ability allows Phoenix to confidently face overwhelming odds, even in 1v3 to 1v5 scenarios. Run It Back lets him peek at areas without fear of permanent consequences, granting him a safe trade. He can aggressively push into enemy territory, as he knows his respawn point is right back at the marker.
On offense, Run It Back is helpful for scouting areas, initiating aggressive pushes, or stalling enemy advances without risking the team. Similarly, on defense, Phoenix can hold aggressive angles, thwarting enemy advances before respawning back to safety.
Make sure to choose a safe spot for the respawn, as there is a brief vulnerability window between the start and finish of the animation, leaving Phoenix susceptible to flankers or unexpected encounters.
Best VALORANT Maps to Play Phoenix
As a duelist, Phoenix breaks the enemy line on the VALORANT maps to create strategic opportunities for the rest of the team. If you’re playing any of the following VALORANT maps, Phoenix is the best choice for your team:
- Pearl
- Haven
- Ascent
- Split
Best VALORANT Team Comps for Phoenix
Phoenix’s abilities are instrumental when combined with the right team on the right VALORANT maps. Based on the maps mentioned in the previous section, here are Phoenix’s best team compositions for those maps:
- Pearl: Pairing Phoenix with Astra, Sage, Killjoy, and Skye is ideal for Pearl, as his Blaze ability is beneficial on B-Site. After making the team make their way through B Main, Phoenix can use Blaze to cut the site in half, while Skye uses guiding light to blind enemies. Sage and Phoenix can also combine abilities for defense, while Killjoy’s ability to summon turrets helps hold sites.
- Haven: Team Phoenix up with Jett, Brimstone, Sova, and Killjoy for a successful mission in Haven, where he’ll mainly act as an initiator for Jett. Phoenix’s most beneficial ability on this map is Curveball. However, Run it Back and Hot Hands are closely tied in second. Pairing his Hot Hands ability with Killjoy’s Nanoswarms or Brimstone’s Incendiary is also a great strategy.
- Ascent: A team with Phoenix, Omen, Sova, Killjoy, and KAY/O is perfect for Ascent, as pairing two aggressive agents (Phoenix and KAY/O) is critical to success. Phoniex can Blaze and Curveball from Main A to enter A Site, while KAY/O can use Flash from Mid Cubby to push enemies off A Tree. Omen can offer support by using paranoia to clear any hiding enemies.
- Split: A team composed of Phoenix, Jett, Killjoy, Omen, and Skye can lead to victory on Split, as Phoenix can once again support Jett while also using Hot Hands with Killjoy’s Nanoswarms.
Immerse Yourself While Playing as Agent Phoenix
Whether you want to play Phoenix or other agents from VALORANT, iBUYPOWER’s gaming PCs are the perfect setup for the best VALORANT playing experience.
As the official partner for VCT America, iBUYPOWER has high-quality PCs for your VALORANT gaming sessions. Check out iBUYPOWER’s Official VALORANT gaming PCs from Intel and AMD.
