Phoenix is one of the most polarizing Agents in all of Valorant. Some players are immediately drawn to him thanks to his round-altering abilities and extremely useful Ultimate. However, others find him to be a particularly annoying Agent to play as and play with. Like a few other Valorant Agents, Phoenix’s abilities affect teammates the same way they do enemies. So, if you’re not careful, you can cause more harm than good while playing as Phoenix. If you want to avoid that, or are just looking for the best way to play as the fiery Agent, look no further than Run It Back’s newest Agent guide.

Taking a look at phoenix’s abilities

Before we go over anything, we need to have a look at each of Phoenix’s abilities.

• Basic Ability #1: Blaze | Cost: 200 | Charges: 1
• Basic Ability #2: Curveball | Cost: 100 | Charges: 2
• Signature Ability: Hot Hands | Cost: Free | Charges: 1
• Ultimate Ability: Run It Back | Cost: 6 Points | Charges: 1

Blaze

Equip a flame wall. Fire to create a line of flames that moves forward creating a wall that blocks vision and damages players passing through it. Hold Fire to bend the wall in the direction of your crosshair.

In terms of usefulness, Blaze is on the moderate side. It can certainly come in handy when you want to cross a bombsite or simply block an enemy’s line of sight. However, it shouldn’t be used for damaging purposes since any enemy, or teammates, that walks through it won’t be hurt too bad. Of course, if you’re playing as Phoenix and walk through it, you’ll start to heal. Just make sure there are no teammates in the immediate vicinity or they’ll sustain damage.

curveball

Equip a flare orb that takes a curving path and detonates shortly after throwing, impairing vision. Fire to curve the flare orb to the left, detonating and blinding any player who sees the orb. Alternate fire to curve the flare orb to the right.

Possibly the most well-known ability in all of Valorant, Curveball can either get you killed or secure you a kill. When you activate this ability, you can choose to send a flare orb in either the left or right direction. Anyone who looks in the way of the orb will be flashed for around 1-2 seconds. This includes enemies, teammates, and you as well. Whenever you decide to throw a Curveball, make sure there are no teammates anywhere near you or let them look away from where you are.

Once you’ve done that, try to throw the orb around a piece of cover, like near the mid Teleporter boxes on the map Bind. This ensures you won’t be flashed but any enemies behind the boxes will be, enabling you to take some free shots. Take a look at our new video below to see the Curveball in action as well as Phoenix’s other abilities.

hot hands

Equip a fireball. Fire to throw a fireball that explodes after a set amount of time or upon hitting the ground, creating a lingering fire zone that damages enemies.

Hot Hands serves almost the same purpose as Blaze. The only difference is Hot Hands spreads on the ground instead of making a wall. This ability is particularly useful for trapping an enemy in a corner or stalling them from moving to a vantage point. For example, if you’re on offense on the map Split, you can go B and throw the fire into Heaven. This will burn any enemies watching you and will stop any other enemies from moving forward, allowing you to get the bomb down.

This strategy also works with Blaze, but you would need to be closer to Heaven. Hot Hands also heals you when you step in it but damages your teammates, so, again, be cautious.

run it back

Instantly place a marker at Phoenix’s location. While this ability is active, dying or allowing the timer to expire will end this ability and bring Phoenix back to this location with full health.

Lastly, we have Phoenix’s Ultimate, being Run It Back. One of the more useful Ultimates in Valorant, Run It Back enables you to have two lives in the same round. When activated, the Ultimate will allow you to drop a marker and then go anywhere you want for a set amount of time. You can shoot, defuse a bomb, and do anything else you normally can. However, once the timer runs out or you die, you are transported back to the marker with 100 health.

Obviously, this is a great entrance tactic that allows you to get information for your team. It’s especially handy on offense but can be useful on defense if a bomb is active. Just remember to activate the ability in a spot where you won’t be instantly seen by the enemy team.

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