Introduction
It’s become a weird thing with VALORANT that whenever they release an agent, they are either too weak or too overpowered. Take a look at Chamber and Tejo; both of them were completely broken on release. On the other hand, there are Yoru, Deadlock, and Iso were considered troll picks when they were released. Sure, some agents, like Fade and Clove, were balanced pretty nicely when they released, but they’re an exception.
Let’s just say that the trend continued after Riot announced their latest agent, Veto. Immediately, the community was thrown into a frenzy due to how overpowered he was perceived to be. Let’s dive into his abilities and see what his kit offers.
Veto’s Abilities Explained
Veto is a very unique agent; we haven’t seen anything like him in VALORANT or even other hero shooters. Veto is a Sentinel, meaning his main job is locking down a site on defense, and lurking and holding flanks on attack. At least, that’s what sentinels usually do. But Veto is quite different, and it will become clearer as we explain his abilities.
Interceptor (E)
This ability is what has thrown the VALORANT community into a panic. His Interceptor ability basically eats up any other utility in its line of sight. You can press E to equip and then throw it in the air, where it levitates. Any physical or tangible utility that comes in its LOS is negated or destroyed.
So, things like Raze’s Boom bot, Sova/Fade/Kayo recons, nades, flashes (not Breach flashes), and many others become powerless before the Interceptor. Of course, not all abilities are destroyed. For instance, smokes cannot be destroyed, and abilities that don’t have a physical structure, like Breach’s utility or Astra’s stars also survive. Basically, any ability that can bounce off players or can be destroyed by gunfire will get destroyed by the Interceptor.
Important to note is that the ability needs to be in the line of sight of the Interceptor. So, if you smoke the interceptor or smoke the ability, it won’t get destroyed. The interceptor can also be destroyed by shooting it, like is the case with Reyna’s flashes. Lastly, the Interceptor can also be flashed or nearsighted.
Essentially, on defense, you can put this near the entrance of the site, and it will destroy anything that comes through it.
Crosscut (C)
Crosscut is Veto’s sole mobility ability. It’s basically a weird mix of Yoru and Chamber’s TP. Similar to Chamber, you have to place down the Crosscut. You equip it first and then fire to place it on the ground.
You can then teleport to that point just like Chamber, and it doesn’t have a range. The catch is that you have to look at the anchor point and then press the button to teleport. Unlike Chamber, it’s not an instant teleport; there is an animation and a delay similar to Yoru or Omen.
It’s not really a get-out-of-jail-free card, but more of a repositioning tool. You can do the Operator shot and teleport trick with this. It can be used to reposition when you’ve been holding a one-and-done angle or for quick rotates.
Chokehold (Q)
His Q is basically his main trap ability. You press Q to equip and then fire to place it down wherever you want. Chokehold works similarly to Chamber’s trap in the way that the enemy needs to be close and in the line of sight for it to activate. When an enemy does get close, they get tethered, decayed, and deafened. This is quite a basic trap ability that you can put it in site entrances, chokepoints, or at flanks.
Evolution (Ultimate)
This is the other ability that makes Veto feel so broken. Upon activating Evolution, Veto gets a combat stim (fast fire rate), regeneration, and is immune to all negative effects. The last part is what’s crazy. Basically, he can’t be stunned, flashed, decayed, or even take explosion damage. In short, he can only be killed with a weapon or abilities that act as weapons (Jett and Chamber’s Ult, for example).
You can activate it at the start of the round, and it can last.
Is Veto Viable
Short answer, definitely. Just imagine prepping for site execution. Let’s say your Raze throws a Boom Bot to clear close angles, then Sova drones and recons for information, and lastly, your other duelist flashes to enter the site. With just one correctly placed Interceptor, all of this utility is destroyed, and you just wasted almost 1000 credits’ worth of utility. If that’s not broken, then what is?
It’s even worse when he has his ultimate. Imagine you have a Killjoy ult and you placed it either for post-plant or take site. Every other enemy player will rotate off, but Veto doesn’t have to. The biggest advantage of KJ’s ult is that it clears sites for you. But, if there is a Veto on the other team with his ult, you always have to be aware of that one player.
That’s just on defense. Veto is equally strong on attack, too. His ultimate can be used to win post plants. For instance, you can ask your Breach to ult to take the site, and you can walk on that ult without getting stunned. As players start to run to avoid Breach’s ult, you can basically get free kills.
His Interceptor can be used to take map control. For example, Lotus’ A main is usually bombarded with utility by the Defenders; you can cancel most of them out with a single Interceptor.
In short, Veto is a strong agent and definitely viable for ranked.
