Valorant sets the tempo with new agent Miks
MANILA, Philippines — Riot Games revealed a new agent during the grand finals of Valorant Masters Santiago.
Enter Miks, a Croatian Controller who uses sound-based abilities to support teammates and control the pace of battle.
“Miks was built for the socially motivated player, someone who finds satisfaction in enabling and supporting their allies. This agent allows players to have a meaningful impact on the battlefield beyond gunplay and mechanical skill,” said Valorant game designer Kevin Meier.
Miks channels sound energy to rally his team, with a kit centered on coordination, utility and momentum. His abilities allow him to buff allies, disrupt enemies, and provide traditional Controller tools such as smokes, while encouraging teams to move and fight together.
His abilities include Harmonize, which grants a Combat Stim to himself and a targeted ally that refreshes with each kill; M?Pulse, a throwable device that can either Concuss enemies or Heal players depending on its selected mode; and Waveform, which allows Miks to deploy smokes at targeted locations across the map. His ultimate ability, Bassquake, unleashes a wave of sonic energy that knocks back enemies while Deafening and Slowing them.
“Miks’ gameplay is team play first. From dropping smokes, to healing, and providing combat stim, players will often be focusing on their allies when making decisions. He’s able to change the tempo as a round progresses based on what his team needs.” added Meier.
Music plays a central role in Miks’ identity, influencing not only his visuals and sound effects, but also his narrative. His abilities are inspired by sound waves and musical devices such as synthesizers and sequencers, while his ultimate is designed to evoke the overwhelming bass felt at the front of a live concert.
“We approached the sound design of Miks’ abilities by first creating music, then extracting the most vibey elements and building the sound effects from there,” said Meier.
Alongside Miks’ reveal, Riot Games also announced Knockout, a new round-based game mode that reimagines Team Deathmatch with a tactical, team-focused structure. In Knockout, teams stage on opposite sides of a center-line wall and coordinate pushes across multiple weapon stages, with a key twist: every kill resurrects a fallen teammate. The mode emphasizes trading, refragging and momentum, as successful engagements rebuild one team while depleting the other. Territory control also plays a role, with teams able to capture orbs that push the frontline forward, creating positional advantages as rounds progress. Designed for fast-paced eight- to 15-minute matches, Knockout aims to give new players repeated exposure to coordinated play while offering veterans a high-intensity environment for tactical decision-making.
Miks and the new Knockout game mode, along with the new Blackthorn Collection skin, the game's new Battlepass, will all be released on Wednesday, March 18, as part of Valorant Season 2026 Act 2 patch.
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