VALORANT's newest agent, Clove, has officially been added to the VCT pool, but pro players have already identified issues that they believe could hinder the aggressive Controller.
Are cloves actually good?
After a slight delay and bug fixes in VALORANT Patch 8.07, Clove is finally playable in VCT matches as we enter week three. To welcome the newest Controller agent to VCT, pro players TenZ and aspas discussed their initial impressions and broader thoughts on Clove. While most agreed that the Controller is a very strong agent in its own right, there are major concerns about where Clove will actually fit into pro play.
"I think it's hard to adapt to teams because I've tried it, and the smoke range is a bit short," KRÜ's Melser said. "So in some maps it wouldn't replace an Omen or Astra smoke that covers the whole map." When it comes to smoking, aka the main job of a Controller, that's where Clove falls short compared to others in that role. Still, Melser believes Clove "could be useful" in new dual-Controller team compositions.
Additionally, Vanity pointed out Clove's biggest weakness in pro play: a lack of utility for their teammates. "They don't really have anything that helps set up their teammates, and I think that's something that limits them in the pro setting," Cloud9's IGL explained. This sounds like a similar situation for more selfish agents like Reyna, who sees a lot of utility in ranked but not so much in VCT, where teamwork and coordination are more important.
