Valorant is a tactical shooter to its core. But unlike some games in the genre (ahem, CS:GO), it’s also got a cast of characters, called Agents, each with their own personalities and abilities. So while shooting may be the most important skill in Valorant, knowing how to use your Agent to their full potential is a close second.

During a preview event for the new shooter, Riot Games showed Polygon some of Valorant’s Agents, along with a look of exactly what their abilities will do. According to Riot, these characters are just some of the Agents players will get to check out when Valorant launches sometime this summer.

Before we get into what exactly the abilities in Valorant do, it’s important to understand how they work. Each character has four abilities: one Signature Abilities they get for free every round, two that they have to buy (but they’ll keep over multiple rounds until they’re used up), and one ultimate ability that has to be charged by getting kills.

The following contains Riot’s exact description for each ability and character.

Phoenix

Phoenix’s star power shines through in his fighting style, igniting the battlefield with flash and flare. Whether he’s got backup or not, he’s rushing in to fight on his own terms.

Curveball - Cast a curving flare that bursts into brilliant light after a brief delay, temporarily blinding all looking at it. Left click curves it left, right click curves it right.

- Cast a curving flare that bursts into brilliant light after a brief delay, temporarily blinding all looking at it. Left click curves it left, right click curves it right. Blaze - Cast out a flame wall that blocks vision and damages anyone passing through it. You can bend the wall when casting by turning while holding left click.

- Cast out a flame wall that blocks vision and damages anyone passing through it. You can bend the wall when casting by turning while holding left click. Signature Ability: Hot Hands - Throw a fireball that explodes after a delay or upon impact with the ground. The fire zone damages enemies, and heals you.

- Throw a fireball that explodes after a delay or upon impact with the ground. The fire zone damages enemies, and heals you. Ultimate Ability: Run it Back - Mark your current location. If you die during this ability’s duration, or when this ability’s duration expires, you’ll be reborn at the marked location with full health.

Jett

Jett’s agile and evasive fighting style lets her take risks no one else can. She runs circles around every skirmish, cutting enemies up before they even know what hit them.

Cloudburst - Throw out a cloud of fog that obscures vision on impact. Hold down the ability button to bend the cloud’s in-flight trajectory.

- Throw out a cloud of fog that obscures vision on impact. Hold down the ability button to bend the cloud’s in-flight trajectory. Updraft - After a brief wind up, propel yourself upwards.

- After a brief wind up, propel yourself upwards. Signature Ability: Tailwind - Immediately dash a short distance in the direction you’re moving.

- Immediately dash a short distance in the direction you’re moving. Ultimate: Blade Storm - Arm yourself with several deadly throwing knives that deal moderate damage and kill on headshots. Scoring a kill restores all daggers. Left click throws a single dagger. Right click throws all remaining daggers in a short-ranged burst.

Viper

Viper deploys an array of poisonous chemical devices to control the battlefield and cripple the enemy’s vision. If the toxins don’t kill her prey, her mind games surely will.

Snakebite - Fire a projectile that explodes into a pool of damaging acid.

- Fire a projectile that explodes into a pool of damaging acid. Poison Cloud - Throw a gas emitter that you can reactivate to create a poisonous smoke cloud at the cost of fuel. The emitter can be picked up and thrown again after a short cooldown.

- Throw a gas emitter that you can reactivate to create a poisonous smoke cloud at the cost of fuel. The emitter can be picked up and thrown again after a short cooldown. Signature Ability: Toxic Screen - Deploy a long line of gas emitters that you can reactivate to create a tall wall of toxic gas at the cost of fuel.

- Deploy a long line of gas emitters that you can reactivate to create a tall wall of toxic gas at the cost of fuel. Ultimate: Viper’s Pit - Emit a massive toxic cloud in a large area that lasts as long as Viper stays inside the cloud. Enemies inside the cloud are highlighted to Viper.

Sova

Sova tracks, finds, and eliminates enemies with ruthless efficiency and precision. His custom bow and incredible scouting abilities ensure that even if you run, you cannot hide.

Shock Bolt - Fire an explosive bolt that emits a damaging pulse of static energy upon impact.

- Fire an explosive bolt that emits a damaging pulse of static energy upon impact. Owl Drone - Deploy a pilotable drone that can fire a dart that will Reveal enemies who are hit.

- Deploy a pilotable drone that can fire a dart that will Reveal enemies who are hit. Signature Ability: Recon Bolt - Fire a bolt that deploys a sonar emitter. The sonar pings tag nearby enemies, causing them to be revealed. Can be destroyed.

- Fire a bolt that deploys a sonar emitter. The sonar pings tag nearby enemies, causing them to be revealed. Can be destroyed. Ultimate: Hunter’s Fury - Fire up to three deadly energy blasts that spear across the entire map. Each hit enemy takes heavy damage and is marked.

Cypher

Cypher is a one-man surveillance network who keeps tabs on the enemy’s every move. No secret is safe. No maneuver goes unseen. Cypher is always watching.

Free Ability: Trapwire - Place a stealthed tripwire between two walls. Triggering enemies are restrained and revealed for a short time. If the trap is not destroyed, it activates to daze the trapped victim. Can be picked up.

- Place a stealthed tripwire between two walls. Triggering enemies are restrained and revealed for a short time. If the trap is not destroyed, it activates to daze the trapped victim. Can be picked up. Cyber Cage - Toss out a remote activation trap. Reactivate to create a cage that slows enemies who pass through it. Look at a trap and press USE to detonate it, or hold ACTIVATE to detonate all.

- Toss out a remote activation trap. Reactivate to create a cage that slows enemies who pass through it. Look at a trap and press USE to detonate it, or hold ACTIVATE to detonate all. Signature Ability: Spycam - Place a remote camera. After placing, reactivate to view the video feed. Left click while in camera to fire a tracking dart. Recharges when picked up or killed.

- Place a remote camera. After placing, reactivate to view the video feed. Left click while in camera to fire a tracking dart. Recharges when picked up or killed. Ultimate: Neural Theft- Extract information from the corpse of an enemy, revealing the location of their living allies.

Brimstone

Brimstone’s orbital arsenal ensures his squad always has the advantage. His ability to deliver utility precisely and safely make him the unmatched boots-on-the-ground commander.

Incindiary - Launch an incendiary grenade that deploys a damaging field of fire.

- Launch an incendiary grenade that deploys a damaging field of fire. Stim Beacon - Target a nearby location to call in a Stim Beacon, giving all players near it Rapidfire.

- Target a nearby location to call in a Stim Beacon, giving all players near it Rapidfire. Signature Ability: Sky Smoke - Use your map to call in orbital deployment smokescreens that obscure vision. Click to set the locations, and confirm to launch.

- Use your map to call in orbital deployment smokescreens that obscure vision. Click to set the locations, and confirm to launch. Ultimate: Orbital Strike - Use your map to target a location, launching a devastating orbital strike that pulses for high damage over several seconds.

Sage

Sage creates safety for herself and her team wherever she goes. Able to revive fallen friends and stave off forceful assaults, she provides a calm center to a hellish battlefield.

Slow Orb - Cast out a radianite orb that breaks into a slowing field upon impact with the ground. All caught in the field are slowed, grounded, and make noise when moving.

- Cast out a radianite orb that breaks into a slowing field upon impact with the ground. All caught in the field are slowed, grounded, and make noise when moving. Barrier Orb - Conjure a large, solid wall. Right-click to rotate the wall before casting.

- Conjure a large, solid wall. Right-click to rotate the wall before casting. Signature Ability: Healing Orb - Heal an ally or yourself to full health over a few seconds.

- Heal an ally or yourself to full health over a few seconds. Ultimate: Resurrection- Target a friendly corpse. After a short delay, revive them with full health.

Omen

Omen hunts in the shadows. He renders enemies blind, teleports across the field, then lets paranoia take hold as foes scramble to uncover where it might strike next.

Paranoia - Send out an Ethereal shadow in a straight line, Nearsighting anyone it touches.

- Send out an Ethereal shadow in a straight line, Nearsighting anyone it touches. Shadow Walk - After a delay, dematerialize and teleport a short distance.

- After a delay, dematerialize and teleport a short distance. Signature Ability: Dark Cover - Cast out a stealthed ethereal orb that bursts into an obscuring sphere of shadow at its final location. Can be charged to increase distance.

- Cast out a stealthed ethereal orb that bursts into an obscuring sphere of shadow at its final location. Can be charged to increase distance. Ultimate: From the Shadows - Select anywhere on the map to teleport and reform. When arriving, appear as a Shade, that will go back to your original location if killed. Once the teleport is complete, become Incorporeal for a short time.

Breach

Aftershock - Equip a Fusion Charge. Fire the charge to set a slow-activing burst through a wall. The bust does heavy damage to anyone caught in the area.

- Equip a Fusion Charge. Fire the charge to set a slow-activing burst through a wall. The bust does heavy damage to anyone caught in the area. Flashpoint - Equip a blinding charge. Fire the charge to set a fast-acting burst through a wall. The charge detonates to blind all players looking at it.

- Equip a blinding charge. Fire the charge to set a fast-acting burst through a wall. The charge detonates to blind all players looking at it. Signature Ability: Fault Lines - Equip a seismic blast. Hold Fire to increase the distance. Release to set off the quake, dazing all players in its zone in a line up to the zone.

- Equip a seismic blast. Hold Fire to increase the distance. Release to set off the quake, dazing all players in its zone in a line up to the zone. Rolling Thunder - Equip a seismic charge. Fire to send a cascading quake through all terrain in a large cone. The quake dazes and knocks up anyone caught in it.

Raze