The 3 best ways to counter Killjoy, Valorant’s most annoying agent

It has been over a week since Killjoy was released, and almost everyone agrees that she is a pain to deal with. She was even banned from competitive play in the most recent Ignition Series tournament.

So what do you do if you’re facing a Killjoy? Here are some tips.

Listen for the audio cue of her abilities

Killjoy’s Nanoswarm molly is probably the ability that is frustrating players the most right now since it’s hard to spot, does massive damage, and can be activated at any time, regardless of how far away Killjoy is.

But the Nanoswarm actually has a distinct audio cue that lets players know when they’re close to one. Make sure you’re using a headset and keep comms chatter to a minimum to figure out where it is. The closer you get to the Nanoswarm, the louder the audio cue becomes. Once you’ve spotted it, just shoot it.

If you and your team have taken over a site, make sure to listen and check for the small egg-looking device before planting the spike.

Use Raze or Sova

Agents like Raze and Sova can deal with Killjoy’s Nanoswarm, Alarmbot, and Turret abilities. Raze can clear out choke points or spike sites with her Paintshells and Blast Pack.

Meanwhile, Sova can also spot Killjoy’s gadgets using his Owl Drone and destroy them with his Shock Bolts.

Phoenix, on the other hand, is not a counter, as his Hot Hands molly cannot destroy Killjoy’s Nanoswarm, Alarmbot, and Turret.

Jiggle-peek every corner

Jiggle peeking corners is a good idea in general but even more so if there’s an enemy Killjoy. One of the most common strategies for Killjoy players is to place their Turret in the open, bait players into shooting at it, and then cross-firing in tandem with it against opponents.

If you’re running straight out of cover, this can be confusing, since you’ll have to make a split-second decision on who to aim at.

You can prevent this by jiggle-peeking or shoulder-peeking out of cover. The turret will only fire on you if it sees the center of your model so it’s actually quite easy to spot it without taking any damage or alerting the Killjoy as long as you don’t peek too far.