Thai Duelist Waylay dashes in as the 28th agent in the first-person shooter VALORANT. Photo: Riot Games

BANGKOK -- First-person shooter game VALORANT has released its 28th agent: Waylay, a Radiant duelist hailing from Thailand.

She was officially unveiled before the agent's home country and first saw action in a showmatch between Thai and international pro players and content creators before the grand finals of VALORANT Masters: Bangkok between G2 & T1.

READ: G2 books Masters Bangkok Grand Finals spot; T1 sends Team Vitality home

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Waylay is the latest "space-taking" type of duelist in five years, similar to Jett and Raze, according to June Cuervo, VALORANT's game designer.

"We haven't had a 'space taking duelist' since VALORANT's launch. This subclass of duelist that only Jett and Raze occupy has been an essential part of team compositions at all levels of play, and we wanted to add something fresh to this gameplay space."

The release of the Thai Prismatic duelist comes after the introduction of Columbian initiator, Tejo. She is also the second agent from Southeast Asia following the footsteps of the Philippines' sprinting duelist, Neon.

WATCH: Riot Games unveils Filipino VALORANT agent Neon

During a media roundtable, VALORANT's Agents Lead John Goscicki discussed having a Thai agent for a long time and the timing converged in releasing an agent during a Masters tournament in their country of origin.

"When we're looking at Thailand, we're looking at how colorful everything is here. We're really referencing the colors and the tone that we're seeing in the country. How do we find the Valorant version of light that is also referencing and honoring the colorful nature of the country?"

In talks with Thai members of the development team and a consultant, Goscicki describes shaping Waylay's persona with a familial relationship with the rest of the agents.

"The older sibling looking out for everyone. They have a lot of love and care for them, but they're not afraid to also put them in their place if need be. A lot of our characters need that. So Waylay is one of the few characters that can look at Jett and be like 'Stop it. You need to behave," Goscicki SAID.

Asked on how will the new agent will shake up the game's current meta, Cuervo says that "Waylay fulfills the same role as Jett and Raze, but has different strengths and weaknesses. Maps where the bombsites have lots of nooks and crannies to dash to such as Icebox and Ascent are maps where Waylay thrives. She isn't designed to replace our current duelists, but rather provide an option in different team compositions."

ABS-CBN News was given early access to try Waylay along with other media outlets and content creators before the official release.

Here's a breakdown of Waylay's abilities:

Refract

Waylay's signature ability creates a beacon of light on the floor. When reactivated, it speeds her back to the beacon while invulnerable as she travels. Similar to Jett's Tailwind, Phoenix's Hot Hands, and Raze's Paint Shells, the ability resets every two kills.

Lightspeed

When equipped, Waylay will dash twice or once depending on if the left or right mouse click was used. Only the first dash will send Waylay upward.

Saturate

Waylay instantly throws a cluster of light that explodes upon contact with the ground, hitting nearby players with the new Hindering debuff which slows fire rate, recoil recovery, equip time, reload speed, movement speed, and jump speed. 

Convergent Paths

With Waylay's ultimate ability, she creates an afterimage that projects a beam of light. After a brief delay, she gains a powerful speed boost and the beam expands, Hindering other players in the area. The ultimate's area of effect is similar to Breach's Rolling Thunder.

Waylay will be publicly playable along with the start of Season 2025 // Act II on March 5.