Reyna, the newest character in Riot Games’ first-person strategy shooter Valorant, is one of the best fraggers in the game. She may be the only character who you can expect to win a 1v3 matchup regularly (at least in the lower ranks of competitive). Here is a handy guide to get you started using the deadly Mexican vampiress.
Before that, be sure to also read our article about the original Valorant characters.
Reyna’s Abilities
Here is how Valorant summarizes her abilities:
Leer (200 Creds) – Equip an ethereal eye. Activate to cast the eye a short distance forward, passing through obstructions. The eye will Nearsight all enemies who can see it. The eye will disappear after a few seconds, and can also be destroyed by enemies.
Devour (100 Credits – max of 4 slots shared with Dismiss) – Instantly consume a nearby Soul Orb, rapidly healing for 100 health over a short duration. Healing will stop if line of sight with the Soul Orb is broken or if Reyna takes damage. This ability can Overheal, though health exceeding 100 will decay after a duration and you cannot exceed 150 health (including shields).
If Empress is active, this skill will automatically cast, not consume the Soul Orb, and not require line of sight with the Soul Orb.
All of Reyna’s abilities are useful
Dismiss (100 Credits – max of 4 slots shared with Devour) – Instantly consume a nearby Soul Orb, becoming intangible and gaining movement speed for a short duration.
If Empress is active, also become invisible.
Ultimate: Empress (6 ult points) – Enter a frenzy for a moderate duration, increasing firing, equip and reload speed. Grants infinite charges of Soul Harvest abilities. Scoring a kill renews the duration.
Breakdown
A trait that sticks out instantly when reading about Reyna is that Devour and Dismiss share their ability slots with each other. This is probably because they both require the player to get a kill and absorb a ‘soul’ in order to use them. So how do you decide which one to use?
Devour
Here she is sucking health from a fallen foe
Frankly, Devour is the better of the two moves and should be used more often. It heals you fast enough that you can continue fighting no matter how quickly your opponents rotate. The armor that you may receive deteriorates over time, so you want to be aggressive while you have it. It should be noted that while you are absorbing your victim’s soul, there is a purple energy beam connecting you. This means that opponents can trace your location for those few seconds.
Dismiss
Notice the bar in the lower center of the screen which shows how much time you have left
Like we mentioned earlier, you should use Devour most of the time, but in circumstances where you get a kill and still have multiple enemies in sight, Dismiss is your best option. While using it, you are invulnerable to damage of any kind. But once it ends, there is a short animation that leaves you vulnerable to attack — so you need to make sure you get to a safe place before it runs out. If you use Dismiss while Reyna is also using her ultimate ability, she will go completely invisible, making it almost too easy to escape.
Leer
Here is what it looks like for opponents when Reyna uses Leer
In Valorant, a quarter of a second can be the difference between winning and losing an altercation. Leer will give you the advantage you need to win those battles. Unlike other flashes, Leer will continuously blind an opponent as long as the orb Reyna throws is within their eyesight. It’s also unique because if they shoot the orb, it goes away. But you can work around this. Most of the time, you will place the orb through a wall. When you place it, you just need to put it in a position away from where you will be entering. This will give you a chance to pop in and finish them before they can readjust their aim. When in doubt, just put it high into the air.
Empress (Ultimate)
While using her ultimate, enemies appear in bright red
Going into Empress mode is one of the best ultimates for taking down a team when you’re outnumbered. It increases your firing rate by 35% and when you get a kill, it automatically activates the Devour ability for free. And like we mentioned before, using Dismiss while using Reyna’s ultimate will make you invisible. Hopefully, now you’re seeing how you can use her abilities in tandem to become a force of havoc for the other team. If not, watch the video below for a better idea.
One last piece of advice for using Reyna is to always be aggressive. Whoever plays as her should get kills and get them early in rounds. We hope this guide gets you started on using this powerful character. You can download Valorant for free today.
