VALORANT's new Agent Gekko: abilities & best team comps

Looking to master the new VALORANT Agent Gekko and his little pets? This extensive guide helps you get familiar with Gekko’s abilities, strengths, and weaknesses, the best Agents to pair him for the best VALORANT team comps, and its impact on the current VALORANT meta.

The second act of VALORANT's Episode 6 has arrived, bringing with it a new Battle Pass, the eagerly awaited Oni 2.0 package, and, most importantly, a new Agent by the name of Gekko.

Before we go ahead, do you know that Stryda has a free VALORANT Battle Pass on top of you in-game Battle Pass? Complete our daily Missions and compete in our weekly Ladders to get rewarded with gift cards for your GGs! 

Where is Gekko from?

Hailing from Los Angeles, Gekko is the game’s third American character and sixth initiator Agent. The new character is of Mexican-American ancestry, but the American culture in which he was raised is reflected in his sense of style, as evidenced by his love of skateboards and basketball as well as his use of social media to create reels of his own life.

Gekko has an amazing collection of pets, thanks to Riot Games' developers. The Agent depends on his pets for his utility and can reuse them in the same round, which is a unique way to introduce a character of that type to the game.

Gekko’s Overview and abilities

Image Credit: Riot Games

Let’s start from the basics: what is the new VALORANT agent Gekko role? Gekko is an initiator, which means he has special skills that allow him to access sites and exploit them to his advantage. Although Gekko belongs to the same group as Sova, Skye, Breach, KAY/O, and Fade, his skills are very distinct from them. 

The arrival of Gekko has given the game's players a new set of challenging situations to overcome. His pets not only reflect his eccentric personality, but they are also challenging to defeat in the current meta.

Gekko's four skills are named after his pet animals, and the majority of his general utility kit focuses on damage. Among these are the abilities of stun and detection, which should provide him with some crucial intel and cover as he enters the conflict.

Moreover, he can remotely detonate or implant bombs by commanding one of his monster friends to carry out the task. All of this should give Gekko one of the most distinctive kits in VALORANT so far, but you may need to spend some time and effort practicing to understand his abilities.

For your convenience, we have compiled a handy guide on how you can master Gekko using all of his abilities and strategies so that you can save yourself all the time and hassle. 

Gekko’s all abilities explained

Gekko ability Dizzy (E):

Image Credit: Riot Games

Gekko’s first ability is Dizzy, which unleashes plasma blasts at enemies in line of sight, blinding them for a short time.

Dizzy becomes a dormant globule, which is fancy jargon for a little orb when they have completed their flight. After a brief cooldown, you will regain another charge of Dizzy if you can interact with the orb.

As soon as an enemy is detected, Dizzy can blind a large number of them in any direction, making it ideal for clearing corners or navigating large spaces. It works well at breaking up fights and helping the team with creative escape plans.

Although the enemy is temporarily rendered blind by Dizzy's plasma shot, it sticks to their face. Players who are impacted can still see a portion of the in-game world in their peripheral vision, but their frontal line of sight is momentarily obscured.

While other initiators like Skye, KAY/O, and Breach can blind their opponents for long periods, their flash abilities require more practice to master. On the other hand, Gekko can use Dizzy to clear away corners and assist his team in entering a location without having to use complex VALORANT strategies.

Dizzy isn't a traditional location-revealing ability, but players can still see the direction in which the creature shoots its plasma blast, indicating an enemy's location. Dizzy is challenging to evade, but since it only has 20 HP, it can be destroyed by enemies without too many troubles.

Gekko ability Wingman (Q):

Image Credit: Riot Games

Wingman, Gekko's Q ability, can be used to send his pet creature in the direction of an enemy, where it will subsequently launch a concussive blast at the first foe it encounters.

Gekko's Wingman and Skye's Trailblazer are somewhat comparable in that they both have a concussive effect. Skye, however, has complete control of her Tasmanian Tiger, while Gekko has only limited authority over his Wingman.

Also, unlike Gekko's Wingman, Skye can deal 30 HP of damage to her opponent when she comes into direct contact with Trailblazer. Alternatively, if you have a spike in your inventory, you can send Wingman to a spike site to plant it there or to neutralize a spike that has already been placed. 

As this operates entirely independently of Gekko, you can be holding an angle to defend Wingman while he wins the round for you. This is unquestionably the highlight of the entire ability package, and the player base appears to be well aware of it. It effectively creates a six-man squad by releasing someone from the obligation of planting or defusing the spike.

Gekko ability Mosh Pit (C): 

Image Credit: Riot Games

The next item in Gekko's arsenal is a delayed molly ability called Moshpit, which can be deployed to protect critical entry points. Much like KAY/O’s incendiary power, it can bounce off of the map's surface and spread out in a big area. It has three quick eruptions that can do a total of 150 damage once it hits the ground.

Since the Moshpit only deals temporary damage and remains harmless during the spread, it seems to be Gekko's least effective ability. It can neither be used to drive out opponents nor prevent the spike from being neutralized in post-plant scenarios. Also, Mosh cannot be retrieved after use, unlike Gekko's other abilities.

However, if enemies choose to remain inside the Mosh Pit's inner radius, it can do a significant amount of damage and will eventually kill them. The Mosh pit can take away 75 HP of the enemy in the outer radius, which can occasionally be fatal. 

Gekko ability Thrash (X): 

Image Credit: Riot Games

Rounding out Gekko’s abilities is his ultimate, Thrash. Similar to one of Skye's wolves, the player can send Thrash out and control it. When Gekko spots an enemy, he can trigger Thrash, which causes him to leap toward it and explode, detaining everyone caught in its brief radius for six seconds. On the flip side, Thrash is vulnerable to enemy attack, but due to its 200 HP, it can withstand significant damage.

Like Mosh, Thrash will also transform into an orb after use and can be claimed again, but unlike the other abilities, you can only do so once per round. If used properly, this enormous power has the potential to alter the course of the game. Due to its incredible power, farming the ultimate for Gekko might turn into a side goal for the team.

You must be well acquainted with the maps of VALORANT to utilize each of Gekko's abilities to their best potential. To stay ahead of the game and make the most of each round you play on VALORANT, be sure to read our in-depth guides for Fracture, Lotus, Haven, Pearl, and Ascent.

The top VALORANT Agents to pair with Gekko for best team comps

Best team comps VALORANT: Skye x Gekko 

Image Credit: Riot Games

Considering their nature, Gekko's abilities would work more effectively with Skye's assistance. This team can cause a lot of damage with their skills on assaulting maps like Haven and Lotus, clearing the way for the Duelists to take out enemies with ease quickly.

In the attacking half, for instance, after Gekko utilizes Dizzy to disclose and blind the opponent, Skye can use her Guiding Light to further blind the opponent and take complete control of the situation. Once the blinded enemies have been eliminated, other teammates can quickly and safely clear the area and secure the site in the post-plant situation. 

Best team comps VALORANT: JETT x Gekko 

Image Credit: Riot Games

For an agent with such a dynamic utility toolkit, you want someone who can play the aggressive entry, so Gekko doesn't have to be in the spotlight all the time. Gekko is an aggressive initiator, and he can swiftly open a way for his squad to infiltrate the site.

When Gekko successfully lands blinds and stuns, Jett can take out those opponents while they're still vulnerable and facilitate easy entry for the rest of the team. If Jett chooses to utilize the Operator aggressively and wants to get away with multiple kills, a variation of this kind of technique might also be effective on both the defensive and offensive sides of a VALORANT map.

Gekko’s impact on VALORANT’s meta

As a result of his unique abilities, Gekko has gained a great deal of popularity from fans and has begun to dominate ranked play. According to public data, he is above the 50% win rate threshold and is quite evenly distributed across all tiers. 

Gekko has amassed one of the highest win percentages of any initiator in the game now that players have gotten the hang of him. He is presently ranked fourth with a win percentage of about 51%, only after Killjoy, Viper, and Phoenix, according to the data website dak.gg. Gekko's win percentage in high-ranked games varies between 50% and 51%, with a little nudge toward Diamond.

The fact that Gekko's kit deviates from the conventional ability-recharging mechanisms is one of the main causes of the high rate of success. Wingman, Dizzy, and Thrash can be easily recollected by Gekko in the form of globules, and retrieving them will start a 10-second cooldown on that ability.

If Riot does not decide to nerf Gekko instantly, it will surely lead to some outstanding plays and potentially a complete shift in the meta. If Gekko is mastered, the new Agent will unquestionably seize the top spot as an Initiator within VALORANT's ranks. 

To do this, players must discover a few new qualities and ability combinations that mesh well with the team's overall strategy and the skills of other agents who are dominating the meta, such as Killjoy and Jett.

Final Verdict ON THE NEW VALORANT AGENT GEKKO

Image Credit: Riot Games

Other than being a unique addition to the game's initiators class, we think Gekko is also one of the most amazing Agents to have been introduced to VALORANT in recent times. While the vast majority of gamers and VALORANT pros were seen applauding the new agent, some believe that Gekko's toolbox is ineffective and that each of his skills has its limitations. 

Wingman, for instance, can plant the Spike, but enemies can also shoot it down. Similar to this, Gekko's Thrash ability can be ineffective against skilled opponents because it only works if the agent can hit an enemy with it. 

Overall, the majority of the early community feedback on Gekko's toolkit is positive, while the negative criticism suggests that his skills are not viable on a professional level. So there you have it, our Gekko guide to mastering the initiator in VALORANT. 

Once you have mastered Gekko, you can compete in Stydra's weekly Ladders to test your mettle against other talented players, and get rewarded with gift cards as you complete our free VALORANT Battle Pass.