Killjoy is the fourth Agent to join the VALORANT PROTOCOL. Originating from Germany, she uses her self-made inventions to assist her in battle.
The genius of Germany. Killjoy secures the battlefield with ease using her arsenal of inventions. If the damage from her gear doesn't stop her enemies, her robots' debuff will help make short work of them.
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Lore[]
Killjoy is the 4th Agent to join the PROTOCOL. She is a young tech user and a genius, who uses various gadgets and bots of her own invention in combat. She is of German origin, (however, only one of her parents being of German ancestry[1]).
The focal point of Killjoy's personality is her incredible mind. She is without doubt the smartest Agent in the PROTOCOL, a fact that she is very well aware of. This manifests itself in a strong confidence in herself and her intelligence, not without a fair share of bragging. She is proud and willful, with a high feeling of self-importance.
She uses her various inventions both inside and outside combat to her advantage. All of her abilities are various pieces of highly advanced technology, that she uses on the battlefield to give her an edge. Killjoy controls all her abilities with a holographic bracelet on her left arm, with which she is able to summon or recall any of her bots.
Her primary bots are a Sentry Turret, which can stand in place[2] and fire damaging salvos at the enemy. Her other abilities are a pair of Nanoswarm Grenades that fit into the pockets of her Backpack, which can be activated from a distance to damage all enemies in the Radius. Her Alarmbot is a covert bot that can detect enemies that get too close. Her Ultimate is a special device that applies the Detained effect to all enemies in a large radius.
Killjoy's dossier provided by Fade during her period blackmailing the VALORANT PROTOCOL provides a significant amount of information about her past. Killjoy's breathtaking genius earned her a lot of awards and esteem, even becoming the lead of Kingdom's Research and Development division at the age of 18. She was a very successful inventor during this period of her life, however, she was (and still is, to a certain extent) also characterized by a rash irresponsibility for any of the consequences of her creations.
While it is implied that most of these consequences are a result of misuse by Kingdom, and they were not Killjoy's intentions when she made her inventions, Killjoy's utter inability to ensure the proper usage of her creations is still the core of the issue. She still holds some responsibility for all the harm done.
One of the more well-known representations of this is her infamous relationship with Reyna (see Relationships below for more details). Reyna has a terrible dislike for Killjoy, which is hinted to be because one of Killjoy's old inventions was used to harm someone close to her (assumedly Reyna's younger sister, Lucia). Killjoy herself did not, of course, intend for her creations to be used to harm others like this - indeed, it seems that she has no idea that her creations were used in this manner at all - but the harm has been done all the same.
However, despite her faults, Killjoy is still definitely a caring and sensitive person at heart. We see this most clearly in how she mourns the deaths of the scientists in the Everett-Linde facility (Fracture, before the disaster that took place there) in a Voicemail to Brimstone, bemoaning the loss of valuable research and scientific expertise in the explosion - note that, at this point, the PROTOCOL is still unaware that Chamber was responsible for the Everett-Linde Incident.
In her time between missions, Killjoy enjoys playing League of Legends (which apparently is still a popular game about 30 years in the future), playing it frequently and owning figurines of multiple champions. Killjoy also enjoyed Arcane, going as far as having it playing in the background on her laptop during the WARM UP cinematic.
Notable Inventions[]
In one voiceline, Killjoy boldly claims that she has 'built literally everything on this battlefield [...] even the things that might kill [them]'. This does, certainly, mean her own abilities and inventions, and likely a large amount of Kingdom tech found on the maps.
We also know that the respective Killjoys of Omega and Alpha Earth are responsible for having invented the Spike and the Defuser. From an Email sent to Brimstone by Chamber (visible in Brimstone's Office in Patch 4.10), we know that α-Killjoy has also managed to reverse-engineer the Spike in order to use it against Omega Earth.
Killjoy has also played a notable part in the PROTOCOL's own array of technology. Aside from designing gear such as Brimstone's Bracer and serving as one of the team's technical experts when needed to, she also works as its lead inventor, tasked with projects that require significant inventive skill.
The most clear example of this was her work in helping to create the Portal that let the PROTOCOL traverse over to Omega Earth. With the help of Neon, and some help in the form of functional schematics from Chamber, Killjoy was able to develop a safe, functioning, and reliable interdimensional teleportal, around which have centered almost the entirety of the PROTOCOL's aims throughout Episodes 4 and 5.
Nanobomb[]
Killjoy and Raze are canonically confirmed to be dating. To adequately explain the immense amount of information related to their relationship ('Nanobomb', borrowing the name used by the fanbase for their ship), it has been documented in its own page.
Omega Killjoy[]
The only time Omega Earth's counterpart of Killjoy has been seen canonically was in the REVELATION cinematic, and as such, very little is known about her. She was present in the plot sequence that took place at a Korean restaurant (with Ω-Jett and Ω-Raze), and given her behavior with Ω-Raze, it is probable that the two are dating just like their Alpha counterparts.
Dossier[]
Fade released a dossier about Killjoy in Patch 4.05:
The blackmailer begins by listing off Killjoy's prodigious achievements, describing the esteemed positions she held and the awards she earned. They state that two people, Zehra and Emil, would be proud of her.
However, they then begin discussing the downside of her genius: her inability to control what is done with her inventions, and her lack of responsibility for the harm they cause. They conclude, noting that she lives in a world of oblivious innocence, ignorant of the true extent of harm that her inventions have caused.
Appearance[]
Killjoy's appearance and behavior can both be described as 'nerdy'. She wears a short yellow jacket over a white T-Shirt. The shoulders of her jacket have pink crosses. She wears tight fitting pants (slightly torn on the right thigh), over which she has a yellow belt and a small waistbag. She wears a bright green beanie, and large, round Spectacles.
At times, Killjoy likes to decorate her various gadgets in different cosmetics[3], although these haven't made it in-game yet. Her default tech is a mix of sleek white, with some bits of orange. Her Lockdown has bits of blue as well. Her Turret has a yellow patch on top, which is decorated with an angry face.
In the WARM UP cinematic, Killjoy was shown wearing a more casual attire than her usual battle outfit. She had switched out her standard Yellow Jacket and T-Shirt for a more comfortable white hoodie. She was also wearing a different pair of pants that didn't have the normal tears over the right thigh.
Meaning of the name[]
Killjoy means someone who ruins the fun or someone who takes the joy out of something. According to a GameStar article on Killjoy interviewing writer Zach Betka, Killjoy's callsign originated from the team's response when they first met her.
"Her team saw how outstanding she was and they said, 'Dang, you are such a Killjoy!' (damn, you are such a spoilsport). And she says, 'I like the nickname, I'm keeping it.'"
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— Zach Betka, GameStar Article
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Klara comes from the late Latin name Clarus, it translates to “clear, bright, famous”
The surname Böhringer habitational name for someone from any of the three places in Baden-Württemberg named Böhringen.
Relationships[]
Killjoy and Brimstone share a very close bond, with Brimstone acting as a mentor and role model for Killjoy. Brimstone sometimes refers to Killjoy as "kid". Killjoy is implied to have made Brimstone's bracer. She assists Brim with the technology at times, as he seems to struggle with it quite often. It is implied that Brimstone has known Killjoy for a long time, even before she joined the PROTOCOL, likely since she was a child.
Killjoy expresses concern for Viper's depraved mind. While Killjoy acknowledges Viper's killer intelligence, she believes that Viper "needs to rest", driven so blindly as she is by her hatred. Killjoy also worries about how Viper has become biased in her testing. Viper, on the other hand, merely acknowledges Killjoy's intelligence and praises her for doing well. She does call Killjoy 'little mouse' on occasion.
When facing her double, Killjoy is fixated on besting herself. Killjoy also expresses satisfaction in finally finding an opponent who gives her a challenge.
Cypher and Killjoy are on good terms with each other, and coordinate together. She teases Cypher, claiming the quality of his gadgets is similar to what she did in kindergarten. Cypher has a history of stealing items from all Agents, and Killjoy is no exception. Cypher exhibits an odd 'fatherly' attitude towards her at times, refusing to show her around the dark web, stating that her innocence should be protected. He goes as far as to call her "sweetheart" and "little engineer."
Reyna has an obvious dislike towards tech users and looks down on anyone who isn't a Radiant, but she has a special hatred towards Killjoy. Reyna calls Killjoy "an offence to the Radiants"; snaps that, regardless of her bright mind, she shall never be a Radiant; and mocks her trait to hide behind bots. There was likely an event in Reyna's past that caused her to detest Killjoy. According to Reyna, there was something that happened to someone close to her (perhaps her little sister) due to Killjoy's machines. Killjoy appears oblivious to Reyna's malice.
Raze and Killjoy are very close together, and on 11th December 2022, were confirmed to be dating. Therefore to properly represent all the content relating to their relationship, it has been moved to the 'Nanobomb' article.
Killjoy recognizes Skye's strength, and trusts Skye to guide the way. However, the feeling isn't mutual: Skye looks down on Killjoy and her tech, considering it inferior to nature, often making sarcastic comments.
Yoru finds Killjoy and her gear obnoxious, making snarky remarks about her and insulting her tech. Killjoy doesn't seem particularly bothered by his opinions, but does insult his intelligence.
Cards[]
The VALORANT Killjoy card is a generic portrait of Killjoy.
The Nächtelang card shows Killjoy hanging out outdoors alongside her Alarmbot. A concert can be seen in the background.
The Vertraulich card provided a first look at all of Killjoy's abilities. It shows her Turret, Nanoswarm, and Alarmbot, all with lines crossed over them.
The Killjoy ID card is Killjoy's VALORANT PROTOCOL identification card.
The VERSUS // Raze + Killjoy card emphasizes the contrast between Killjoy and Raze
The Chill-Joy card shows Killjoy relaxing. In the background are League of Legends champions figurines, specifically of Vi and Yasuo.
The Mementos pt. 1 card shows Killjoy, Phoenix, Raze, Jett, Sova, and Brimstone gathered in informal clothes outside a shop in Ascent.
The 'Rainfall' Card shows Killjoy standing in the rain with her Alarmbot. Due to a glitch, the banner used to appear amusingly wide, causing the community to lovingly call the card 'Widejoy'. This glitch was fixed in Episode 4, Act 2.
The #SaveWideJoy card was made in response to the movement of the same name, launched to express the popular outrage of the community at the removal of the 'Widejoy' playercard glitch.
The WARM UP // Maxbot card shows the promotional poster for the WARM UP cinematic as an in-game playercard. It includes all of the Agents who were present in the cinematic (with the sole exception of Brimstone), one of whom was Killjoy.
The Operation: Vacation card shows Raze, Jett, Sage, Killjoy, Neon, and Brimstone all driving on a vacation.
The Legion card shows an issue from the comic series 'The VALORANT LEGION'. This issue's cover shows us five Agents; Brimstone, Viper, Omen, Killjoy, and Cypher. It can be found in-game at the Hi-Tide Comics shop in Pearl, near Defender Spawn
Voicelines[]
Find all of Killjoy's voicelines here
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Killjoy's Silhouette in the Dev Diary video
Killjoy's first teaser was the Vertraulich card (see Cards above), available in the Episode 1: Act 1 battlepass at Tier 48. This card started the trend of teasing future Maps and Agents with a playercard in the previous Act's battlepass, which continues unbroken to this day.
Later, in the What comes after launch? Dev Diary (released on VALORANT's official youtube channel on 29th June), we got our first look at Killjoy's silhouette in the projected timeline for updates in Episode 1.
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Later in Episode 1: Act 1, the Happy Store in Split got a slight update in its appearance. It now featured an advertisement poster on a wall, reading 'Best Shoes' in German (hinting at Killjoy's nationality), along with a blank silhouette of her.
A large cardboard cutout, with the same silhouette, was also placed in the store.
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Killjoy's Social Media teaser 'campaign' consisted of a single post[4] from the @PlayVALORANT twitter account, titled "Wer ist Sie?" (translating to: "Who is She?"). The post contained four images taken from her reveal trailer.
Notes[]
- Killjoy's working name in the files is "Killjoy". This makes her one of the three Agents in the game (alongside Phoenix[5] and Breach[6]) to have their Dev Codename and Callsign be the same.
- Although her exact age remains unspecified, Killjoy is known to be one of the youngest Agents in the PROTOCOL.
- Killjoy's Dossier mentions two unknown individuals, 'Zehra and Emil', who some assume to be Killjoy's parents. This aligns with what we know of Killjoy's ethnicity, being that only one of her parents is German - Emil is a German name, while Zehra is a common name in the MENA region.
- As with every other Agent, Killjoy has a Spotify playlist:
Sources[]
- Killjoy's Agent page Go
- Killjoy's Voicelines Go
- Carolina Ravassa's interview with Zach Betka Go
- Gamestar's interview with Zach Betka Go
References[]
- ↑ Killjoy's Ethnicity - Discord QnA Go
- ↑ In the cinematics (which are considered to be a more canon representation of the Agents than in-game), Killjoy was shown using a modified version of her turret that had legs and could walk around freely.
- ↑ Killjoy's decorated turret - Twitter Post Go
- ↑ The only teaser post - Twitter Go
- ↑ Phoenix may have been called Apollo for a short time in development, but his true codename has always been Phoenix.
- ↑ There is a misconception that Breach's codename was 'Crusader'. This is wrong - Crusader was a scrapped Agent, whose ability ideas were eventually passed on to Breach. The two aren't, and never have been, the same character.