KAY/O is the kind of Agent that seemed weak at first, but now we all see that this character has virtually no weaknesses. If the rest of your team composition is on point, having this Agent in the current metagame is a huge advantage. That said, let's see how to use him!
KAY/O is a war machine that was created to neutralize radiants specifically. His entire persona is based on disabling Agents' abilities and limiting the opposing team's gameplay to shooting only. KAY/O is undoubtedly an annoying Agent to play around with, especially since it usually requires you to use your abilities inefficiently and therefore lose some value of your credits and ultimate points.
KAY/O Abilities Explained
Q Ability: FRAG/ment (Cost: 200 Credits, Charges: 1)
The first KAY/O skill is a combination of the classic grenade and molotov. The ability consists in throwing a ball that creates a magnetic field after contact with the ground. Any character within the range of this magnetic field takes damage with each explosion. There are 4 explosions, and the closer you are to the center of the magnetic field, the more damage you get.
The interval between explosions is exactly one second, and damage per tick ranges from 60 to 25, depending on how close to the center of the magnetic field the character is.
C Ability: FLASH/drive (Cost: 250 Credits, Charges: 2)
Another KAY/O skill is the flashbang, almost identical to that of CS:GO. It's just a basic flashbang that you can throw both far (left-click) and near (right-click).
However, there is a difference in the flashbang explosion time depending on how you throw it. Left-click throw will take 1.6 seconds, and right-click will only take 1 second. KAY/O is the only character in the game you can do this classic pop-flash plays with.
E Ability: ZERO/point (Signature Ability, Restock: 40 seconds)
Now let's get to the skill that is the core of the entire KAY/O's character. ZERO/point ability is an ability that consists of throwing a knife that attaches to a wall and generates a magnetic field for 1 second. All enemy characters within range of this field will be suppressed, so all of their abilities will be disabled for 8 seconds, and like we mentioned before, their entire gameplay will be limited to just shooting.
Moreover, you also reveal the presence of all Agents who came within range of the magnetic field generated by your knife, and although you cannot see their exact location, you know they were nearby. It is also worth mentioning that this knife (like Sova's arrows), can be destroyed. However, because the magnetic field generated by this ability reaches even Agents behind a wall, it reduces the risk of the knife being destroyed.
Ultimate Ability: NULL/cmd (7 Ult Points)
Ultimate Ability KAY/O is such a ZERO/point on steroids. For the duration of this ability, KAY/O becomes overloaded. That means that every 3 seconds, you generate a magnetic field with a range of 42.5 meters, which disables all your opponents' abilities for 4 seconds. Moreover, you also get the following buffs:
- +15% Fire rate
- +10% Reload speed
- +10% Recovery speed
But that's not all! You can also get revived when you are killed if one of your teammates stands by to reset you. While you're down, you still generate the magnetic field for 15 seconds, and if by that time nobody from your team resets you, you die. Enemies can also play around the reset by dealing your downed copy 850 damage, and then you also end up dying.
How To Attack With KAY/O?
KAY/O is a great Agent to help your Duelists get into the site, especially with his Signature Ability. You just throw a knife, maybe even support your teammates with a flashbang and let them grab their frags. Moreover, if there is a position that you might want to check to secure your Duelists, you can do it with your FRAG/ment!
That said, KAY/O is a great Agent for the attacking side, especially in rush situations; not only will your team usually have a number advantage, but the fact that enemies won't have access to any abilities is also considerable.
How To Defend With KAY/O?
All KAY/O's abilities work equally well defensively, especially against aggressive strategies and rushes. FRAG/ment can significantly delay the rush from the enemy team and therefore give your teammates some time to rotate.
And of course, his Signature Ability significantly limits your opponents' options; after all, they won't be able to cast any lineups for 8 seconds and knowing that they plan to rush to a specific Spike Site will give you and your teammates some time to prepare.
The Best Maps For KAY/O
Even if you are not KAY/O mains, this Agent is relatively easy to play, so you may want to try it on the following maps:
Breeze
KAY/O works excellently for covering wide areas. Why? In long-range encounters, players most often choose to use their abilities, yet we can turn them off with just a click. That said, he just rocks on Breeze by default.
Plus, Breeze is a very skillful map where you can frequently win several rounds just with lineups, and some are really hard to counter. However, our Signature and Ultimate abilities are the best counterplays for lineups we can imagine, making KAY/O a premium pick on Breeze.
Icebox
As for Icebox, the situation is almost identical to Breeze. Long-rage encounters are the bread and butter of this map, and just knowing the lineups greatly increases your chances of winning.
Is it a better Initiator pick than Sova? Maybe not necessarily, but with the suitable playstyle, KAY/O can be his great counter, as Sova is actually one of the most frequently picked Agents on this map.
Haven
Haven is a map with popular Agents whose role is crucial in team comp because of their skills (especially for smokers like Brimstone and Viper). That said, it would be nice to have a counter to this, and you are unlikely to find a better one than KAY/O.
Good smokes on Haven are one of the most important things, and when your team comp includes KAY/O, the opposing team has to play around his ability kit and maybe even cast slightly less optimal smokes.
Alright, that would be it for this guide. As you can see, KAY/O is a valuable and versatile character who can be your meta pick if you are into Initiators, especially if Sova is not your thing. Make sure to check out our other guides and follow us on Instagram andTikTok!