Iso

* Artwork
* Theme text

## Additional Pages

• Iso/Quotes
 **Lore Wiki Article**

— Official description

**Iso** is an Agent in *VALORANT* and the seventh Duelist to be released.

* Biography
* Timeline of events

Chinese hitman Li Zhao Yu is a radiant with the ability to transmute ambient, intangible radianite energy into solid, durable constructs. A former assassin for the Scions of Hourglass, Li gained a fearsome reputation for his high effectiveness. Though it was said that anyone who would go up against him would disappear for good, rumors still spread beyond about the "Dead Lilac", a bulletproof wizard who could take out entire squads with one round and condemn targets to their fate in a flash of purple.

Li had been crossing off targets related to Kingdom Corporation's Project Landfall when one day the Scions of Hourglass changed focus and gave him a new target: a former assassin of theirs known as "Ghost", who they had just discovered was now the phantom agent of the VALORANT Protocol called Omen. To make matters more convenient, VALORANT themselves had also put themselves in a position where Li had become of interest to them anyway. The organization had attacked a Landfall facility just before Li's last assignment, and they were now investigating the unrelated disappearance of Landfall's leadership, people Li had been assassinating. When a contact from the Protocol reached out to ask for his cooperation, Li saw this as his opportunity to get to Omen. Pretending to defect from the Scions of Hourglass, Li was extracted by the Protocol and recruited as its twenty-fourth agent, "Iso".

With Iso and the orders from his superiors being responsible for the disappearances they had been investigating, VALORANT was eager to know as much about the Scions of Hourglass as possible. Iso made sure at first to stick to his mission and relent against their inquiries, constantly claiming that the compartmentalized nature of the SoH's operations meant he didn't have much intel to give them, all while he was biding his time for the right moment to strike and take out Omen. But the longer Iso stayed among the Protocol agents, the more he started to see the differences between the two organizations. In contrast to the SoH's ruthless missions and isolated work, VALORANT's agents had a brightness to them both in the field with their pride in their mission and out of the field in the time they spent with one another. Going through the process of becoming a VALORANT agent had just been a means to an end for Iso, but in getting to know the organization more his perspective had now been completely changed.

Turning his apparent defection from a deception into reality, Iso fully embraced his allegiance to the Protocol. With Omen having been obsessed over Iso's links to his forgotten past ever since he had arrived, Iso proceeded to inform him about the assassination order. With more intel he was able to provide, he also joined VALORANT's efforts to assist Omen in his pursuit for answers, leading them to a successful mission against the Scions of Hourglass at a base in Jakarta, taking out Iso's old boss in the process. With Omen satisfied for the meantime with what he learned there, Iso now continues as an agent of the VALORANT Protocol with a new purpose, no longer a killer to be controlled, but a force of good.

#### LI ZHAO YU: Early Life

* Li works for the Scions of Hourglass as an assassin.
	+ He gains notoriety on his missions targeting people connected to research related to Kingdom Corporation's Project Landfall, earning the nickname the "Dead Lilac".
* Li eliminates a group of Landfall personnel shortly after an attack on Kingdom Corporation's Los Angeles facility.
	+ After completing this mission, the Scions of Hourglass give him his next target: Omen, an ex-employee.
* Li is contacted by the VALORANT Protocol.
	+ Seeing this as a way to get to Omen directly, he pretends to defect from the Scions of Hourglass and agrees to cooperate with VALORANT in exchange for protection against the SoH.

#### Iso: VALORANT agent

* Recruited as its twenty-fourth agent.
* Iso contacts Brimstone as he settles into the organization.
* Iso keeps on being asked about the Scions of Hourglass by Cypher, despite Iso claiming to him that he has informed him of everything he knew already.
* Iso contacts Brimstone as he reflects on the differences between working for the Scions of Hourglass and VALORANT.
* Iso chooses to truly defect from the Scions of Hourglass and proceeds to inform Omen about their assassination order on him.
* Iso is assigned as a member of the Jakarta strike team.
	+ He and Cypher first travel to Casablanca and take down a Scions of Hourglass cell there to obtain intel on the location of his former boss, which they learn is at an SoH skyscraper base in Jakarta.
	+ In Jakarta, he is tasked with a supportive role while Omen enters the base alone.

### Personality

— Iso (Match Start)

Iso has a relatively laid back and confident personality, yet there's something mysterious about him due to not much being known about his early life. He enjoys listening to music while in combat, almost identically to Raze. He can be arrogant sometimes, as he prefers to take on one-on-one fights against his enemies rather than five-on-five. Despite this, he still fights alongside his team, and plans strategies to outplay his enemies.

### Appearance

Iso wears an overall white-colored hoodie, with dark purple colors reaching to his collar, along with some markings at the back, as well as a pair of purple-colored sneakers with red laces, white midsoles and black outsoles. He has black hair, and what appears to be a bandage on his right cheek, and has earbuds in his ears.

## Abilities

### Basic

C – Contingency

EQUIP to assemble prismatic energy. FIRE to push an indestructible wall of energy forward that blocks bullets.

**Uses:** 1
**Cost:** 200
**Duration:**  4.6 s (minimum at full size)

Q – Undercut

EQUIP a molecular bolt. FIRE to throw it forward, applying a brief FRAGILE to all players it touches. The bolt can pass through solid objects, including walls.

**Uses:** 2
**Cost:** 200
**Debuff:**  4 s Vulnerable

### Signature

E – Double Tap

START a focus timer. Once completed, enter a flow state during which downed enemies you kill or damage generate an energy orb. Shooting this orb grants you a shield which absorbs one instance of damage from any source.

**Uses:** 2
**Cost:** 150
**Windup:**  1.2 s
**Duration:**  20 s
**Buff:**  +25% Reload speed

### Ultimate

X – Kill Contract

EQUIP an interdimensional arena. FIRE to hurl a column of energy through the battlefield, pulling you and the first enemy hit into the arena. You and your opponent duel to the death.

**Ult Points:**♦♦♦♦♦♦♦ 7
**Windup:**  2.9 s
**Duration:**  13 s

## Agent Cosmetics

The following are cosmetics related to Iso from Agent Gear and from other sources (e.g. Battle Pass).

### Gear

*More information: Gear*

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

## Update History

**v8.01**
* Double Tap
	+ Shootable orb duration increased 2 >>> 3 seconds
	+ Initial buff and shield duration increased 15 >>> 20
	+ Shield width reduced 120 >>> 100
* Contingency
	+ Cost reduced 250 >>> 200

**v7.09**

* Added

## Trivia

### Development

* An early leak for Iso's basic and signature abilities was present in the game files from 7.0, where their codenames and mode-specific cooldowns were listed in a file containing data for Team Deathmatch ability cooldowns.
* Iso's use of hexagonal designs is inspired by the structural stability of hexagons in natural designs.
* Double Tap's shield application had multiple iterations during development:
	+ One version gave the shield instantly upon getting takedowns, but this interfered with instincts when trading where an enemy thought they would have killed Iso and transferred off but Iso would gain the shield off a takedown in that time and survive instead.
	+ Another version had a brief delay before the shield would automatically activate after a takedown, but this felt too non-responsive.

## Gallery

Iso teaser appearing on SunsetMYTHSRECKONING posterRECKONINGExpression sheet
## References

1. ↑ MYTHS
2. ↑ 7.08 Cypher email
3. ↑ EP 8 Act 1 Dev Livestream: Iso's original loyalty to the Scions of Hourglass
4. ↑ 7.09 Iso voicemail
5. ↑ 7.10 Iso voicemail
6. ↑ 7.12 Iso voicemail
7. ↑ RECKONING Twitter Teaser
8. ↑ RECKONING
9. ↑ Iso TDM ability leak
10. ↑ EP7 Act 3 Dev Livestream: Intent behind Iso's hexagonal designs
11. ↑ EP7 Act 3 Dev Livestream: Double Tap during development
12. ↑ RECKONING poster