Valorant Clove Team: Role, Abilities, and Team Fit

Clove is a Scottish Controller agent in Valorant who helps a team take and hold space with smoke screens, while also offering a way to keep contributing after death. In a team, Clove is usually picked to block enemy sightlines, support an attack or retake, and create opportunities for teammates to take fights.

Clove’s role on a Valorant team

Valorant’s agents are grouped into four roles: Duelist, Initiator, Controller, and Sentinel. Clove is a Controller. Controllers shape the map by limiting what opponents can see, making it safer for their team to move through exposed areas or contest a site.

Clove is often described as an aggressive or self-sufficient Controller, but that does not change the core job: use smokes to help the team. Their kit rewards taking part in fights, and Clove can be a practical choice for a player who wants to help with map control without playing only from the back of the group.

• Primary team job: obscure important sightlines with smoke.
• Additional value: weaken enemies, assist with a temporary combat boost, and potentially return to play after being eliminated.
• Common fit: a team that wants its Controller to take fights alongside the entry players.

How Clove’s abilities work

Clove’s abilities are named Pick-Me-Up, Meddle, Ruse, and Not Dead Yet. Their interactions make more sense when considered as team tools rather than as a substitute for a Duelist or a second Controller.

• Pick-Me-Up: After Clove gets a kill or damaging assist, they can absorb a nearby fallen enemy’s life force to gain a temporary combat boost and recover health. This can help Clove continue a fight, but it depends on first earning the takedown or assist.
• Meddle: Clove throws a fragment that bursts after landing, affecting enemies in its area with decay. It can make a contested position harder for enemies to hold, especially when teammates are ready to follow up.
• Ruse: Clove deploys smoke clouds that block vision. A notable feature is that Clove can use Ruse after being eliminated, provided its availability and placement conditions allow it. The smoke interface is not identical to every other Controller’s, so players should learn its map view and range in practice.
• Not Dead Yet: Clove can activate this ultimate after being eliminated and temporarily return to a living state. To remain alive, Clove must secure a kill or damaging assist within the ultimate’s time limit; otherwise, they are eliminated again. The ultimate is therefore a chance to re-enter the round, not an automatic resurrection.

Ability charges, timings, and other balance details can change in game updates. Check the current in-game ability descriptions for exact values rather than relying on an old guide.

What Clove contributes after death

Clove’s most unusual team feature is the ability to use Ruse after death. A fallen Clove may still be able to place useful smoke for living teammates, helping them cross a sightline, plant the Spike, or retake a site. This can make Clove valuable even when an early fight goes badly.

That benefit has limits. A dead Clove cannot move to gather information, trade a teammate’s fight, or adjust position like a living Controller. Smokes placed after death should support a clear team plan; a poorly timed cloud can obscure an ally’s view or leave another dangerous angle uncovered. The ultimate is separate: it gives Clove a temporary chance to return, but requires a qualifying kill or damaging assist to avoid being eliminated again.

How to choose Clove for your composition

Clove is worth considering when your team wants a Controller who can play close to the action and when the map’s key approaches can be covered with Clove’s smoke placement. Their self-revive-style ultimate and post-death smokes can also offer flexibility in rounds where a fight is likely to become chaotic.

Before locking Clove, ask whether the team has a workable plan for the map and round:

• Do you have the main smoke role covered? If Clove is the only Controller, the team still needs timely smokes for attacks, defenses, and retakes.
• Can teammates use Meddle? Its value rises when an ally can pressure the affected area rather than letting enemies simply wait it out.
• Does the team need another kind of utility? Clove does not replace an Initiator’s information-gathering tools or a Sentinel’s defensive setup.
• Will Clove’s fight-oriented style suit the player? The kit can reward involvement in engagements, but smoke placement and survival remain important responsibilities.

In solo queue, Clove can be appealing because the agent can contribute smokes without requiring every teammate to coordinate a complex setup. Still, communication helps: tell allies which angles are covered and when a smoke is about to fade or be placed.

Clove compared with other Controllers

All Controllers aim to shape visibility, but they do it differently. Brimstone places a limited set of map-targeted smokes, Omen can place smokes at range and has teleportation tools, and Viper uses toxic fuel and deployable vision-blocking utility. Astra’s utility is planned through stars and can require more coordination. These broad distinctions are useful, but balance changes and map layouts affect which agent is strongest in a particular situation.

Clove stands out for pairing conventional smoke support with a kit that encourages participation in fights and offers utility after elimination. That does not mean Clove is always better than another Controller. A map may favor a particular smoke pattern, and a coordinated team may prefer an agent whose utility fits its strategy. Choose based on the team’s needs and your comfort using the agent’s tools, not just the novelty of the ultimate.

Common mistakes and misconceptions

• Treating Clove as a Duelist: Clove can take fights, but the team still needs the Controller to block sightlines at the right moments.
• Assuming the ultimate guarantees survival: Not Dead Yet requires a kill or damaging assist within its temporary window.
• Using smokes without a purpose: A smoke should help a specific move, deny a threat, or support a retake. Poor placement may hinder allies as well as enemies.
• Expecting a post-death smoke to replace a living player: It can provide vision denial, not movement, gunfire, scouting, or flexible decision-making.
• Ignoring current patch details: Ability costs and balance values may be adjusted. Use the current game client for exact mechanics.

Frequently Asked Questions

What role is Clove in Valorant?
Clove is a Controller. Their main team responsibility is using Ruse smokes to block sightlines and support movement or site control.

Can Clove use smokes after dying?
Yes. Clove can use Ruse after elimination, allowing a dead Clove to provide smoke support to living teammates. This does not let Clove move or use other abilities as if still alive.

Can Clove revive themselves?
Not Dead Yet lets Clove temporarily return after elimination. Clove must get a kill or damaging assist before the temporary effect ends, or they are eliminated again.

Is Clove good as the only Controller?
Clove can fill the Controller slot, but success depends on the map, the team’s plan, and whether their smoke coverage suits the round. Teams should not assume the agent’s combat tools remove the need for deliberate smoke use.

Should a beginner play Clove?
Clove can be approachable for players who want to take fights while learning Controller responsibilities. Beginners should still practice smoke placement and understand that the team depends on those smokes at key moments.

What is Clove’s best team strategy?
Use Ruse to cover dangerous sightlines for an entry, plant, defense, or retake; coordinate Meddle with a teammate’s pressure; and treat Pick-Me-Up and Not Dead Yet as opportunities to extend a fight rather than guaranteed wins.

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