Killjoy

• CNanoswarmdamage

  EQUIP a Nanoswarm grenade. FIRE to throw the grenade. Upon landing, the Nanoswarm goes covert. ALT FIRE to lob. ACTIVATE the Nanoswarm to deploy a damaging swarm of nanobots.

• QALARMBOTtrap

  EQUIP a covert Alarmbot. FIRE to deploy a bot that hunts down enemies that get in range. After reaching its target, the bot explodes and applies Vulnerable to enemies in the area. HOLD EQUIP to recall a deployed bot.

• ETURRETtrap

  EQUIP a Turret. FIRE to deploy a turret that fires at enemies in a 100 degree cone. While targeting, EQUIP again to swap turret direction, HOLD ALT FIRE to rotate. HOLD EQUIP to recall the deployed turret.

• XLockdowntrap

  EQUIP the Lockdown device. FIRE to deploy the device. After a long windup, the device Detains all enemies caught in the radius. The device can be destroyed by enemies.

Riot's notes from patch 1.01 to 13.06 change Killjoy in 10 patches. The latest is patch 13.00, published 2026-06-23.

1. Patch 13.002026-06-23

   TURRET

   • Rate of fire increased by 50%

   Nanoswarm

   • Duration increased from 4s to 5s.

   ALARMBOT

   • Movement speed increased by 50%.
   Why, in Riot's words

   Sentinels serve an important role in the VALORANT tactical loop by punishing attackers who ignore macro strategy and instead opt for repeated, low information 5-player site hits. We believe VALORANT is best when strategy is mixed. These changes are aimed at improving overall Sentinel power so they can better serve their purpose in keeping disrespectful attackers honest, as well as improve their kill potential when anchoring sites alone.

2. Patch 12.042026-03-03

   TURRET

   • Can now be rotated while holding down ALT-FIRE. ACTIVATE now swaps Turret direction.
   Why, in Riot's words

   We are adding quality of life updates to Turret placement that match the cast paradigm of Sage’s Barrier Orb. This will help Killjoy players to angle their Turrets more precisely, without needing to position themselves at specific angles to cover the area they want.

3. Patch 11.082025-10-14

   TURRET

   • Cooldown when destroyed increased from45s→to60s
   • Reactivation time for turret increased from0.5s→to2s
   • Turret movement tagging per bullet increased29.5%→to50%
   • NEW: Added a "windup" effect when Killjoy first re-enters the activation range

   ALARMBOT

   • Health decreased from 50 to 20
   • Reactivation time increased from1s→to2s
   • NEW: Added a "windup" effect when Killjoy first re-enters the activation range
   Why, in Riot's words

   We're increasing the counterplay around Killjoy's range restricted utilities, giving enemies more tells to maneuver around unattended utilities and asking KJ to make a sharper call on when to keep her utility active and when to reposition away from them.

4. Patch 7.042023-08-29

   XLockdown

   • Ultimate points increased8→to9
   Why, in Riot's words

   Thrash’s explosion had a little makeover to make it easier to see and understand the area it has affected (on top of being beautiful)

5. Patch 6.082023-04-25

   CNanoswarm

   • Nanoswarm reveal radius increased 350 >> 525
   • Nanoswarm audio has been updated.
   • Audio loop now also turns off when disabled as a result of Killjoy being killed or suppressed.
   • Improved feedback for the enemy when they destroy Nanoswarm.
   • Nanoswarm is now revealed when it is disabled.

   Other Abilities

   • Updated visuals for Killjoy’s ultimate Lockdown (X) being destroyed.
   • Removed the yellow warning UI Indicator for enemies Killjoy’s Lockdown (X).
   • Updated deactivate sounds for Killjoy’s Turret (E) and Alarmbot (Q) to make them more distinct.
   Why, in Riot's words

   As Killjoy has taken on a more prominent place in the meta, we’ve noticed a couple of areas where we could improve the ways her abilities interact with other players/the environment. We’ve done a pass on some of her audio cues to make them more distinct and make it clearer when her utility has been destroyed. In addition, we’ve increased the reveal radius on Nanoswarm (C) to better match its area of damage and make it more realistic for enemies that are moving methodically to track them down. We’ll be keeping a close eye on this balance point moving forward. Finally, we’ve removed the yellow warning indicator that was added to Lockdown (X) last patch, as it was too noisy on screen for the full duration of her ultimate winding up.

6. Patch 6.072023-04-11

   • Yellow indicator removed from Alarmbot (E)
   Why, in Riot's words

   In an effort to consolidate and make consistent our use of UI indicators throughout our roster, we’ve updated some abilities to have or not have UI indicators.

7. Patch 6.032023-02-14

   • Turret (E) health decreased125→to100
   • Lockdown (X) point cost increased7→to8
   Why, in Riot's words

   With Chamber’s recent balance and the increased reliability of Killjoy’s Lockdown ult, she has recently sprung up as the premier Sentinel Agent in the game. When we took on systemic damage and health interactions in Patch 5.12, we decided not to reduce Killjoy’s Turret health given her place in the ecosystem at the time. Given her place today, we are making the changes below.

   Reducing the total health of the Turret will allow for opponents to have an easier time destroying it, particularly with weaker weapons.

8. Patch 5.122022-12-06

   XLockdown

   • Health increased150→to200

   CNanoswarm

   • Health increased1→to20
   Why, in Riot's words

   We're back again with small Harbor buffs. It is hard to learn a new Controller smoke style and we hope these changes make it easier for Harbor's vision block to last long enough to finish executing with their team, while also providing wall smoke duration that’s on par with Viper. We’ll continue to monitor Harbor’s strength and see if we need to make any more waves. Chalo!

9. Patch 3.052021-09-08

   ETurret

   • Bullet tagging reduced 72.5% slow→to29.5% slow
   Why, in Riot's words

   Killjoy’s Turret is a versatile ability that provides information, chip damage, and a powerful slow. While manageable during mid to later rounds, the Turret can be especially oppressive on pistol rounds down longer sightlines, where the tagging intensity combined with weapon spread makes it challenging to press forward. These changes aim to slightly tone down the Turret’s ability to impede rushes, and give opponents more counterplay options.

10. Patch 1.052020-08-04

    • Killjoy brings her killer robot buddies and round spectacles to VALORANT
    • A new contract has been added to unlock Killjoy and her associated rewards

What role is Killjoy?

Sentinel. Riot describes the role: “Sentinels are defensive experts who can lock down areas and watch flanks, both on attacker and defender rounds.”

What are Killjoy’s abilities?

C — Nanoswarm, Q — ALARMBOT, E — TURRET and X — Lockdown, the last being the ultimate.

What does Killjoy’s ultimate do?

Lockdown, in Riot’s words: “EQUIP the Lockdown device. FIRE to deploy the device. After a long windup, the device Detains all enemies caught in the radius. The device can be destroyed by enemies.”

When did Riot last change Killjoy?

Patch 13.00, published 2026-06-23 — the latest of 10 patches that change Killjoy in Riot’s notes from 1.01 to 13.06.

Is Killjoy changed in patch 13.06?

No. Nothing in Riot’s patch 13.06 notes names Killjoy.

Which other Sentinels are there?

6 more in Riot’s current roster: Chamber, Cypher, Deadlock, Sage, Veto and Vyse.