Best Clove Agent Guide & Tips (2026) — Valorant

Clove is Valorant's Scottish controller who refuses to let death end their contribution to the round — deploying smokes from beyond the grave and even resurrecting themselves to rejoin the fight. Whether you're picking up Clove for the first time or looking to push your aggressive controller play to the next level in ranked, this guide covers everything you need to dominate with Clove in 2026.

Clove Overview

Clove operates as an aggression-forward controller who excels at combining traditional smoke utility with a uniquely death-defiant playstyle that keeps them contributing even after being eliminated. Their signature ability Ruse opens a map view and deploys smoke clouds at targeted locations — and crucially, this ability can be activated even while dead, meaning Clove can continue providing smokes for their team from beyond the grave. Meddle throws a fragment of immortality essence that decays all enemies within its area of effect, reducing their maximum health temporarily and making them significantly easier to kill in subsequent gunfights. Pick-Me-Up is activated after getting a kill or assist, granting Clove temporary haste and health — rewarding aggressive plays and allowing them to chain fights with momentum. Their ultimate Not Dead Yet allows Clove to resurrect themselves after dying, but they must secure a kill or assist within a short time window or they die again permanently. The defining quality of Clove is that death is not the end — they continue providing value through post-death smokes and can even come back to life, making them the most death-resilient agent in Valorant.

Strengths

• Post-death utility — Ruse can be activated while dead, meaning Clove continues providing smokes for the team even after being eliminated, unlike every other controller
• Aggressive controller playstyle — Pick-Me-Up rewards getting kills with haste and health, encouraging Clove to play forward and take fights rather than hiding behind smokes
• Self-resurrection ultimate — Not Dead Yet gives Clove a second chance every few rounds, effectively creating a numbers advantage when the resurrection succeeds
• Decay pressure — Meddle's decay effect reduces enemy health before fights begin, giving Clove's team a damage advantage in every engagement within the affected area

Weaknesses

• Resurrection is conditional — Not Dead Yet requires a kill or assist within the time limit, meaning failed resurrections waste the ultimate and Clove dies again with no value gained
• Smokes are temporary — Ruse smokes have a shorter duration than Omen's or Brimstone's, requiring more frequent redeployment and leaving gaps in coverage
• Pick-Me-Up requires kills — the haste and health buff only activates on kills or assists, making it useless in rounds where Clove can't secure eliminations
• No escape tool — unlike Omen's teleport or Brimstone's utility-from-safety playstyle, Clove has no repositioning ability and must commit fully to aggressive positions

Recommended Weapons

Based on data from over 10,000 ranked Clove matches tracked on dodge.gg, here are the highest winrate weapon choices by economy phase.

Full Buy Rounds

• Phantom — Clove's aggressive playstyle means they're frequently pushing through their own smokes and taking close-to-mid range fights. The Phantom's tracerless bullets let Clove spray through smoke edges without revealing their position, and the higher fire rate wins the close-range duels that Clove's forward positioning demands. When enemies are decayed by Meddle, the Phantom's body shot damage is often enough to secure kills without needing headshots
• Vandal — On maps with longer sightlines where Clove can use smokes to isolate angles and hold one-tap positions, the Vandal's consistent headshot damage at all ranges shines. After deploying smokes with Ruse, Clove often holds the gaps between smokes — the Vandal rewards this angle-holding playstyle with guaranteed one-shot headshots on decayed enemies peeking through
• Stinger — An unconventional pick that synergizes with Clove's ultra-aggressive style. After securing a kill and activating Pick-Me-Up, the haste buff lets Clove close distance rapidly — the Stinger's devastating close-range fire rate shreds enemies before they can react to the speeding Clove bearing down on them

Force Buy Rounds

• Spectre — Clove's value on force rounds comes from their smokes and Meddle decay, both of which function regardless of weapon investment. The Spectre's affordability lets Clove buy full utility while maintaining lethal close-range damage when pushing through their own smokes — a playstyle Clove excels at
• Marshal — Clove can use Ruse smokes to isolate specific angles and create safe peeking positions, then hold those angles with the Marshal's accurate long-range shots. Decayed enemies peeking through smoke gaps at reduced health are easy one-shot Marshal headshot kills

Eco Rounds

• Ghost — Clove's eco rounds are stronger than most controllers' because Meddle's decay tips gunfight math in their favor even with pistols. A Ghost headshot on a decayed enemy often secures the kill outright, and the Ghost's accuracy at medium range pairs well with Clove's smoke-gap holding playstyle
• Shorty — For the most aggressive eco play possible, Clove can smoke a chokepoint, push through their own smoke with a Shorty, and one-shot enemies at point-blank range. If Clove dies, Ruse can still be activated to provide smokes for the remaining teammates — making the aggressive play low-risk for the team even if it costs Clove's life

Ability Usage

Meddle (C) — 250 credits, 1 charge

Meddle is Clove's decay grenade — it throws a fragment of immortality essence that applies a temporary decay effect to all enemies within its area, reducing their current and maximum health for a short duration. Decayed enemies take the same damage from gunfire but have less health to absorb it, making every gunfight within the decay window significantly easier for Clove's team. On attack, Meddle is your pre-fight advantage tool. Throw it into a site before your team pushes — any defender caught in the decay has reduced health for the upcoming gunfight, tilting the math in your favor before a single shot is fired. This is especially powerful when combined with Ruse smokes: smoke the site, Meddle the common defensive positions, and push through knowing that any enemy still holding will be fighting at a health disadvantage. Meddle can also be thrown reactively when you spot a defender holding a tight angle — the decay forces them to either reposition or take a fight they're statistically likely to lose. On defense, Meddle punishes grouped-up attackers pushing through chokepoints. Throw it into the corridor as enemies push — the decay hits multiple targets simultaneously, reducing the health pool of the entire push. Combined with a teammate's crossfire, decayed attackers crumble far faster than they expect. Meddle is also valuable during retakes — throw it onto the spike before your team peeks, ensuring that any defender of the plant is fighting with reduced health. The key is applying decay before fights, not during them — by the time gunfire starts, you want the health reduction already active.

Ruse (E) — Signature, free, 2 charges (cooldown refreshes)

Ruse is Clove's signature smoke ability and the ability that defines their unique identity — Clove opens a top-down map view and places smoke clouds at targeted locations, and critically, this ability can be used even while Clove is dead. The smokes are hollow, allowing players inside to see out of the edges, and they last for a moderate duration before dissipating. On attack, Ruse provides standard controller smoke utility — block off defender sightlines, isolate angles, and create safe corridors for your team to push through. Place smokes on common Operator angles to deny long-range defenders their advantage, and smoke off rotational corridors to slow defender reinforcements. What makes Clove's smokes unique on attack is the post-death capability: if Clove dies during the execute, they can still place smokes for the team from the death screen, ensuring the push doesn't collapse just because the controller went down. This makes Clove the most reliable controller for aggressive site takes — even the worst-case scenario of Clove dying first doesn't cost the team their smokes. On defense, Ruse blocks attacker sightlines into your site and creates one-way vision advantages. Place smokes at chokepoint entrances to force attackers to push through blind, then hold angles on the smoke edges. If you die early on a defensive round, place Ruse smokes from the death screen to maintain your site's coverage and buy time for your teammates to rotate. The post-death smoke is most valuable in clutch situations — even as a dead player, Clove can provide fresh smokes for the last surviving teammate, potentially winning rounds from beyond the grave. Manage your smoke cooldowns carefully: with 2 charges and a refreshing cooldown, Clove can maintain persistent smoke coverage throughout a round, but wasteful early placements can leave gaps when smokes are needed most.

Pick-Me-Up (Q) — 100 credits, 1 charge

Pick-Me-Up is Clove's combat steroid — after securing a kill or assist, Clove can activate Pick-Me-Up to gain temporary haste (increased movement speed) and a health boost. The buff is short-lived but powerful, turning Clove into a speeding, healthier version of themselves that can chain aggressive plays. On attack, Pick-Me-Up transforms Clove from a standard controller into an entry-support hybrid. Push with your duelists, contribute to the first kill, and activate Pick-Me-Up to gain the speed and health needed to push aggressively into the site alongside your team. The haste lets Clove clear angles faster than enemies expect from a controller, and the health boost absorbs chip damage that would otherwise force a retreat. Use Pick-Me-Up to maintain momentum during executes — if your team gets the opening kill, Clove can activate the buff and help sweep the remaining site defenders while still being able to place smokes mid-push. On defense, Pick-Me-Up rewards Clove for aggressive defensive plays like pushing through smokes to catch attackers off guard. If you secure a kill with an aggressive peek, the haste lets you reposition before the enemy team can trade you, and the health boost gives you a buffer for the next fight. During retakes, Pick-Me-Up turns a successful opening pick into momentum for the entire retake — the speed boost lets Clove clear multiple angles rapidly while the health boost sustains through chip damage. The key to Pick-Me-Up is recognizing when to activate it: immediately after a kill gives you maximum buff duration for the next fight, but sometimes it's worth waiting a second for the next engagement to be closer before activating.

Not Dead Yet (X) — 7 ultimate points

Not Dead Yet is Clove's ultimate and the most dramatic resurrection ability in Valorant — after being killed, Clove can activate Not Dead Yet to return to life at their death location with a brief period of invulnerability. However, Clove must secure a kill or assist within a short time window after resurrecting, or they die again permanently. On attack, Not Dead Yet turns Clove into the most aggressive entry controller in the game. Push into the site first, trade aggressively knowing that death isn't permanent — if you die, activate Not Dead Yet, resurrect, and use the chaos of the ongoing push to secure the kill or assist needed to stay alive. The brief invulnerability window on resurrection gives you time to orient and find a target. Use Ruse smokes immediately after resurrecting to create cover, then hunt for the required kill while your team pushes alongside you. Not Dead Yet is most effective when your team is already committed to the push — resurrecting into an active firefight gives you many opportunities for kills or assists, while resurrecting alone with no enemies nearby wastes the ultimate. On defense, Not Dead Yet is your insurance policy for aggressive defensive holds. Play a forward, risky position — if you get the kill, great. If you die, resurrect and continue the defense. This lets Clove take positions that would be suicidal for any other agent, gathering information and dealing damage with the safety net of resurrection behind them. During retakes, Not Dead Yet gives Clove's team effectively an extra life — if Clove falls during the retake push, they can resurrect and continue fighting, turning a 3v3 retake into what functionally becomes a 4v3. The critical weakness is the kill-or-assist requirement: if Clove resurrects in a position where no enemies are accessible within the time limit, the ultimate is completely wasted. Always ensure you resurrect where enemies are nearby and engageable.

Playstyle Tips

Attack Side

Clove on attack plays as an aggressive controller who pushes with the team rather than supporting from behind. During the default phase, use Ruse smokes to block key defender sightlines and create space for your team to gather information. Throw Meddle into contested areas to decay defenders before your team peeks. When the team commits to an execute, smoke the site, Meddle the common defensive positions, and push alongside your duelists — Clove's forward positioning means they're often involved in the opening engagement, and a successful kill activates Pick-Me-Up for the ensuing site take. If Clove dies during the execute, use Ruse from the death screen to maintain smoke coverage — this is the single most important habit to develop as a Clove player. Post-plant, Clove provides ongoing smoke support whether alive or dead, making them one of the most reliable post-plant controllers. If you have Not Dead Yet, play even more aggressively during the execute — dying isn't the worst outcome when you can resurrect and continue the fight with your team nearby to enable the required kill.

Defense Side

Defense as Clove requires a balance of aggression and traditional controller discipline. Use Ruse smokes to block chokepoints and force attackers through blind spots, and hold angles on smoke edges with Meddle ready for grouped pushes. Clove's defensive strength comes from the willingness to take aggressive peeks and trades that other controllers wouldn't risk — because even if Clove dies, their smokes continue functioning from the death screen. This means Clove can play forward, take a fight, and if they lose, still provide full smoke utility for the surviving teammates. With Not Dead Yet available, Clove can anchor a site with the most aggressive hold possible: push into the attackers, trade kills, and if you die, resurrect and continue the defense while your rotation arrives. The key defensive habit is always saving at least one Ruse charge for post-death usage — dying with both smokes on cooldown wastes Clove's most unique defensive tool. When your site is not under pressure, avoid rotating too aggressively — your smokes are valuable for the retake even if you don't get to use them proactively.

Economy Management

Clove's economy is forgiving compared to most controllers. Ruse is free as the signature ability, and Pick-Me-Up costs only 100 credits per charge, making Clove's utility extremely affordable. Meddle at 250 credits is the primary utility expense. On full buy rounds, buy Meddle and Pick-Me-Up alongside a Phantom or Vandal — total utility cost of 350 credits leaves plenty of room for a rifle and armor. On force buy rounds, buy full utility with a Spectre — at 350 credits for all utility, Clove can afford a Spectre and full utility more comfortably than almost any other agent. On eco rounds, buy at minimum Pick-Me-Up (100 credits) with a Ghost — the kill-activated haste and health can snowball eco rounds if Clove secures an opening pick. Meddle on eco is optional but valuable if you can afford it, as decaying enemies before pistol fights tilts the math significantly. Clove should rarely full save without at least Pick-Me-Up purchased. Not Dead Yet at 7 ultimate points charges at a moderate pace — save it for rounds where you can play aggressively with your team nearby to maximize the resurrection's value.

Matchup Guide

Favorable Matchups

Even Matchups

Unfavorable Matchups

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