// LOADING VALMAUK
// LOADING VALMAUK
The immortal Controller. Clove smokes from beyond the grave, decays enemies, heals off kills and can resurrect themselves mid-round — a smoker who can also play like a duelist.
By VALMAUK Staff
Clove broke the Controller mould. They smoke like Brimstone, but they can also place those smokes after they have died, heal and gain haste off a kill, and outright resurrect themselves with their ultimate. That self-sufficiency lets one player smoke the execute, entry it like a duelist, and still come back to finish the round — a tempo no other Controller can match, which is why Clove has been a fixture at the top of the role since release.
| Ability | Key | Cost | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pick-me-up | C | ~100-200 credits (verify in-client for the current patch) | ACTIVATE to absorb the life force of a fallen enemy that Clove damaged or killed, gaining haste and temporary health. |
| Meddle | Q | ~250 credits, 1 charge (as of the current patch) | EQUIP a fragment of immortality essence. FIRE to throw it; upon landing it erupts after a short delay and temporarily Decays all targets caught inside. |
| Ruse | E | ~150 credits, 2 charges (as of the current patch) | EQUIP a view of the battlefield. FIRE to set where Cloves clouds will settle. ALT FIRE to confirm, launching vision-blocking clouds. Clove can use this ability after death. |
| Not Dead Yet | X | Ultimate, ~8 points (verify in-client for the current patch) | After dying, ACTIVATE to resurrect. Once resurrected, Clove must earn a kill or a damaging assist within a set time or they will die. REACTIVATE to cancel early. |
Clove plays more aggressively than any other Controller. Smoke your own entry with Ruse and push it like a duelist — if you die, you can re-deploy Ruse from the grave to keep your team in vision, so trading your life is far less costly than it is for other smokers. Pick-me-up rewards that aggression: get an early kill or damage assist and you can absorb it for temporary health and haste, snowballing into the rest of the site.
Meddle is your area-denial and pre-fight softener — Decay a holding angle or a stacked corner before your team swings. The real game-changer is Not Dead Yet: dying is not the end of your round. After death, resurrect, and if you can secure a kill or damaging assist in the time window you stay alive — perfect for retakes or for trading back a lost entry. Time the rez for when there is still a fight to win, not when the round is already lost.
"Clove is the only smoker who can entry, die, smoke again, come back, and still close the round.
Clove fits comfortably across most of the map pool thanks to rechargeable smokes and a self-sufficient kit, and has been especially valued on maps that reward aggressive solo entries. Their exact standing has moved with several balance passes (including a notable nerf in the 11.10 cycle), so treat any map recommendation as patch-dependent and check current picks before locking in.
Tip: do not panic-rez the moment you die. Wait until your teammates are creating a distraction or a winnable fight is on, then resurrect into it — the kill you need to stay alive is far easier to find when the enemy is already occupied.
Medium. Smoking is as easy as Brimstone, but the value comes from playing aggressively and timing the resurrect and Pick-me-up correctly. Misjudging when to rez or over-peeking on the back of immortality is the most common mistake.