What does Fade’s ultimate, Nightfall, do in VALORANT?

Nightfall is one of the less straightforward ultimate abilities in VALORANT. When Fade lets her ultimate ability rip across the map, players are quick to panic, largely because the ability has many effects and can be overwhelming for players who aren’t quite used to it. Here’s a quick breakdown of the ability in case you’re struggling to understand exactly what Fade’s ultimate, Nightfall, actually does.

When under the effects of Nightfall, your range of vision will be decreased, your hearing deafened, and your health pool will decay. The deafened status effect makes it so that you cannot hear anything unless it is in extremely close proximity to your agent’s position.

Thankfully, when that wave of necrotic energy starts to fly across the map, players will be able to run away from its grasp, dodging the ability’s impending effects. If you’re standing on top of a black and red box after the enemy Fade yells, “face your fears,” it’s time to run away to an unoccupied space.

Nightfall causes your agent to be plagued with the sound of whispers, making it impossible to hear footsteps or gunshots unless they are directly in front of you. Although Nightfall prevents you from hearing in-game sounds, you’ll still be able to communicate with your team.

If you play League of Legends, Fade’s Nightfall can be most appropriately compared to Nocturne’s ultimate ability, Paranoia.  

Fade’s Nightfall also causes your surroundings to go dark and your agent’s health pool to rapidly decay for a brief period of time. During the ultimate’s duration, your agent will be far more vulnerable to opposing players, as your decayed health pool will only need one shot (in many cases) to finish off completely. 

Additionally, it will be easy for opposing players to track you down, as Nightfall marks your agent with a trail that reveals your position. The more you move while this trail is on you, the easier it will be for enemies to follow it and hunt you down. 

Nightfall’s effects last 12 seconds, which is enough time for a round to be decided in its entirety. If you’re close enough to the ability’s border of effect, make sure you run away from the ability and give yourself a fighting chance against Fade and her teammates.