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Road2Radiant

Controller

Clove: abilities and tips

Clove is a Scottish Controller who places smokes even after dying. They heal by finishing off their targets and can come back with their ultimate to redeem themselves.

Origin
United Kingdom
Release
March 26, 2024, patch 8.05
Clove

Playstyle

Clove is an offensive Controller who keeps up the pressure even while dying. You place Ruse clouds to cut vision and open a site, throw Meddle to decay enemies holding an angle, then advance into duels with your allies. A kill or a damaging assist gives you Pick-me-up: temporary HP and a bit of speed to keep going. If you fall, you can still place a smoke from beyond, or come back with the ultimate. You shine when you take duels before the team, on open maps with several entrances.

Abilities

Key CBasic

Pick-me-up

200 credits · 1 charge

After damaging or killing an enemy, you absorb their life force. You then gain temporary HP and a speed bonus. It extends a won duel and lets you chain into the next one without going back to a fallback area.

Key numbers

  • Duration: 10 s
  • Speed: +15%
  • Bonus HP: 50 maximum
  • Activate it right after a kill, when you expect a second duel right behind it.
  • Use the extra speed to step away from an angle or to enter the site before the defenders reposition.
  • Do not count on it to survive for long: the bonus HP is capped at 50.
Key QBasic

Meddle

250 credits · 1 charge

You throw a fragment of immortality that explodes on the ground after a short delay. Players caught in the zone decay: they lose HP over a few seconds, up to 90 in total.

Key numbers

  • Decay: 90 HP maximum
  • Radius: 4 m
  • Duration: 5 s
  • Windup: 0.75 s
  • Throw it on an enemy holding an angle, then take the duel while they lose HP.
  • On defense, throw it into a site entrance to discourage a hasty rush.
  • Combine it with a shot or a damaging ability to finish without taking risks.
Key ESignature

Ruse

150 credits · 1 free charge per round · 2 charges · Cooldown: 40 s

You open a view of the battlefield, choose the spots then confirm: clouds land and block vision. You can also use it once dead, which keeps you useful to your team. The charge comes back over time.

Key numbers

  • Duration: 14 s alive, 6 s after death
  • Radius: 4 m, maximum range 60 m
  • After death: 1 charge only, range 42.5 m
  • Windup: 1 s
  • If you know you are going to fall, do it near the action: your posthumous Ruse has a range of 42.5 m and leaves only one charge.
  • Place them before entering the site to cut the most dangerous angles.
  • Be sparing: the recharge is 40 s, so you cannot throw them nonstop.
Key XUltimate

Not Dead Yet

8 ultimate points

After your death, you get back up. You then have a few seconds to get a kill or a damaging assist, otherwise you die again. Reactivating it cancels the effect before the end. A second life that forces the enemy to stay careful.

Key numbers

  • Window to succeed: 10 s
  • Intangibility: 2 s at most
  • Windup: 1.5 s
  • Activate it as soon as you are dead if the enemy is weakened: you come back with a single goal, finishing off an opponent.
  • Use the intangibility at the start to get to cover before resuming the fight.
  • Tell your team you have the ultimate so they play with your return in mind.

Strengths

  • Their smokes stay available after death, which keeps the team covered during a retake or a plant even when Clove has fallen.
  • Ruse comes back by itself every 40 s, so the Controller stays useful even on an eco round.
  • Meddle decays up to 90 HP, which makes wounded enemies easier for your allies to finish.
  • Pick-me-up extends a won duel with 50 more HP and a bit of speed.
  • The ultimate offers a second chance, which an opponent has a hard time anticipating.

Weaknesses

  • Only one smoke after death and within a limited radius: the cover is less reliable than that of a living Controller.
  • Meddle explodes after 0.75 s: an enemy who leaves the zone in time avoids most of the damage.
  • The bonus HP from Pick-me-up is capped at 50, so chained duels stay risky.
  • Smokes last 14 s: less than Brimstone's, no long cover.
  • On maps with long lines like Breeze, they cover less well than a Viper wall.

Tips

  1. Play aggressive: Clove is strongest when taking the first duel, then healing up.
  2. Use your smokes before the site entry, not in reaction, to cut held angles.
  3. If you feel you are about to die, position yourself so your post-death smoke serves your team.
  4. Train your counter-strafe: you chain duels after Pick-me-up and your first shot must be accurate.
  5. Train fast target switching: after Meddle, several enemies can be wounded in the same zone.
  6. Call your ultimate in voice chat so your team knows you can come back.

The aim to train

The Road2Radiant benchmark subcategories that matter most here.

  • Strafe Click

    Clicking while strafing

    You chain duels while moving after Pick-me-up: a precise counter-strafe makes the difference.

    Drills to improve

  • Speed

    Fast target switching

    Enemies hurt by Meddle come in groups: switching quickly from one target to the next wins you the trade.

    Drills to improve
Measure these skills with the benchmark

Synergies

Other agents in this role

Train the aim Clove needs

Sources

Updated on October 13, 2026

Data from patch 13.06. Names, art and weapon stats: Riot Games, via valorant-api.com.