Best Waylay Guide On Pearl

Written by: Wei

29/03/2025

VALORANT’s newest agents happens to be a duelist, and a very unique one when it comes to kit and abilities. Waylay, has an unseen combination of abilities that can unlock various playstyles whether it be passive, aggressive, or a mix of both.

This guide will specifically show you how to enter and set up plays to your advantage, whether that be on defense or attack. In some of these setups, we will refer to Waylay Lineups that are available on our website if you want to take a look at these guides. For now, let’s show you how to master Waylay on Pearl:

How To Dominate With Waylay

A Site - Attack

waylay_guide_pearl_a

Here’s an easy way to secure A site, even if there was a sentinel playing on it as most commonly, you’ll be up against a Cypher or a Vyse on A:

Put your Retract on A main
Throw your Saturate on back site, doesn’t need a lineup just do it based on line of sight
Do an upwards then forward dash into back site

B Site - Attack

waylay_guide_pearl_attack_b

On B site it is no different, but there’s an easy way to claim halls control which is the most important part of site:

Place your retract on B pillar
Throw your Saturate on halls (line of sight)
Do a double forward dash into halls

B Site - Defense

waylay_guide_pearl_defense_b

If you want to defend B, you would want to remember that the best defense is a strong offense. So here you’ll do just that:

Place your retract on B pillar
Throw your saturate on B main
Double forward dash into it and fight

A Site - Defense

waylay_guide_pearl_a_ult

This is hands down the best ultimate you could do on the defensive side, it hits everybody on A main and it is practically undodgeable if they were going towards A:

Use your ultimate as shown
Place your retract on site
Double dash to fight hindered enemies

Waylay’s Abilities

Saturate: INSTANTLY throw a light cluster that explodes upon contact with the ground, HINDERING enemies with a movement and weapon slow.

LIGHT SPEED: EQUIP and FIRE to dash forward twice.

ALT FIRE to dash once. Only the first dash can be sent upward.

Retract: INSTANTLY create a beacon of light on the floor. REACTIVATE to speed back to it, with invulnerability.

CONVERGENT PATHS: EQUIP and FIRE to project a beam of light that expands. After a brief delay, you gain a powerful speed boost and the beam expands, HINDERING other players in the area.

Waylay Pro Tips

Waylay’s abilities can also affect teammates, this includes Saturate and her ultimate. So when you use it make sure it is not going to impact your team negatively, otherwise it might lead to some angry teammates
Only Waylay’s first dash can go upwards, this means that you either use both dashes forward (can be in any direction you aim at) or use the first one to go up like a Jett’s updraft + dash combo
You can opt to use 1 dash if you need by pressing right click instead of left click. This can be useful if you are looking to a certain distance
Waylay is still new, meaning that her playstyle is yet to be shaped, don’t be limited to a specific style (aggressive or passive) find what you can perform with best
Waylay’s ultimate takes a few seconds to activate, so keep in mind that it is easy to dodge if the area was not narrow or if enemies were not stunned
To get the habit of using her “Saturate” ability quickly and without any struggle, we recommend assigning that ability key to a mouse button as it is easier to access and use in gun fights / duels
While your Retract ability can help you escape gun fights without taking damage, keep in mind players can still headshot you or kill you before if you don’t do it quickly enough, do not take it for granted