Riot Games has just unwrapped a New Year’s gift featuring Raze, the dynamite character from VALORANT, and it is intoxicatingly the same loud and crazy energy as always. The tweet, which simply said “Feliz Ano Novo!” (that means “Happy New Year!” in Portuguese), was teamed up with a short video clip that stirred the curiosity of the gamers along with the fireworks and not only them.

The very first moment of the video welcomes Raze, Killjoy, and the new character Clove who are having a good time by what is apparently a beach or swimming pool. Raze is ready to explode a firecracker while Killjoy is watching her with her usual technically curious expression, and Clove is just… there. In the pool. Wearing what seems to be full leggings and a jacket. The moment Raze fires the cracker, she screams in joy, and that is where the video ends. The whole thing is very straightforward and celebratory. Nevertheless, this is the VALORANT community so it’s no surprise that the replies quickly took a different direction with a mixt of theories, requests, and pure fun.

The very first response was nothing but the community getting excited about Raze’s arrival. The user Glitchymagic summed it up perfectly by saying, “No one can demolish with the same energy as Raze. That bang at the end was just the right time to usher in the new year.” That is totally correct! If one character symbolizes the medicinal violence of the past year and the birth of the future one, it’s surely the one with a rocket launcher. Perfect character moment.

However, there is still the issue of Clove. Gamers just couldn’t help but bring attention to the new agent’s… strange outfit for a pool party. User ScraftMike pointed it out with the most direct question, “But why is clove in the water with leggings on?” This triggered a whole side-thread. JaceMace22 joked that maybe Clove’s clothes are “connected to the fact that they’re immortal or something weird like that perhaps? Though it does sound a bit ridiculous saying it out loud, haha.” Which is not even the most far-fetched explanation considering the VALORANT realm. Another user, FamineDev1l, went for a rather straightforward approach with, “Clove third wheeling.” Poor Clove. Just wanting to be part of the fun at the party and being ridiculed for his outfit.

The whole thing soon after turned to… engagement announcements? A user by the name of 3Alphy87372 replied to the tweet saying, “Just tell us about the engagement announcement already, we are waiting! 😤” This was immediately followed by JaxianTheDM shouting, “THIS! COME ON, DROP THE ENGAGEMENT.” Wait, what? Which engagement? This seems to be some kind of running gag or a very subtle want among a part of the community, maybe even regarding Killjoy and Raze’s relationship status? It was very unexpected in these replies, but they surely feel strongly about it! Riot’s social media team just posting a happy new year video and getting asked for a fictional wedding. Classic gamer moment.

Certainly, there were other random and hilarious comments as well. One user, Blahman124, took the chance to ask a totally off-topic but valid question: “Why can’t you guys make the ground white for a snowball fight?”Like, dude, this is a beach party. Another user, andyfromthesky, joked in Portuguese, “nem gravaram falas novas ta dura riot?” which translates to “didn’t even record new lines, times are tough at riot?” playfully teasing the creators for recycling voice lines. And there is always someone looking for practical information, as was the case with xotantai who asked, “Could you post the next premier dates? so we can start planning and stuff.” Right in the midst of the New Year’s commotion. The priorities are pretty messed up, dude.

The whole wonderful, chaotic blend of responses is what makes the whole thing following game communities so much fun. One moment you are praising a character’s smooth animation, next you are pondering the logistics of an immortal character’s bathing attire, and then you are being implored to verify a digital couple’s relationship status. The video itself is cute—it is nice to see the agents in a non-combat, relaxing environment. It adds some character to the world. Astra is just there in the back, chilling, as someone noticed. It feels genuine.

However, what really shines is how one 5-second greeting can turn into a community event. Gamers do not just watch the content, they are the ones constantly giving it new twists and jokes, they critique it and use it to ask for everything from gameplay changes to deep-dive lore explanations. It means that the players are so much into the VALORANT scene on platforms like PlayStation and Xbox.