Killjoy is like Cypher, except Cypher’s utility isn’t actively trying to kill you. You see, Cypher has camera, tripwire, and a noisy circle, but Killjoy has gun with legs, broken glass dispensers, and a robot that gives you osteoporosis. When pushing through Killjoy’s setup, it feels like waltzing through no man’s land.

Turret: The turret annoys people, but think about how the turret feels about you ruining its KD ratio. Killjoy can erect a super precise, long-range turret almost anywhere she wants, but she’ll keep putting it in that one spot over and over just to piss you off. The turret alone is not very good at killing people, but it is VERY good at applying pressure, grabbing attention, and giving Killjoy information. The best spots to put the turret are areas with wide coverage that also make it hard to shoot the turret, either from sheer distance or physical barriers blocking most of the turret.

Alarmbot: Alarmbot > boombot; hands down. Boombot: noisy, rough design, ignores physics, suicide bomber. Alarmbot: sneaky, polite, sleek design, commits regular suicide. The alarmbot is perfect for catching flankers and pushers off guard. Not only does it alert Killjoy to an enemy’s presence, it gives them the fragile debuff which doubles the damage they take. This allows for excellent combos with nanoswarm grenades, or Killjoy can just be hiding close by with murderous intent. No matter how you use this bone-hurting, booby trap bot, you’ll find value from it.

Nanoswarm: This tool that definitely does not look like a weird sex toy is invaluable to Killjoy. The power to activate a molly when it is most needed saves the time of having to put away your gun which can end up getting yourself killed. It’s a good idea to put these in places you want to force enemies out of like cubbies and default plant spots. Or you can hold on to them to be used like regular mollies for flexibility. Of course, we all know that you’re going to stick them on the planted spike for EXTREME STALLING!

Lockdown: This ultimate ability is so impactful despite almost never ever actually hitting anybody. For those unfamiliar with how best to use the Taser Dome^(TM), it is the perfect ultimate for taking area control. This ult gives enemies two options: retreat and give you free territory, or charge at you with guns blazing. Now, there are lots of mistakes you can make with this ult, so I’m going to speed run them. DON’T put it behind a wallbangable wall, DON’T rush before the lockdown goes off, and if someone is detained, DO check each nook and cranny so they don’t get a free flank.

Moral of the story: Remember when everybody complained about Killjoy post-plant being too OP? And now nobody cares because they know how to counter it (check for nanoswarms/fake defuse). Nothing in this game is “too OP” except for exploits and cheats; everything has a tactical counter, even the Odin. So instead of complaining about how broken something is or how good a probable smurf is, think about how you can outsmart the enemy.