Riot Games wants to create more balance between firefights and abilities in Valorant. To achieve this, the developer is adjusting a total of 20 agents, two maps, and five weapons.
After the last patches aimed to reduce “visual overload,” Riot Games is accelerating this step with numerous gameplay changes. These “aim to create a healthier balance between precise firefights and the abilities that make Valorant tactically unique,” the developer explains the many adjustments in Patch 11.08.
Initiators and Neon fall by the wayside
The fact that initiators in particular rely on their abilities makes them a target for Riot Games’ new policy: the signature abilities of Breach, Fade, Gekko, KAY/O, and Sova now all have a cooldown of 60 seconds.
Gekko also has to wait 10 seconds longer before he can use Dizzy again. In addition, stuns will now have a uniform duration of 2.5 seconds, and Nearsight’s field of vision will be increased by two meters – along with other individual adjustments.
Neon has been particularly affected among the duelists: from now on, it takes a full 60 seconds for her battery to fully recharge. This is an opportunity for Raze and Waylay to recapture the meta – both have undergone only minor changes, as have Iso and Reyna.
The situation is different for Yoru, whose flashes have been slightly weakened. He can no longer use them during his ultimate ability. However, since initiators, whose role Yoru often takes on, have also been weakened, he will likely continue to be omnipresent, at least among the pros.
Will Omen remain the powerhouse of the meta?
80 percent of all games at the Valorant World Championship saw an Omen pick, often on both sides. Accordingly, Riot Games has made adjustments to the Phantom agent, who now has to wait ten seconds longer for his smokes—Paranoia has also been reduced in size. However, a changing of the guard is still a long way off—not least because Astra, who could take his place, has also been given longer cooldowns on all her basic abilities.
Where this change could actually come is among the sentinels. Vyse’s Flash can now be destroyed during its activation and no longer gives an audio signal when it hits enemies. This is a hard blow for the “metallic mastermind.”
Cypher will also have a harder time: Tripwire will slow down instead of stunning. His camera will be revealed when enemies get too close to it. Killjoy, Deadlock, and Sage, which have only been slightly adjusted, can hope for more relevance in the meta.
To encourage defenders and attackers to engage in combat on the sites and make the placement of the spike “riskier and more predictable,” Riot has made changes to two maps: Abyss and Pearl, which is back in the playable maps alongside Split. Lotus and Ascent are no longer available for the time being.
Finally, the developer has also changed some weapons: Phantom and Vandal remain accurate for two bullets longer before switching to continuous fire. This is now easier to control, even with Bulldog and Spectre. The unpopular machine gun is also receiving further improvements to set it apart from the Stinger, which was previously the clearly better weapon.
