Riot Games has been taking care of its mega shooter Valorant with consistent patch updates. However, Episode 3 will change Valorant forever.
Riot’s tac-shooter has all the core ingredients of an action-packed first-person game, but a large player base coming in from traditional FPS had its reservations. The players often criticized Valorant for lackluster gun play, childlike visuals, and powerful abilities that clouded true FPS spirit. With each patch, Valorant has improved. But, the recent one shows developers’ vision for its shooter that has impeccable gun play.
Episode 3 Act I rolls in with tons of updates to different areas of the game. The mini-makeover suggests that a meta shake-up is on the horizon.
“CSGO style” Kay/O isn’t a fan of heavy utility
The destroyer of loose cannons and uncurbed powers, Kay/O, enters Valorant with a familiar toolkit. CSGO players are very much accustomed to double flashbang, single molotov utility limit. The new agent also carries the same equipment, with an additional suppression dagger. His whole equipment highlights gun play.
Kay/O will be able to deal in damage, destroy abilities, blindside enemies. In simpler terms, the agent has a no-nonsense toolkit that will shake up the meta. His powers hint that Valorant developers are eventually buffing the gun play and bringing more attention to the weapons. Unfortunately, the war machine doesn’t get any extraterrestrial skills but is the developer’s way of countering post-plant meta, which limited the uniqueness in Valorant.
At first glance, Kay/O may seem like a complex Terminator, but Ryan Cousart, an Agent Designer, believes that he’s the simplest agent designed for players coming in from other titles.
"What if they (new players) didn't have to worry about VALORANT abilities? We were like, 'lets just shut it off and then have them worry about their gun stuff," He said.
With Kay/O entering the squad, players will be forced to hone their aims, as they can’t wholly rely on their abilities. Previously, there was barely any way to counter the powers of other agents. However, by adding Kay/O, the developer has reminded the players that Valorant is a shooter game at the end of the day.
More focus on weapons
Episode 3 brings glad tidings for players who’d rather spend one hour in practice range than learning molotov lineups. Economy rework makes it evident that balanced gun play is the future of Valorant.
While most Valorant weapon inventory will be available for economical rates, abilities will see a boost in price. This price switch will likely dwindle the meta, forcing players to make intelligent choices during the buy phase, whether you want to buy a swarm that will become useless in zero point or invest money on a pistol that will remain solid in all conditions.
The economic shift combined with Kay/O’s power to destruct utility will be rewarding for players who have sleek aims. In tournaments, viewers will get to see more aim duels and exciting gun play, coupled with intelligent utility usage instead of darts showering from all directions.
Run and gun, no more!
With all of these changes drastically impacting the meta, nerfs to run and gun mechanic will be the final nail in the coffin of subpar gunplay. A massive chunk of the Valorant community has been lamenting newer players bagging easy wins because shooting is easy. The developers have promised that upcoming patches will retouch the run and gun mechanic, ruining the ranked games.
"While we believe that there are certain situations that moving and shooting should be powerful, it is currently more potent than we'd like," Lead designers Max Grossman and Sal Garozzo explained, "We aim to tighten up combat while trying to maintain as much intuition and muscle memory as possible," they said.
Valorant players will see a massive shift in the game if the run-and-gun fix hits the mark this time. Combined with price changes for the “troll weapons:” Judge and Shorty, serious players will find it easier to climb ranks.
With new tweaks, the game will feel more welcoming for the traditional FPS players who’re not fans of earth-shattering, celestial agent abilities that require in-depth knowledge of Valorant. Players who didn’t jump on Valorant beta hype bandwagon have tons to catch up to. This may be the perfect time to join the hype on the back of futuristic Terminator as you’ll only have to “worry about gun stuff.”
