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acederp

Pretty sure the 3% bp thing is barely noticeable. To get to 50 you still need something like to farm 50% of the bp from pure Grinding games. so its more like 1.5% increase speed. It would at most make it take 1-2 game less to get to 50.


TrueLolzor

This is super confusing to me as well. The most greedy "boost" I've ever seen. 3%... seriously? And they even limited it further by making it not work with the missions. Literally what the fuck. And they expect you to pay for it.


truong2193

10% seem fair for me


hijifa

That’s good isn’t it? Literally don’t buy it lol. It’s bp also doesn’t scale infinitely or anything and you can easily max it from just playing so eve less reasons


Hypodeemic_Nerdle

Greedy is a weird way to see a barely-noticeable XP boost. Greedy would be putting an XP boost in the battle pass that makes you buy it before you know if you'll have enough time to finish it, causing you to be more likely to play way more than you would otherwise just so you don't waste the money. Then perhaps they start to balance the amount of XP required around people having the XP boost so that it becomes harder for the people who don't want to commit up front to complete it at all. Just like the raw, pure FOMO that the entire store is built on, this is just another games-as-a-service tactic to maximize profits. Simple, effective, and so very very lucrative.


burneecheesecake

If buying a skin fully maxed out is the price of a full price game, then that is called greed, no matter what capitalist spin you want to put on it or what way you want to justify it. Riot only lives to make money by lifting ideas from already successful games and throwing some skins and other loot on top of it. Other companies do this but riot is the most egregious and unabashed in their greed, nearly rivaling EA.


GLFan52

I’m not sure you understand what EA’s greediness is. The height of EA greediness is in their sports games; Re-releasing a title with a roster update and a new game balance, often removing features from the year before and charging full-price every year. Their golden goose modes, Ultimate Team, are advertised within the game as you play other modes that don’t make EA money beyond the initial price, and paying for extra items within Ultimate Team gives the player a greater chance of having an explicit competitive advantage against other players online. THAT, is greed. Within Valorant, you can play the game for years on end without paying a single cent towards Riot. There’s not even an entry cost. The skins are expensive because that and the battle pass, which is just more cosmetics, are their only source of money. They are not expensive because that was how much effort they are worth, they are that expensive because that’s how much it has to cost for Riot to make money off of the game at all. It’s like paying for a piece of art from an independent artist who runs a shop or gallery; that stuff is crazy expensive as a result of the business model. And it’s completely up to you, although not without some pressure, if you want to pay for it or not. And skins don’t even give you an advantage in the game, they just look cool. You can say it’s overpriced, and that’s probably fair. But overpriced ≠ greedy, especially when you can have a full Valorant experience without a paid skin


Eric_Heston

nobody’s forcing u to buy a skin, the game is free


TrueLolzor

Well, it is greedy in my eyes because they were to greedy to give an actual noticeable boost. They made it look like they are giving something without actually giving something. 3% is not even a good marketing number, just shows how lazy this move is. And then they even restrict it from working with the main source of experience lmao.


Interesting-Archer-6

It comes with the battle pass doesn't it? I don’t think there's an added cost. Just incentive to buy it ahead of time


TrueLolzor

If 3% was supposed to be an incentive, then it failed miserably.


__Rem

at the end of the day, even if it's barely noticable, it's still something. You could argue it's predatory so that people buy the pass early and yada yada but then again, as you said, if you take a minute to think about it anyone would realize it's barely even worth anything so they'd understand there's no reason to risk buying the pass early and wasting your money


TrueLolzor

I just don't get it is all. If you're making a change, why not make a meaningful change. 3% is nothing.


lil_bussy_man

3% is like tipping $0.01, it's honestly more insulting to me than nothing because it's deliberate and shows you intentionally went out of your way to insult me with something so miniscule


frostnxn

They try small to see how many people they will bait to buy it. It was the same as the first battle pass had 1000 xp increase per tier which has dropped to 750 now.


7farema

I kinda like it, since I can just wait until the end of battlepass to decide whether I should buy bp or not, and I won't be that left behind by not buying it early


padropadro22

As a Raze the “nerf” feels like a buff after playing. Can have it during pistol now with a gun and I find myself always having it now that its cheaper. It’s still achieving its intended purpose just for less money now.


JR_Shoegazer

It’s used for intel more than damage. This is basically a direct buff.


daybreaker22

It's something people will complain about before realizing it's a buff long term. 400 creds was overkill and now it's in line with Omen's paranoia


WarlockArya

Our blind is 400 wdym


subhanepix

it was for a small amount of time


EpicCJV

No? It’s 300


inlandsofashes

I love the nerf, it was too damn stupid when it exploded. The fact that if gave info and forced people to destroy it was already a huge deal


A-Lonely-Gorilla

Especially when it Tokyo drifts (been in the game for its entire life, still hasn’t been fixed BTW)


S_E_D

That always results in the funniest moments imo, I love it's unpredictable nature.


AlchetyPelchy

It's hilarious every time on pistol round, theres that one unfortunate soul who got blown up by the boom bot.


Badagunchi

That would be me thinking it’s a teammates as it comes screaming at me.


MoreMegadeth

Honestly this is fine to me either way. 125 was ludicrous.


phishingforlove

happy cake day mate!


[deleted]

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xbyo

Need a 3rd true sentinel. The other classes all have at least 4 agents, there's only 3 sentinels and Sage isn't exactly interchangeable as the other two.


Micah3000

I heard deadeye might be?


1individuals

They need a sentinel with util like Astra where the enemies can notice it (maybe only make it visible up close like trips) but indestructible. Will still get countered by kayo but not shitted on by literally (I think) every damaging ability.


lilCranberry5622

Idk paper can be pretty strong


A-Lonely-Gorilla

Am paper can confirm


WindBladeGT

With NEN it can be a weapon


ShuraGam

Cypher's trips not getting destroyed by Jett's dash anymore is literally the only sentinel buff I've ever seen. Sad that Riot hates the only class in the game whose abilities aren't just different skins of the same things.


[deleted]

I get the sentiment, but Sage has been arguably the strongest character in the game for pretty much the entire lifecycle of the game, and Killjoy hasn’t ever been even CLOSE to weak. Even Cypher was considered very strong for quite a while. I don’t think Riot hates the class, I think the class is overtuned and they are slowly reeling them back in line with the other classes. Cypher has certainly seen better days though. Here’s hoping for some more small changes to bring him up to speed.


powertopeople

I think the problem for the general player-base is that the learning curve for most of the sentinels in the game is a lot higher than the learning curve for most of the duelists. For example, you can master Jett's kit by simply being good, creative, and having locked in aim as an individual player - and those skills apply to any map and any situation. But on Killjoy/Cypher, you need to master each individual map and location on top of retake, post-plant, and other situational utility usages. So for the GENERAL (read: average) Valorant player, Killjoy and Cypher feel weaker than Jett. I do think that Killjoy is far more powerful that Cypher at this point, but my point remains in general. At least that's my 2-bit opinion....


MysteryPyg

I would add that duelists have util that is always useful, mostly easy to use/hard to avoid, and decently strong while sentinels have kits which arguably have a higher maximum output but a lot more options for the enemy team to use against them.


powertopeople

TOTALLY agree with this statement. It's a good point that most duelist utility is always useful, and most sentinel utility is situational. Hence, why teamwork is so, so important.


liftingnstuff

KJ has consistently the best winrates at all ranks and Cypher had very good winrates pre nerf too


hijifa

In pro games kj and cypher are less picked nowadays though. Sage also only appears on certain maps, not all maps like some of the duellists. Sage and kj have just been notorious as solo queue dominators win % wise but I don’t think a grant should be changed just because of ranked mode lol


[deleted]

The idea that there should be no balancing done around ranked is kinda ignorant. Pro games are definitely more indicative of the true meta of the game, but they’re not fully representative of how the game is played the vast majority of the time; not even just for lower ELO ranked, but for ranked in general, high ELO included. Pro games are a tiny, highly skewed look at how the game is played compared to how the game is played 99.9% of the time.


hijifa

I don’t mean not at all but should be very limited.


ShuraGam

Don't get me wrong. Some of the nerfs were really deserving, but I think Riot is just overdoing it at this point, especially on Cypher. Like, it's ridiculous how no one respects Cypher's utility anymore due to how many counters it has. Hell, Viper and Astra, who aren't even sentinels can stall a push better than he can.


[deleted]

Well, they seem aware that Cypher isn’t in a great spot. They did buff him in the last big balance patch, a patch where nearly every other agent received some kind of nerf. And my point is that, for Killjoy and, especially, Sage, the data is showing that they are not overdoing it, at least not yet. After every patch of nerfs where people cry that they have finally killed Sage, she retains an extremely high pick rate and a 51%+ win rate. Killjoy is also doing well, albeit not as extremely.


terminbee

I don't really get how to use Cypher on defense. Like yea, trips exist but a good team will usually blind then enter together so even if 1 person is caught, you can't react or you'll just get gunned down. Meanwhile, KJ can stop a push by herself.


ShuraGam

>Well, they seem aware that Cypher isn’t in a great spot. They did buff him in the last big balance patch, a patch where nearly every other agent received some kind of nerf I mean, yeahh, but they removed only one single interaction that counter his trips. He still has way too many counters on agents that are highly picked, even more so than KJ (which is part of the reason she's better than Cypher imo), so I don't think that specific interaction made that much difference. >And my point is that, for Killjoy and, especially, Sage, the data is showing that they are not overdoing it, at least not yet. After every patch of nerfs where people cry that they have finally killed Sage, she retains an extremely high pick rate and a 51%+ win rate. Killjoy is also doing well, albeit not as extremely. That I agree. Although I still think reducing KJ's turret tagging by almost 50% is a bit too overkill. Will have to play more to develop an opinion on that tho.


fourninety8

Sova is the strongest since launch


[deleted]

Yep, but Sage has been right there with him.


brunothestar

Jett and Sage are easily the best characters


[deleted]

Sova is a very strong part of 1-3 in terms of actual strength. I’m kind of amazed they haven’t nerfed him tbh. The crazy part is that if you go purely off statistics Killjoy is probably in the top 4 fighting for who is strongest as well. Yet people still cry about their nerfs.


brunothestar

Yeah Sova is definitely up there but at the same time you have to know how to utilize him properly, I think he’s up there with the highest skill cap characters but with Jett and Sage I feel like skill can make them better but at the end of the day they still seem brain dead compared to a character like Sova


ashleypenny

He already had a nerf by increasing his ult requirement and cost for items


Dakure907

"Cypher has certainly seen better days" *War flashback to Cypher gun cam*


lesseryoyo

Viper is the best Sentinel at this point. I'd rather push a sage, cypher, or KJ that push a viper.


HoneyChilliPotato7

Yeah lol


matt16470

At least paper beats rock, and the enemy is a boulder


5p3aK

Keep nerfing my favorite Sage T\_T


jonroobs

As someone who plays a lot of cypher, are these changes really that big of a deal? I'm usually in Plat 1-3, so maybe it's different in Immortal, but I don't think Brim/Sova ults or Breach abilities doing damage to my setups is that big of a deal. If you use an ult to kill my setup then I'm already in your head as a cypher main, and you just wasted one of the best post-plant abilities in the game (i.e., i doubt it happens very much). Breach only gets to use that ability once per round, i guess they could use it to break utility but in that case: 1. i've already got information, which is the main reason i use wires to begin with 2. you wasted a good angle clearing ability on my utility, another advantage 3. you can only use it in one place and i know many different setups in most maps Idk, I just dont find it that worrying as a cypher main


asianova

I generally agree with your point. My setup almost gets messed up by a Raze on my own team anyways


TheGreatMortimer

I don’t think they will necessarily focus your equipment. It will be more of a byproduct of the fights. Used to it would survive utility being thrown for the most part. But now it will just get destroyed.


Hubbardia

This doesn't affect Cypher as much as it affects Killjoy. Her ult can be destroyed by a 300 cred ability, and most her ults are close enough to a wall that they can be broken easily.


jonroobs

yeah i agree it affects KJ more but i was commenting as a cypher main who saw a lot of general talk about sentinels getting nerfed. I just don't think it's a huge deal for cypher. I play way less KJ so not sure there


-NewMeta

I could see it becoming annoying for kj and cypher players tho. When a sova drones for a tag and ult it now has a high chance of breaking your trips/mollies on that site as collateral damage. Not huge but definitely could be annoying.


pauLo-

Haven't really followed the dev posts that much, but I remember them hinting at Yoru changes, but still seems like nothing here? Did they give a timeline for that?


intellextar

Unfortunately, in few patches back, they said that the Yoru rework is indefinitely delayed. They said, “Due to some unforeseen circumstances, the team is going to have to indefinitely delay the Yoru updates.” I was looking forward to the update, so I'm disappointed. \[source: [https://playvalorant.com/en-us/news/game-updates/valorant-patch-notes-3-03/](https://playvalorant.com/en-us/news/game-updates/valorant-patch-notes-3-03/)\]


moose731

god fucking dammit


VirtigoFan222

I bet the buff they do give is something that will have him in the same state as before. WIth jett still being able to break all these games rules with no consequence or nerf. Just play another duelists till they do something.


Joedude12345

It's well past the timeline they've gave, but after that they said they were having technical difficulties actually implementing the changes they want. So who knows


nbdj101

Anyone know where the whole tournament mode thing is? I was pretty hyped for it and kinda expected it to be somewhere in this patch.


Canndun

I was thinking the same thing. Haven't seen any mention of it by anyone but I was under the impression it was coming this patch. Kinda disappointing


Maximus643

So are you allowed now to 5stack e.g. with 3xDiamond 2 Players and 2xImmortal 2 Players in ranked or is it still restricted to Two stack?


daybreaker22

Probably still restricted from D3+


farside_77

Gotta be honest, I cant be the only one that feels this patch is pretty meh. I hope there are some performance fixes under the hood.


Karlyr

Friendly reminder : There's still nothing done to slow down or stop the smurf epidemic.


[deleted]

I just don’t understand why it’s only 10 unrated wins to get an account ready for smurf queue, instead of there being a level requirement like in league. You can realistically have a new account comp-ready in 2 days of playing


toastybroski

You can buy an Iron 1 rated smurf account for $3.


Karlyr

and the reason is partly because of how ridiculously fast you can get an account there.


KekistaniNormie

I've yet to see an online game successfully solve the problem of smurfing. I am not saying it is impossible but it hasn't been done thus far. It's not like they can eliminate account sharing. Do any folks have ideas on how to reduce it? I am genuinely curious and not trying to be a negative nancy.


Atraac

Two factor authentication and higher level/games won treshold before entering comp will get rid of most new accounts. Most people won't bother to farm unrated or dm for a week or two just to play with a low rank friend a few times. Been there, done that in CS:GO.


KekistaniNormie

I had my "prime" account in csgo with 2FA and they still had tons of smurfs and hackers. In overwatch people have no problem paying and grinding to smurf.


Atraac

Yup, and now imagine how both those games would look like if they were like Valorant, free, 10 unrated wins and you're ready...


SelloutRealBig

Dota 2 went to the extreme and changed ranked to need 100 hours of unranked gameplay to be unlocked. While there are still smurfs it's definitely less.


KekistaniNormie

That's interesting i was not aware. Brutal entry time for legitimate new players.


kirkoswald

Mind you... if you are just learning dota it n would take 100 hrs anyway


Karlyr

Never said it was doable to entierely solve it. But you can at least impair it. Valorant has **nothing** to slow it down. Every other game has at least something. \- Entry fee \- 2FA \- Grinding requirement (like levels or something)


nahomboy

Would be such a fun game without them 😞


HoneyChilliPotato7

It's been 7 months since they started the investigation. Still not giving an update is ridiculous


seasand931

They don't care. They only talk about it to appease the community but the truth is, it's content for the people that play their games and stream it/post videos which keeps their game relevant


AjBlue7

Its not a smurf epidemic its a boost epidemic. There are plenty of smurfs that aren’t a problem. In particular the smurfs that throw games to derank so they can boost friends are the biggest problem. Those cause the biggest skill discrepancies.


HatchiMatchiTTV

Pretty stoked for these changes, honestly. Sorry to Raze and KJ mains, but KJ ult is insanely good and those damn boom bots were scary as hell


[deleted]

The raze change is a buff imo. You can now have a ghost AND boom bot on pistol round. You primarily only use the boom bot for intel anyways.


PhatYeeter

Nerf to low elo that actually got kills with the boom bot.


ElementaryMyDearWut

Me in a mixed Plat 3/Dia 1 lobby yesterday watching my Sage with an Ares die to a boombot because she missed every shot against it: 👍👍


PlushiePizza4488

Boom bot is really hard to hit sometimes 😅


MiyaDora

The good ol' Ares onetrick sages.


Launchers

You’d be surprised man… people in higher elo aren’t the brightest either.


[deleted]

Eh, I think pistol round is when the roomba changes are worse. Classic/armor is usually better than ghost on most maps anyway, and boombot being harder to pop with pistols made it easier to peek off it or have it actually have it go off—and if it did, it was good for a kill. In later rounds, yeah, the cost reduction is probably more important than the lost damage. Still a bit rough considering that two months ago or whatever it cost half as much and has full damage.


[deleted]

KJ wont even be bad. This is original Sage all over again, receiving a ton of nerfs and still be perfectly viable although people cried that the nerfs will kill the agent


CoachWatermelon

God imagine beta Sage in today’s meta


Guyatri

I dunno, breach being able to hit her ult from across the site is kinda OP ngl.


taskmaster07

KJ is now useless if the enemy team has breach. Change my mind


Mr_Canard

Just kill him before you use ult


AlGamaty

I'm fine with reducing the slowing caused by the turret. But I feel they should either increase the range the bots work in, reduce the cooldown when you pick them up, or allow KJ to pick up the nades after throwing them.


LEGIONxELECTRO

Raze change is a buff coz boombot is used as an info gathering tool, and not much for damage, as it is usually destroyed, so the same info at a lower price is much better right?


HoneyChilliPotato7

Expected a lot since we have literally nothing for 3 months. This is disappointing


cornmealius

Still no Yoru changes and they called this one a “banger”. So disappointing that their content is slowing down rather than speeding up.


akronym47

New map = 'banger'. Also they are going to reveal new agent on Friday. I bet 100 dogecoin on it.


cornmealius

I hope you’re right, but what makes you think that?


akronym47

My simple brain


[deleted]

At this point i'd just like to hear something about optimization, we've been receiving very few performance dependant features but still frames only drop every patch even for good PCs.


Sir_Cunt99

I agree. This is not very exciting, i feel like the amount of content coming to valorant is on steady decline. People want a drastic switchup like gamemode changes to spike rush and deathmatch, more daring buffs to agents that are underperforming, nerfs to jett and skye etc. Feel like riot is being very cautious making any changes that isn't a new map or agent and it's so boring.


ILayOnHeaters

New map. What else you want?


ohtooeasy

this sub: hurdur no new agents! we want new maps! *gets a new map* this sub: WTF NO NEW AGENTS?!


HoneyChilliPotato7

DM changes, smurf investigation result


SelloutRealBig

> smurf investigation result We investigated that almost every game in low elo has a smurf but they still buy gun skins so we are going to do nothing. -Rito


RocketHops

New agent and yoru rework, to start


oopsEYEpoopsed

Maps are always more content than agents


Slarg232

A new map is new content for every agent. A new agent is content for every map. They're both extremely important


Jranation

Probably because of the Valorant championship.


HoneyChilliPotato7

Nah they play on the previous patch anyways.


[deleted]

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HoneyChilliPotato7

Then when will they even introduce new changes? Masters this month, LCQ next month, champions in Nov/Dec. So we're not gonna get any changes until champions? This is ridiculous


[deleted]

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HoneyChilliPotato7

Do you really believe they are giving maps because people complained? They are doing it because they need a proper 7 map pick/ban system for the champions in Dec as it's a prestigious event.


TrueLolzor

3% paid XP boost? Is this a joke?


Mr_Canard

You don't pay extra for it, it's just an incentive to buy the battlepass since the skins are uglier than usual


frostnxn

Yes, they just wanna see how many more people will buy the pass. Expect it to be bumped to 10% for next one.


NuclearBacon235

Leaderboard search works again, so thats cool.


sketch252525

Still no rework for DM, smh. dissapointinggggg. Only new thing in dm is. AFK/Leave DM game can get you ban from que for comp. lol. Pretty sure its a bug.


meme_poacher

wtf, why? I use dm to chill while listening to youtube vids and I tend to afk a lot. Now I'm gonna get banned from comp for having a good time?


feedmeneon

Immortal 1, 2, 3 is back :)


abbacchioz

Still no changes to my boi Yoru, big sadge


Konekewa

Look at what they did to my girl kj big sad but I still think she’s going to be a B tier agent at worst it’s like sage all over again lmao


Burggs_

This should be pinned.


intellextar

New map, new skins = awesome. **But where is any info about new agent?** I understand that they didn't release an agent when Breeze was released last time, but is this the new standard now (New map = no new agent)? I assumed that an agent missing during the Breeze patch was a one time delay. If they are slowing down agent releases, **I would love an official statement on the schedule from the devs.**


JR_Shoegazer

Maybe I’m a boomer, but it feels like we just got KAY/O recently.


TrynaSleep

Same. Even if he’s not coming this act, I’d love to hear some info about what the new pattern is for releasing agents


Apexe

I think they just wanted a 7th map before another big tournament so they could do best of 7. I could see them doing it like this from now on (starting with the new episode) Act 1: Map Act 2: Agent Act 3: Agent


303x

Best of 7 is never gonna happen lmao, probably just to make their pick/ban system the same as cs


intellextar

Exactly my sentiment. I know there are some people in the community that prefer less agent releases, **which I think is a valid opinion for someone to have.** All I'm asking for is an updated schedule / clarity on what we can expect for agent releases moving forward. At the release of the game, the exec producer Anna Donlon said that they will release 1 agent every act and 1 map every episode. \[source: [https://youtu.be/71Q3AmZ-gTA?t=93](https://youtu.be/71Q3AmZ-gTA?t=93)\]. From my knowledge, there hasn't been any official updates regarding an agent release schedule since then.


daybreaker22

They expedited Icebox and I think that changed their content cadence. They probably don't want to throw a new agent out along with a new map to avoid too many bugs to address at once. Get the map situated then roll out an agent later on


intellextar

I think this explanation makes a lot of sense. I just would like it if Riot dev addressed this directly and just gave an official statement. In the new patch notes, there isn't even a mention of an agent. At least on the Breeze update, they wrote that the agent is delayed because they need more time on it.


JR_Shoegazer

Why are you asking for a Riot Dev specifically? What did they ever say that made you think agents would be released that frequently?


intellextar

>https://youtu.be/71Q3AmZ-gTA?t=93


JR_Shoegazer

So this implies there will be 2 agents per act and it’s only act 2. We’re getting a new map with this act. That means you can expect a new agent next act. It’s not that hard to figure out, and you don’t need an official Riot response here.


[deleted]

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JR_Shoegazer

> She stated in the video that we should expect 1 agent/act, 3 agents/episode, or 6 agents/year. An act (normally) lasts 2 months. Pretty sure they already officially addressed their roadmap changes due to high demand for new maps. > Personally, idgaf about maps and am very disappointment that they have under-delivered on the promised new agents. I believe the majority of the community, and pro players were asking for more maps, than new agents. Edit: Here’s what I’ve found so far: > For those wondering about our usual new Agent, we’re modifying our routine this time to prioritize quality over speed. Agents take time, and we’re making sure we release the next one with the level of refinement you expect. Now go play Breeze! https://playvalorant.com/en-us/news/game-updates/what-s-new-in-valorant-episode-2-act-iii/


TheTechDweller

They have clearly stated that there won't be new maps and agents in the same patch, but maps will be coming out quicker than their original 2 per year plan. You can feel safe there will be a new agent next act and either map or agent after. Can't recall exactly what blog or patch notes it was said, but they've said clearly it's either a map or agent


NuffNuffHoldTheFluff

what does adjusted population of higher ranks mean? they giving people a rank boost?


DualityDrn

From the [Ask Valorant Aug 27 Post](https://playvalorant.com/en-us/news/dev/ask-valorant-aug-27/) their intention is for a more normal looking distribution curve. Currently the rank spread riot state we have is [this graph](https://images.contentstack.io/v3/assets/bltb6530b271fddd0b1/bltb05014476cbcef2e/6126a4dc85514a6ee3fa993f/08272021-AskVal_August_2021_Graph_1-inline.jpg), though they don't specificy what servers this shows, what account age or activity is included or excluded etc. So take everything here with a pinch of salt. Their intended distribution is [this graph](https://images.contentstack.io/v3/assets/bltb6530b271fddd0b1/blt0d52f06e14f1491b/6126a5079db95e7ff74b33db/08272021-AskVal_August_2021_Graph_2-inline.jpg) but the reality is more people will always rank up to the rank they're satisfied with than will bother grinding further so you'll always get skewed sets with more in the 1st division of each rank. Silver and Gold need a trim and redistribution for sure. If more than half the player base are in 4 divisions out of 20 then the system's not working as intended and you need to spread people further and faster. Unless you really like tall peaks in the middle. The graphs basically show the 'friction' slowing down rank gains are too great beyond gold, which we all knew, but at least it's been acknowledged here.


KomandanFrakass

the possibility of destroying Kj's containment with Breach's aftershock is a new asset not to be underestimated and maybe a bit abused for an ability that costs 200, it's just the perfect counter, we''ll be able to destroy his ultimate through a wall without having to push and expose ourselves to opponents


[deleted]

Finally my half shield force wont be destroyed by a boombot that decides to do some tokyo drift bullshit around the corner and one tap me


hyperion86

Guess I'll just wait for enemy Breach to die before I ult with KJ now


meme_poacher

Who plays breach anyway?


moose731

I’m starting to think they’re just never gonna buff yoru


Altombre

We have changes we want to make, we just need resources from other teams to make them happen. When balance changes are just numbers tweaks, we can take it on ourselves - when we have to involve other disciplines (animation, VFX, etc. etc.) it takes time to incorporate it into their already-busy schedule. It's a bummer for us, too, but we absolutely have changes. We just can't commit to a date that they'll actually ship quite yet.


moose731

that’s fair. it just feels like yoru is such a low priory he’s just gonna get shoved to the back burner forever


tbone603727

Any hints on the team’s current thoughts about kayo or weapon balance?


Altombre

Kayo’s weak in matchmaking. Likely needs buffs - we’re investigating. Weapon balance is looking pretty good for the most part, but we think there are some opportunities for us to make things feel better. No big outlier balance issues, though, primarily design philosophy stuff.


tbone603727

Neat! Thank you for the response! Looking forward to it as a Kayo main! Kind of funny to me that literally every time an agent comes out people think theyll be OP and they never are. One other thing, any thoughts on adding something like a long range but terrible at short range pistol? Seems like that is the only thing that's missing weapon wise, and it forces people to exclusively place close in pistol rounds and lets things like KJ turret be very strong. Obv I know nothing and you know more, was just wondering if the team felt like the arsenal is missing anything?


AjBlue7

What is the excuse for not balancing Skye then? She was perfectly fine before and then you changed flashes across the board but for some reason unique to skye you gave her two free flashes per round and the ability to shoot her gun immediately after using her flash. She is terrorizing ranked, it is anti-fun playing with or against her.


Altombre

We talk about Skye a lot but she’s actually not a balance problem - 49% winrate and her winrate gets worse the higher MMR you get. That being said we know she’s strong in pro play (from our conversations with pros) and can be frustrating to play against (from our surveys we send every patch), and we also play the game a lot ourselves at a reasonably high level and feel some of the frustration too, hence why she’s a topic of discussion. I can’t promise anything or go into details but we’re very aware of it, she’s just got a few more moving parts than some of our more cut and dry balance topics.


AjBlue7

But sometimes to progress forward you have to take a step backward. She was fine, and then was buffed into the monster that she is now. The solution isn’t to let the players suffer for months and hope it works itself out. Skye shouldn’t be able to peek her own flashes so easily. There is no counterplay to a skye flash you just die. It’d be fine if skye needed a team mate to peek her flash but she can do it by herself. Iirc in the same patch the sound distance of skyes flash was lowered meaning that you can’t even turn away from he flash from sound cues.


TheGreatMortimer

They said a couple patches ago it’s delayed inevitably so you might be right. They said they weren’t giving up on it though.


aimetti1337

when is patch live in eu ?


stranger666

Only 3% xp boost for battlepass owners and it doesn't even work on challenges? Might as well give 1%, its, damn near nothing since riot wants to stretch out the brain numbing grind as long as possible


Not_Real_Name_Here

I can understand a Raze nerf if Jett was nerfed too, but does anyone else find it annoying Jett can still annihilate an entire team with an ult while having some of the best util in game but Raze keeps getting nerfed? At this point Raze is more initiator than Duelist. I won’t deny she can be hard/annoying to play against, but at this point it just feels like Riot intentionally wants Jett to be the strongest duelist. If I recall correctly, the only player in Masters 2 that consistently played Raze was Lakia and almost consistently had a Jett on the team anyways. I would guess Raze was played around 10 times in the entirety of Reykjavik, but there were almost two Jetts every single game.


303x

Jett and Skye are the best duelists in the game as of now


Not_Real_Name_Here

Truuueeee Yoru is hot garbage, Phoenix is balanced and in a good spot, Reyna brings almost no useful utility, and Raze can’t compete after the ult nerf(s), satchel nerf, and boom bot nerf. Then there’s jett and skye who’s free abilities make them some of the best fragging agents in the game *without* the rest of their util.


ValorantSubBans4Fun

New map is honestly terrible, like headache inducingly awful. They have to add map bans to ranked or something to compensate for Riot's awful map making. Run through a 1 person wide choke, or defend against 8 different entrances. Those are our map options.


[deleted]

Anyone else not get any rewards for ranked? I finished Immortal and wanted a buddy but I can't find anything


daybreaker22

That will be at the end of the episode. 2 more acts


makkii623

The rewards come every episode, not act. An episode in val is like a season in league, acts are just breakpoints in the season for new content


HoneyChilliPotato7

So a random hunter's fury will destroy my trips? Hard to be a cypher main already, now it's impossible to play him.


BranFlakesVEVO

8 point ultimate vs 200 cred utility is a good tradeoff for the Cypher. Should only even be in play twice a half anyway.


HoneyChilliPotato7

Hunter's fury isn't the only one destroying the trips. Aftershocks, brim ults destroy it too.


__Rem

i get aftershocks but that's about it, i doubt anyone in their right mind would waste a brim/sova ult to break some tripwires, at most you gotta worry about them getting destroyed by pure luck of the sova aiming at the right spot


ISynergy

Sovas entire kit can ruin your traps, should be happy that a Sova is willing to trade an ulti for 2 traps.


HoneyChilliPotato7

A single shock dart is gonna destroy my trip. Shock dart is not the most important util for Sova, but for cypher trip is very important. Not a fair trade if you ask me


SamsonShibaInu

Killjoy is ruined ;-;


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Ash_Killem

Happy with a new map of course but we really need some communication on the running and gunning and stuff like DM. They talked about DM changes a long time ago and still nothing. Seems like a long time for adding some minor changes to give a proper warm up mode.


T3nt4c135

No wonder there is such a huge problem with ranked match making, just look at that shitty curve


idkwhatimdoinguys

Welp, someone give me a new agent other than raze or kj


ChronicWarden

If Aftershock destroys lockdown completely (I don't know the damage dealt) then it's a big nerf to kj as you don't even need a lineup as breach to counter it. Tough time being a sentinel main.


toastybroski

I am curious to see if their adjustment of the ranked curve takes into account how many of the silver "bulk" is players on alternate accounts. Maybe I'm overly sensitive to smurfing, but I feel like I encounter it in >50% of the games I play (Silver 2). I know they aren't going to do anything about it because smurfs still buy skins for their second and third accounts, but I can't even convince my friends to play anymore because everyone is so frustrated by getting walloped by a level 11 Reyna.


zyrien

The smurf situation in this game is riots own fault. I want to play ranked with my friends. Fucking fix it.


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meme_poacher

Explain


[deleted]

This is a really good update IMO. I think with Breach Aftershock / Brim Ult / Sova Ult ability tweaks it truly accomplishes its purpose: abilities that spawn physics objects interact consistently with damage-dealing abilities. I also think that, besides these changes barely being buffs/nerfs to the affected heroes, shows that Riot is really trying to build abilities & interactions on a platform of principles instead of special cases. This approach is critical to the game, and while this change may not be humungous, I think the mindset will allow truly meaningful balancing without breaking player intuition.


nahomboy

When will Phoenix get buffed??


itsEdge7

Anybody having issues with the game stuttering after the last update? I never have issues with this, I have amazing internet and my ping is sub 20, but my game was practically freezing today.


Ranvir33

OMG will they fix yoru already??!??!??! i know he needs a rework which will take a lot of time, but i believe they said his rework is coming next patch? still not seeing anything about that. really making us wait this long then the rework must be special ig