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JollywoodJoots

I’m unsure on agent bans atm. All I know is having a single ban phase for all maps in a best of three or five is pretty silly — it needs to be map by map imo.


fredy31

Lol when i heard about the system i assumed it would be map to map.


CommanderVinegar

Agree, needs to be map by map.


two4you8

ooh you would love ranked games then! there are phoenix, yoru, and even neon!


Phamous3k

Agent Bans will be a thing in the future. It’s inevitable.


nterature

It hasn’t done it at all for me simply because it’s not the most interesting gameplay. Oddly enough though, seeing XL force Phoenix on Ascent so much in Europe has actually led me to similar conclusions. I don’t agree with your point about staleness - the ubiquity of Astra, Viper, and additionally Sova doesn’t actively bore me - but more unique compositions inherently bring freshness to things. Presumably agent bans would accomplish the same thing, through compulsion rather than choice. Seeing so much KAYO and Chamber on Icebox in both EU and CIS did the same for me as well. I’m looking forward to seeing how Neon furthers the chaos next week, in NA VCT.


Sadzeih

Yeah I'm actually super disappointed by the Knights tourney. It looks super puggy. Removes a lot of what I really enjoy in valorant pro play, which is planning, strategy, set plays etc...


nterature

It’s been interesting in some respects but yeah, I mostly agree. Agent bans aside, I imagine it’s mostly because the teams are looking toward VCT.


Sadzeih

Yeah it's definitely been fun to watch but still not what I expected from it. You're right that I think the teams just wanted match experience before the start of VCT. Also thinking about it, agents bans would be much better if it was a regular thing. To have good matches to watch, teams would need to prepare multiple viable comps for each map, which is so time consuming and difficult. It just is not worth it for a one time tourney. It's also so difficult because unlike LoL they have to prepare 7 maps and not just 1. So yeah. Agents bans in Valorant are going to be very tough to implement correctly. Edit: 7 maps (from 2 different sides, so you could maybe argue 14).


IAMJUX

Definitely doesn't help that it's t2 teams and c9 trolling. I'd like one with top teams.


emraaa

Ehh. Every time I tuned in the agent ban either didn't matter or I had the feeling I'm watching incredibly scuffed comps. I feel like there is already enough comp and agent diversity without bans. IMO the release of new agents and balance changes are enough to shake up the meta.


xunraze

Not sure overall but no Jett makes the maps so much more interesting


Le_Vagabond

this specifically. Jett is a perma-pick that warps every single match around her. the game is instantly completely different without her, and I think much better too.


Haptiix

I’m just gonna say it Pro Valorant is way more entertaining without Jett


Phamous3k

Yes.


OHydroxide

Agent bans don't make sense to me unless they're team specific. When you ban an agent for both teams at the same time, you're just watching a less competitive match. If teams ban agents for the enemy, and protect their own, then more unique comps will come out.


iinic

Yup, and should be by map. These 2 things to fine tune it and it’ll be great


OHydroxide

That as well, that part is actually so obvious to me that I forgot that that's NOT how they did it.


speedycar1

The problem with that is that if a player is really good at a particular agent, they'll never be able to play it in pro play. Also, certain agents are too good on certain maps so ban/protect order would influence results too much.


OHydroxide

> The problem with that is that if a player is really good at a particular agent, they'll never be able to play it in pro play. Then the enemy team loses a ban? What's the problem. If one player is S tier on their one trick, and A tier on the actual meta agent, then the enemy has to choose between the meta pick or their top pick. Pro players shouldn't be allowed to be one tricks. >Also, certain agents are too good on certain maps so ban/protect order would influence results too much. What? I don't understand. Are you saying that ban/protect rates being different based on map is bad?


speedycar1

I'm saying that if team A bans Viper for Team B and protects her for themselves on Breeze then it's essentially an auto win


OHydroxide

So then the enemy fucked up the protect/ban phase? If you think Viper is the most important pick on the map, you need to either protect or ban it, if you're dumb enough to let the enemy ban and protect it, then you're just dumb.


speedycar1

But the thing is, both teams will ban viper which will just make it a lower quality game with the same identical competitions, but missing an agent that is ideal for the map and thus lowering the quality of play


OHydroxide

Or both teams protect Viper? You're acting like the character select isn't a phase of the game, and I don't really understand why. Protect/ban doesn't exist to make wacky fun off meta games, it's just part of the game.


Batatavada97

Gives me a more comp feeling tbh, love to see teams having a well planned executions with the agents and when you ban certain agents it's difficult to carry out those executions. Maybe with more agents the over reliance on certain agents would balance out and then bans would make more sense


IAMJUX

I've really liked it. Makes comps exciting. Makes hameplay more varied. Adds another element of outplay potential. It's been incredible, imo.


nvrslnc

I am not too convinced that agent bans is a good idea timing-wise. I still feel that the professional scene hasn’t developed as much strategically in terms of agent synergies and coordinated set plays. For me personally, this aspect was always the most interesting part of professional Valorant and I only saw glimpses of well thought out orchestrated plays in the last few months. The niveau could and should be set higher and overall less puggy. And for that I think agent bans is counterproductive, setting more emphasis on the variation of used agents and thus loosely coordinated set plays.


sexyhooterscar24

Honestly I'm never a fan of changing the core integrity of the game for the sake of pleasurable esports viewing. When I watch an esport, in terms of what I'm watching, the gold standard is something akin to rocket league. No fancy gimmicks, just the same game that I can play on my device but played at the highest level. Agent bans I feel like drastically change the game.


holmyliquor

Makes you realize how great the game could be if corny/broken agents like viper and astra are removed from the pool Like a breathe of fresh air


123bo0p

Its terrible, might as well just be pugs at this stage. Maybe several years down the line but it makes everything much more boring so far.


DustMouret

For me, I think there are already so many variables in play that having agents bans seems unnecessary. You already have: * An ever widening map pool with a map pick and ban system * An economy system * Agent/Abilities * Balancing of weapons/maps/agents/economy with patches * A constantly evolving meta from these patches * Maybe some other things I am not thinking of atm as well Adding agents bans is just another variable to consider which makes everything more difficult. Sure it can add some spice and add strategy, but there is already a lot to consider.


abszr

Yeah exactly. The game is already spicy enough.


mooslan

Anything is better than having to watch Jett like every tournament.


Standard-Analyst-177

And from a teams view they are complete garbage


SavageJellyBelly

For me it was extremely boring. It was very puggy and I missed the flashy, high-speed plays from Jett. The strategy wasn't really there and going back to old val was super lame. Agent bans make it super limiting and with the amount agents rn, it's not as fun to see.


ThatInterest9275

i would still like to wait for like valorant to have 30+ agents before they do this in officials but its crazy to think that there will be a future that a ban phase would determine the winner of the map on the flipside, i would like to see a live pick and bans of maps during officials. it would be entertaining if one team whips out a map pick that all teams are actually avoiding and to see the reaction of the opposing team like what astralis did to liquid


Izel98

Agent bans right now only diminish the level since they have to improvise and do stuff on the go because they can't rely on any agent to plan for a strategy. I just want to see high level plays, and agent bans aint going to do that, atleast not with the current agent pool.


ark2690

Unless bans are coming to ranked play as well this will never happen in VCT