VCT Champions is days before its grand final and the meta has finished its "mature" phase. This article will be about Riot's latest news about agent updates and what they will bring to the table.
If you've been a regular viewer of the VCT Istanbul, you would have a very good idea of which agents are expecting nerfs and which aren't.
Previous Chamber Nerfs Are Not Enough
The first agent on Riot's list to be hit by their nerf hammer is none other than Chamber. He's definitely been THE AGENT this VCT enjoying the best pick rate in the whole tournament.
"THE MAN CAN DO NO WRONG" @ardiis | #VALORANTChampions pic.twitter.com/NDFKsN3qm2
— VALORANT Champions Tour TR (@ValorantEsports) September 9, 2022
Approaching its final days, just like any "major" tournament, the meta has to go and begin a new chapter for the upcoming tournament that will be Istanbul's successor. Patch 5.03 hit Chamber with several nerfs affecting all of his abilities. According to Riot's last blog post the nerfs weren't enough, and his rapid success in VCT Istanbul will be the main reason for his upcoming "tweak".
We aren't sure which part of the Agent is awaiting nerfs, but his ability to hold flanks, do riskless moves and teleport back safely has been outstanding, and affecting those might be Riot's way of balancing the agent.
Fade Is Also Awaiting Changes
Being the newest addition to the game surely doesn't protect you from balancing changes as the upcoming patch will tweak Fade as well. This is to no surprise as she is second on the most popular agent list this tournament enjoying a 53.85% pick rate. Given her nationality, and the location of the tournament it was only fair if the home fans saw their Agent rise in success. According to Riot's blog, she has "overperformed" in several areas of her role and her kit is in need of certain tweaks to please Riot's balancing requirements.
Cypher's Low Pick Rate A Reason For Change
The least popular agents also get Riot's attention as Cypher was the third agent mentioned in their blog. He is currently sitting at a sad 6.92% pick rate and is the least-picked agent in this VCT. The blog didn't state which type of changes the agent is awaiting.
“We’re looking closely at Cypher to figure out what updates he might need to find his proper spot on the Sentinel roster,” - Riot
While we can't say for sure that this means that he is awaiting buffs, from a logical standpoint having a pick rate this low, should at least reward you with some positive balancing changes.
Another important thing that the blog included was the Fun Facts about some of the agents. Below is a table, we will describe the more important ones that might indicate possible changes in the future.
Agent | Fun Fact |
One of the best agents in the game across all skill brackets, despite player sentiments indicating she is the 4th weakest Agent. | |
These agents performed marvelously in high brackets and super poor in lower skill brackets. | |
High priority pick in pro play, one of the weaker agents in pubs |
isnt it crazy how im going to hold a "BUFF CYPHER" board all the time when i go to semifinals
— sam (@gozdetalks) September 9, 2022
These facts can mean anything, can be put there just for the sake of it, but could also give us a hunch of some changes in the future. The fun fact about Yoru and Neon stating that the agents have a "higher" learning curve is interesting.
This could mean that they are thinking about making the Agents "simplified" in terms of their abilities, or it could just tell us that you might just need to spend more hours on those agents to improve your win rate.
These are the most important things stated in the latest blog post, we hope you liked them and if you wish to read more articles like these, visit our Valorfeed News Section where we regularly post anything new related to Valorant.