Riot Games just released their new patch 1.06 for VALORANT and it includes some much-needed change to the shotguns and some unfortunate changes to Phoenix’s flash.
Ever since Riot launched the closed beta for VALORANT, players have been constantly complaining about how Phoenix’s flash usually flashes his teammates more than their opponents. Subsequently, Riot Games tried to address this issue by changing some aspects of the flash and accidentally made it much worse than before.
Phoenix flashpoint change:
Patch 1.06: The audio and visuals for blinding effects (Phoenix Curveball and Breach Flashpoint) should better indicate when to turn away, and when it’s safe to look again.
Even though Breach also received some changes to his flash alongside Phoenix, Breach’s changes are actually pretty good. However, before patch 1.06, Phoenix’s flashpoint would usually travel a very short distance. As a result, it was great for self-fragging.
With patch 1.06, Phoenix’s flash now travels more distance than before. On top of that, it is way slower than before. Consequently, players are now complaining that Riot Games messed up Phoenix’s flashpoint with this new update.
Furthermore, this new change has made it difficult for Phoenix players to flash for themselves. Since Phoenix is a duelist agent, self-frags are kind of mandatory for him. Although with this new change Phoenix’s usability in the game might drop down quite a bit.