Riot Games just released VALORANT patch 1.09. And in this patch Riot made some bold changes regarding the operator and some other agents.
The operator has been a talking point in the VALORANT community for a long time now. The effectiveness of the weapon really rubbed some players in the wrong way. As a result, most players in the VALORANT community feels like the weapons need to receive some sort of change.
After many player complaints, Riot did announce that they were considering some changes. Right now in patch 1.09, Riot made some significant changes to the operator. At the same time, agents like Jett got some nerf while Viper received some much-needed love.
VALORANT patch note 1.09:
Agent updates:
OMEN
| Paranoia: Updated projectile VFX to better represent its hitbox, especially when it is traveling towards your POV |
JETT
| Blade Storm (Burst Fire): The time between consecutive Burst Fire use has increased from 0.33 seconds >>> 0.45 secondsDaggers thrown in Burst now have a damage falloff that begins at 12 meters and drops steadily (to 35 damage) at max falloffHeadshot multiplier on Burst Fire reduced from 3x >>> 2x |
VIPER
Fuel
- Viper now starts the round at 100 fuel (previously 50)
Snake Bite
- Vulnerable debuff applied from Snake Bite now lingers for 2 seconds after leaving Viper’s acid
Viper’s Pit
- Move speed doubled while casting
- Viper now fast equips her weapon after casting, re-equip times vary per gun—but on average will reduce her weapon downtime by .4 seconds
REYNA
| Empress: Fire rate bonus decreased from 25% >>> 15% |
BRIMSTONE
| Stim BeaconFire rate bonus increased from 10% >>> 15% |
All the agent changes at a glance:
In terms of agents, Jett got some nerf to her Blade storm’s burst fire mode as it was performing a little bit too consistently at longer distances. Omen got some minor VFX updates while Viper got some new buff that will give her more options to be more flexible while using her ultimate abilities. At last, Reyna and Brimstone got some light balancing updates.
Weapon updates:
Operator
- Increased price from 4500 >>> 5000
- Decreased scoped movement speed from 76% >>> 72%
- Adjusted weapon dead zone from becoming inaccurate at 30% movement speed >>> 15% (become inaccurate sooner, become accurate later when stopping)
- Firing-rate reduced from .75 >>> .6
- Instant equip time adjusted from 0.3 >>> 0.5 (instant equip plays after tapping orb, bomb defuse/plant tap, Jett Cloud Burst, and Phoenix Curveball)
- Leg shot damage decreased from 127 >>> 120
All Weapons
- Jump land inaccuracy state changed from gradual >>> binary
- Jump land inaccuracy duration increased from .2 >>> .225
- Jump land inaccuracy value increased from 5.0 >>> 7.0 (more inaccurate for .225s after a land)
All the agent changes at a glance:
In terms of weapons, the operator received some big changes that will make players rethink the way they abuse the gun. As it is a premium gun, Riot made some bold changes that should shift the meta into a new direction. Additionally, all the weapons got some slight balancing updates in the form of more inaccuracy while jumping.
COMPETITIVE UPDATES
- During this patch, the chances of being in an hour+ queue should be notably reduced
- This is already a very rare occurrence, but it can happen more often for high rank players—especially in premade groups. We are also doing some tuning behind the scenes to keep high rank matches found after long queue times reasonably balanced and fair.
SOCIAL UPDATES
- Riot ID Reviews
- Players that have been reported for inappropriate Riot IDs will now be reviewed automatically after the match has ended. If their name is flagged as inappropriate, they will be forced to change their Riot ID the next time they log in to the Riot Client.
- Removed Multi-line Breaks in Chat
- Some sneaky people were impersonating system messages to troll others into quitting a match. Enough!
- Changes to party push to talk settings will now take effect immediately
- The chat window can now be pinned to stay open across menus
- Social Panel Sorting Logic
- Sorting algorithm for the social panel has been updated to make it more intuitive for players as they interact with it.
BUG FIXES
- Fixed issue where Sova’s hitbox was incorrect while using his Owl Drone
- Fixed bug where Omen’s glowing eyes weren’t properly removed when he cancelled his ult
- Fixed a bug where Custom Game preferences would be wiped after navigating away from the Custom Game lobby
