Patch 0.47 in VALORANT has now been available for a few days, and we have a clearer picture of what the changes have meant for gameplay in general, and for current (or former) Raze mains. While the general feeling among players what that Raze needed to be tweaked, the changes made by Riot Games may push the more casual player away from this agent and towards someone else.
Raze Paint Shell Nerf
Calls for a balance update to Raze have been going around for some time now since the launch of the closed beta, and Riot Delivered in a way that should keep (most) players happy. The first change we have seen is that Raze now has one Paint Shell available, down from two. Like the melee damage change (to be discussed later), this has had a profound impact in the early game of low econ rounds since Raze can no longer spam a double grenade shot while opponents try to counter with their default sidearms.
The second part of her change to Paint Shells comes in the ability to earn a second after securing two kills, and this feels design style of rewarding high-skill play looks to be a main part of how Riot Games considers balance changes in the future, since Jett earns a second dash in a similar manner. Right now, it’s a bit like a game of chicken in that Raze can use her Paint Shell for its intended purpose, but holding onto it has the psychological effect of forcing opponents to tread slowly, which can be a strategic use in its own right.
The final part of the changes made deal with tuning audio for Paint Shells, Blast Pack, and Showstopper with the goal of making their use more discernible in the middle of fighting, and also correcting an issue where the secondary cluster of Paint Shells would explode quicker than intended with a new minimum duration before exploding.
After testing, it is far easier to hear exactly what Raze is doing in a gunfight with regards to her abilities, and players can now react with a reasonable amount of time. Not only are these changes feeling well-balanced, they feel like a great way to reward high-skill gameplay without destroying the Agent. This too was always a possibility in revamping the entire Raze kit, because from day one it has felt extremely out of place to have such an oppressive, sometimes random set of abilities able to wipe out players in what is supposed to be a high-skill, tactical FPS. For readers further interested in reading about the design philosophy of these balance changes, click here to read the blog post in which VALORANT’s lead game designer, Trevor Romleski, discusses how community feedback and overall game design were taken into consideration for this patch.
Sage’s Barrier Orb
There is little to say here with regards to the changes made to movement speed within the org. Riot Games clearly wanted Sage’s ability to work within its initial design and have done so by limiting the benefit seen in bunny hopping. At the same time, the addition of a stealth aspect while inside has been interesting to say the least, as Sage players and allies now need to be particularly mindful of what might come through, adding a new layer of complexity to both sides.
Melee Damage Changes Makes For Better Early Games
The developers described the increase of melee attacks to now deal double damage to destructible items as a solution for dealing with early round, low econ power levels against things like Sage’s Barrier Orb. So far, the change has been working as intended and it is now far easier to deal with these obstacles. Attempting to use a melee weapon for this purpose is high risk, but also high reward.
We can also consider this change as the developers targeting the future of the game, both in ranked mode and as an esports title for viewers. Without a change like this, too many games would feel both slow and virtually identical if the early, low econ rounds were all dictated by Sage’s Barrier Orb.
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