One of the many reasons for this huge player base of Valorant is the diverse agent roster. As of now, the game features a total of 25 agents (one being unknown) scattered across four different categories. Now the 26th agent is knocking on the door to join the roster.
Riot’s aim has always been to maintain a balance among the agents so that one single character doesn’t get overpowered. However, sometimes some agents have to sacrifice a lot more to maintain this stability.
Astra: Once the Meta, Now Harldy Picked in Valorant
This Ghanaian controller was released back on March 2, 2021, in Episode 2 Act 2 in Valorant. Despite some initial excitement hype regarding this agent, all the hype faded when this agent faced one of the harshest nerfs in the game in Patch 4.04.
Astra and Chamber were nerfed too much
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This controller’s main USP is her stars, which was 5 at launch. But in this nerf, those had been reduced to 4. Also, her cooldown period of retrieving the stars was also increased from 14 to 25 seconds. All her abilities—Gravity Well, Nova Pulse, and Nebulla—faced a cooldown increase of 45 seconds from 25 seconds.
In Patch 7.04, she faced another buff. In this update, her Gravity Well startup time was increased from 0.6 seconds to 1.25 seconds, which is more than twice. Her gravity time duration was also decreased from 2.75 seconds to just 2 seconds.
However, she did some balancing factors as well in the same patch. Her stun startup time was decreased from 1.25 seconds to 1 second. Her ultimate wall was also made capable of completely blocking any sound rather than just muffling it. Despite these, this agent could never stand up because of the severe nerf it faced in the 4.04 patch.
Chamber—Probably the Most Unfortunate Agent in Valorant
This French Sentinel was one of the most groundbreaking agents in the game. However, Patch 5.12 will always remain a nightmare to this agent, as it brought an overhaul change to its abilities. In this patch, his Rendezvous teleport was made area-restricted, which means he was no longer able to teleport anywhere in the map.
This nerf was so brutal that his pick rate is now lower than even Harbor, who himself needs some buff to be in the spotlight. In other nerfs, his trademark trip was charged from 2 to 1 and was also made area-restricted. That means he always had to be around those trips to keep them active. This change made this agent a failed Sentinel.
The Headhunter, which was referred to as the Pocket Guardian, also faced a heavy nerf. The precision of this ability was reduced while spamming with increased bullet spread. Last but not least, his ultimate ability, Tour de Force, also faced some serious nerfs. In the past, it was regarded as a terror to the enemy team, with as fast as the Marshal but way more deadlier than the Operator.
However, right now, his ult sniper is basically an operator with just the slowing effect. What’s your opinion on these two unfortunate agents in Valorant? Let us know in the comment section.
