Undoubtedly, the Operator weapon had a good run but it’s about time for a nerf to come its way!
Riot games have since acknowledged how powerful the Operator sniper is in the 1.08 patch, and now they have confirmed to tweak the weapon in the game’s next update to make way for a balanced in-game environment.
Overpowered weapon?
For the last few months, the Operator has been a notorious weapon of choice especially among the higher tier players.
As a one-shot sniper, the high-power weapon is particularly easy to use with Agents like Jett. This makes “one shot, one kill” seem so easy to pull off in Valorant.
For what it seems to be like an answered prayer to many- Riot devs will now work on balancing the weapon. Max ‘Orcane’ Grossman, Lead Agent Designer, explained in the 1.08 patch notes that the dev team will test adjustments in hopes of tweaking the sniper.
Hard to counter meta
With Jett’s mobility and the overpowered Operator, players have been decrying how the meta combination is increasingly dominant and hard to counter.
In particular, attackers are forced into initiating and peeking into the “OP’s” angles such as shown in this video.
In Valorant’s 1.08 patch update, Grossman reveals that the light patch gives more time for the developer team to focus on a more pressing issue: the Operator.
He also revealed that they are aware the Operator gun can feel very oppressive to play against, “often leaving players feeling like there is no hope when attacking.”
In higher Elo ranks, the weapon can be a player’s worst nightmare as enemies with on-point shots rarely miss their targets.
As a result, the fear of the meta slows the game’s pacing down as no one wants to peek in any corner over the fear of getting immediately sniped by the Operator.
Teams are rarely effective in finding a counter for Agents like Jett with the Operator, and even the pro teams are having a tricky time formulating their combat strategies.
Agents with high mobility, like Jett, can be a notorious pair for the Operator since her Cloudburst, Updraft, and Tailwind skills have mobility and visibility obstruction if a player wants to use rapid disengagement to their own advantage.
What balances will be made?
Grossman didn’t exactly reveal how Riot plans to balance the Operator, but lucky for them, the Valorant player base presented their own variety of ideas which the devs may learn a thing or two from.
Some hinted on the addition of a scope-in sound, similar to how CS:GO’s AWP operates, which can further emphasize the weapon’s scoped and unscoped mobility nerfs.
Others also went on to suggest simply raising the weapon’s price.
Each community suggestion presents its pros and cons, so fans are still left divided on what would be the best way to balance the gun’s current in-game dominance.
However, now that Riot is looking into possible fixes, players will just have to wait and see how the dev team tackles the situation for the next succeeding patches!
