Heads up, Valorant players! A dev recently confirmed that Riot is on the lookout to make several changes on agents Cypher, Breach, Killjoy, and Brimstone.
This change might even be included starting in Patch 1.11.
Planned changes
Max ‘Orcane’ Grossman, Valorant Senior Game Designer, explained in a YouTube upload how the studio wants to tweak these Agents in the future.
Though he didn’t delve much into detail, he explained what kind of possible changes it may bring into the game.
Some of the upcoming changes are expected to be included in the next update, Patch 1.11.
Meanwhile, other tweaks are still being looked over such as balance changes to Brimstone.
That’s not all. Riot is also planning to change the way some Agents are commonly used, pushing Cypher and Killjoy to be more defined with their identities.
Breach (Buff)
The Swedish engineer Agent is already seen as a viable, strong pick, but Riot thinks there are improvements in store for Breach.
“I know there’s a community sentiment of Breach feeling really strong right now. Internally, the data does not even remotely backup that sentiment,”
If there’s any buff for Breach, Grossman clarified it would be only something “minor.”
Current pick and win rates are still low for Breach, even if the agent is now considerably in a good place.
Grossman believes it’s because Breach requires high teamwork to make a significant impact, which doesn’t necessarily work out in typical matchmaking where players play solo.
Breach’s presence is often felt a lot in any match, especially with his flashes and stuns. However, the rest of the team can’t take advantage of these strong effects often.
Cypher and Killjoy (nerfs)
Both Cypher and Killjoy are valued for the utility they offer in a match, where they can detect opponents even if the player is elsewhere on the map.
However, Grossman implied that the dev team wants to see these abilities used more distinctly.
“Killjoy has always been, in our minds, very potent at locking down a single site… Whereas Cypher is more about creating this information network across the map. So we’re really trying to drill into those identities.”
This could hint possible changes in how Killjoy’s turret works or how Cypher operates in a team, but that information remains to be unconfirmed. All fans can do for now is wait for timely updates.
Brimstone (Balance tweaks)
Brim’s wide array of utility can’t be underestimated, but Riot is looking to give the Agent a bit more flexibility. This would then make him a more viable pick as opposed to someone like Omen.
“When we look at Brimstone, there are reasons that I still think he’s really potent but I think he suffers in a couple of key areas with regards to flexibility compared to a character like Omen.”
Keep in mind that nothing’s final as of writing. The developers are just starting to look into the possible tweaks and adjustments they can make into these Agents, while keeping true to the game’s competitive integrity.
There’s a lot at stake since one overlooked buff can make Brim rather untouchable on maps like Bind.
Valorant players can expect some short-term balances in store during Patch 1.11, which is slated to drop on October 27.
