Riot Games employee Jeff Landa has announced that the Valorant devs are testing major changes to KAY/O on the PBE version of the popular first-person shooter in order to help the suffering agent.
Valorant has been shaken up once again with the release of the newest map Pearl and a brand new rank with the launch of Episode 5. Yet, some agents continue to fall behind the rest.
For the last few Acts, the community has repeatedly seen the same select few agents fail to perform, leading to them being neglected by players and ultimately having the lowest win rates in the game.
However, the devs are looking to shake up the meta, as they attempt to revive agents like KAY/O, Yoru, and Phoenix with changes in hopes of them fitting back into the community’s top picks.
Valorant devs confirm agent changes on PBE
According to Valorant stat site ValorBuff, KAY/O, Phoenix, and even Yoru – despite the Japanese agent’s rework in Episode 4 – sit towards the bottom of the board when it comes to both pick rate and win rate.
Regardless, the devs aren’t going to sit around, but instead take action that’ll hopefully give the agents a boost. In a series of tweets on June 24, Valorant communications strategist Jeff Landa revealed to the community that a series of changes are coming to the game’s PBE.
KAY/O changes
When it comes to KAY/O, the robot initiator is receiving a few subtle changes. The agent’s FRAG/MENT ability’s zone diameter is being reduced from 10m to 8m, and damage now applies without needing line of sight.
Additionally, KAY/O’s NULL/CMD ultimate ability will only be heard by allies when the agent is being revived.
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KAY/O PBE only!:
FRAG/ment (C) Zone diameter reduced 10m >>> 8m Damage now applies without needing line of sight
NULL/cmd (X) Now, only allies will hear the full channel audio of reviving KAY/O, while downed
— Jeff Landa (@JeffLanda) June 24, 2022
Yoru changes
For Yoru, the Japanese duelist will only be receiving changes to his ultimate. The overall duration of the ability will simply be increased to 12s from 10s. The unequip time has also been reduced from 1.2s to 0.8s.
Yoru PBE only!:
Dimensional Drift (X) Increased duration of ultimate 10s >>> 12s Reduced unequip time 1.2s >>> 0.8s
— Jeff Landa (@JeffLanda) June 24, 2022
Phoenix changes
In Phoenix‘s case, the once-popular duelist is getting quite a few changes. Starting with his Curveball ability, the max duration of his flash will be increased from 1.1s to 1.5, while the windup has been decreased from 0.7s to 0.5.
Meanwhile, the British agent will equip his weapon earlier if he stops bending his Blaze wall. Additionally, Phoenix will now spawn back at the marker of his Run it Back ultimate with the amount of armor he had when the ability was cast.
Phoenix PBE only!:
Curveball Flash Max duration increased 1.1s >>> 1.5s Flash Windup decreased .7s >>> .5s
Blaze Will now equip his weapon earlier if he stops bending his wall
Run it Back Will now spawn at the marker w/ the amount of shields he had when the ability was cast
— Jeff Landa (@JeffLanda) June 24, 2022
For those unaware, the PBE (Public Beta Environment) allows the developers to test changes to a smaller player base before they go live on the main servers.
So it’s worth noting that the general community won’t experience these changes until the next patch on July 5 – that’s if the devs are happy tests on the PBE.
