Valorant’s Patch 1.07 brought with it a host of nerfs and buffs to Agents that will likely shake up Future Earth’s meta. Let’s take a look at all the changes and what they mean.
One of the most difficult things about a character-based tactical shooter like Valorant, is getting the Agent balancing right. Every two weeks, Riot releases a patch in which they continually fine-tune Agents to reflect community feedback.
And Patch 1.07 is a whopper… Arguably the biggest since Valorant’s launch patch. In line with Riot’s Act-based strategy to introduce new Agents, Killjoy was added during Patch 1.05. Ever since, the German Sentinel has shaken up the landscape in a big way.
So it should come as no surprise that the September 1’s patch is all about tweaking Killjoy (and other Agents) to balance the meta. Let’s dive right into all of the changes, and what they could potentially mean for Valorant’s meta moving forward.
Valorant update 1.07: Agent changes
Killjoy
The biggest change to Killjoy’s arsenal comes to her Nanoswarm deployable. Combining both the brief windup phase and the reduced damage-per-second (reduced by 1/3, down from 60 to 40), the grenade should be a lot less lethal than before.
In addition, it will be much easier to spot (and therefore destroy) a Nanoswarm grenade in and around Reactor Sites. The update to the Nanoswarm’s visuals means that Killjoy won’t be as overpowered in post-plant scenarios.
To top things off, the Sentinel’s Turret will no longer be revealed by Sova’s Recon Bolt — meaning that he’ll be no use as a direct counter towards Killjoy, since previously, gaining intel on her Turret’s whereabouts would likely dictate which Reactor site you wanted to attack.
Sage
Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates on Esports, Gaming and more.
Future Earth’s resident medic has received yet another nerf, with a partial buff. Her self-heal has been reduced from 100 HP over five seconds to 60 HP over 10 seconds, in a bid to reduce the net amount of healing done by deterring Sage from being able to heal herself with little to no consequence on the next heal.
The overall spread of Sage’s Slow Orb has been reduced by 30%, meaning that holding off a push from enemies will be much harder. Typically, Sage could deploy her Barrier Orb in instances where the Slow was ineffective. But a fortification nerf means that for the first three seconds, her wall no forms at 400 HP… Making it easier to destroy straight after use. So no more solo Reactor Site holds from Sage.
Breach
Breach was dominant in the Closed Beta. But a series of Agent adjustments has rendered the Initiator relatively underpowered when compared with others. But giving the Bionic Swede an extra Flashpoint charge, he’ll have a far greater impact when attempting to dissect his opponents’ Reactor Site setups.
Combine the Flashpoint buff with the fact that his Concussion now forces enemies to de-scope their weapon (and prevents them from re-scoping), Breach will be a crucial Agent when countering Operators who hold a passive angle.
Viper
While Viper’s changes aren’t a direct buff, they will certainly have an impact on her viability. The ability to now place her Toxic Screen during the pre-round phase will ensure that if it’s being used to set up a push for map control, she’ll also be able to join her allies on the frontline, instead of having to play catch-up after deploying her emitters.
Viper’s decay will no longer affect her teammates, which previously rendered teammates almost useless when inside Viper’s Pit. Since the area of Viper’s Put will also now been shown on the minimap and they no longer have to worry about the HP decay, players will be able to strategically use it to their benefit.
