Valorant’s lead character designer Ryan “Morello” Scott gave players a brief overview of the upcoming changes for agent Viper during a recent stream.
Valorant spent months in closed beta and officially launched back on June 2, exactly three weeks ago. For all this time the playable agents in the game were clearly divided in different tiers and some are a much better choice than others. At the top of the list, there are picks like Sage and Breach, while at the bottom we’ll find someone like Viper.
- READ MORE: Valorant Agent Guide: Sova
The poison-based character is definitely not beginner-friendly as she’s the only agent with a resource bar that you have to manage. Her abilities aren’t nearly as bad as Jett, as she provides a decent amount of crowd control but there’s just something lacking when compared to someone like Brimstone. Players who enjoy the character and her design have been asking for some buffs or changes and it looks like the time has finally come. In a recent stream, Valorant’s lead character designer Ryan “Morello” Scott gave fans an overview of what they can expect.
There’s an upcoming change to Viper’s Molotov (Snakebite) which will soon apply a debuff called “fragile”. The latter will increase all damage taken. That’s certainly a welcome addition as it’ll make enemies think twice before daring to cross the Molly. The debuff will also last for a short period after leaving the poison. Total damage of the ability won’t be adjusted so it’s just a straight-up buff for Viper.
Next up is her Toxic Wall which will also get a buff. After the patch drops, Toxic Screen will be able to go through walls, giving Viper a whole new array of possibilities. This will surely shake things up strategically as many players might be initially surprised by the results. Will Viper be good after 1.02? Maybe too good? We shall see.
What else is coming with 1.02?
Yesterday Riot made another blog post giving us even more details about the upcoming patch. You can read all about it on the official Valorant page.
Rank Icon and name update
- Clarity pass for rank colors so it's easier to distinguish between each rank
- Visual polish pass for each Match Rating
Icons for the ranked matchmaking will be easier to distinguish from each other. Additionally, the highest possible rank was renamed just like Riot promised. It’ll no longer be called Valorant, but Radiant. Honestly, they could’ve done better. At least players won’t get confused when searching for videos from the highest ranks.Players will be able to track their ranked progression for each act as soon as 1.02 hits the live servers. Acts will last for about two months, according to the Valorant website.
Placement matches & Premades
Players who are just making their first steps in the competitive mode will be able to party up with friends easier. The possible rank gap between players who can play together has been extended but there’s still a limit so in order to protect the competitive integrity and experience for the other players in that match.
You can now matchmake with your friends during placements even if they have a fairly large skill discrepancy—to a certain extent. For example, if you’re an elite player, and your friend is still learning the ropes, our Competitive Matchmaking will still prevent you from being able to queue in order to protect the competitive integrity and experience for the other players in that match.
Hopefully, this will make for an overall better experience for everyone. From newbies to months-old veterans.
- READ MORE: What to expect from Valorant patch 1.02
Stay tuned for more Valorant updates and make sure you check out EarlyGame as well as our Youtube channel where you'll find more content.
