Riot is directing its attention to Jett in the next VALORANT patch.
The developers have been working on Jett balance changes for quite some now, according to a blog post, and have finally decided on the direction they want to take with the popular agent who has historically dominated in casual and competitive play.
In Patch 4.08, scheduled to hit the live servers on Tuesday, April 26, the devs are targeting Jett’s Tailwind, which has contributed to the agent pushing beyond VALORANT’s core tactical cycle in “worrisome ways.”
Tailwind changes
- On pressing the ability key, after a short delay, Jett activates a 12-second window where she is empowered to immediately dash on the next button press.
- Her Tailwind charge is lost whether she Dashes or the window expires, but can still be regained with two kills.
With these changes, the devs aim to bring Jett back into a more balanced position in the meta by “asking her to call her shots and then engage with a window of dash power to make those trademark explosive plays,” Riot said. Her new dash will naturally require players to adjust, but the devs feel like this is the best solution to “balance maintaining Jett’s identity while increasing game health.”
The devs tested dozens of prototypes for Jett’s dash, but they “came up short.” In the end, they found a middle ground with the agent. “We want Jett to have her power moments and to be able to dash, but we also want viable counter play and for Jett players to be more thoughtful when using their abilities,” Riot said.
Riot is committed to ensuring Jett keeps her “unique place” on the roster while giving other agents “a bit more breathing room.” The devs’ overall goal with balance is to “maintain the game integrity and the tactical cycle.”
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