Riot’s gearing up for the next VALORANT act with a new update to address some balancing issues—and robots are the target.
While it’s nowhere near as dramatic as the Episode Three, Act One economy overhaul, VALORANT Patch 3.05 offers some minor changes that should make a considerable difference. Popular sentinel Killjoy and the once-popular duelist Raze are both being tweaked.
Killjoy’s Turret has proven to be a menace in pistol rounds. The ability can chunk shields and decimate enemies from a long distance whose only line of defense is a handgun. Pair that with a considerable slow from bullet tagging and the Turret clearly needs to be balanced. Even though Patch 3.05 isn’t going after the ability’s damage, its slow is being cut from 72.5 percent to 29.5 percent. This change should allow enemies to run past the Turret’s fire easier on pistol rounds, while not creating too much of a difference in buy rounds.
As for Raze’s Boom Bot, its recent cost increase to 400 credits has made it a difficult sell. It’s great for clearing space and identifying enemies, but it comes at a premium price. So Riot’s dropping its cost to 300—but there’s a catch.
The ability can one-shot enemies with light shields, which can be a powerful tool in pistol rounds or when your opponents half-buy. To compensate for the cost decrease, Riot is nerfing its maximum damage from 125 to 80 and its minimum damage from 50 to 30. Even though Raze mains will be able to use Boom Bot more often, it’s less likely that they’ll snag any kills from it.
Breach, Brimstone, and Sova are also getting minor adjustments in the upcoming patch. To create consistency across the board, Riot’s updating what physical objects the agents can deal damage to. Breach’s Aftershock, Brimstone’s Orbital Strike, and Sova’s Hunter’s Fury will now deal damage to Killjoy and Cypher Traps, as well as Sage’s Barrier Orb, Sova’s Recon Bolt, and KAY/O’s ZERO/point. For the full details, check out the Patch 3.05 notes.
Patch 3.05 is slated to go live with Episode Three, Act Two on Sept. 8, along with the new map, Fracture.
Make sure to follow us on YouTube for more esports news and analysis.
