Today isn’t a good day for Jett admirers, as Riot is set to drastically nerf VALORANT’s most adored duelist in the upcoming competitive Act. It’s not just her in the firing line—patch 7.04 also targets Skye and nine other agents, making it the hardest-hitting meta update after last year’s patch 5.12, which came with nerfs to almost the entire roster.
Patch 7.04 is focused on increasing VALORANT’s game clarity, which Riot says will be achieved by “reducing the frequency of large area of effect of ultimates, reducing the amount of time utility is active in the world, and reducing the HP of shootable utility.” The costs of multiple ultimates have also been tweaked to ensure more balance in fights.
Starting with Jett, here are all the changes she’ll endure in the much-dreaded patch:
- Tailwind (dash) will now have a reduced activation window of 7.5s, down from 12s, while its windup will be increased to 1s from 0.75s.
- Cloudburst (smoke) will remain for 2.5s, down from 4.5s, and it’ll take longer to equip a weapon after she deploys smoke.
- Updraft’s number of charges will be reduced to one from two.
- Blade Storm (ultimate) will now cost eight points instead of seven.
“We believe these changes align Jett’s overall power level and place in the Tactical Cycle with our other Agents, while maintaining Jett’s unique role and fantasy on the VALORANT roster,” Riot explained, but we aren’t sure how much of a consolation this is for Jett loyalists.
Skye is also set to receive major nerfs in this patch, and her popularity in the VALORANT meta, especially in the pro scene, will likely take a hit.
- The max duration while casting Skye’s Guiding Light (flash) will be reduced to 2s from 2.5s.
- Trailblazer (dog/drone) will have a reduced HP of 80, down from 100.
- Seekers (ultimate) will have a lower HP of 120, down from 150, and will cost eight points instead of seven.
“Skye has become a keystone of the current meta through her blend of recon and space-taking utility. While we like that she can potentially unlock new comps through this combo, we think she has lacked clear weaknesses compared to her peers given the wide range of value she brings,” Riot reasoned. And it sounds good, right?
Unfortunately, Riot hit one of Skye’s “peers” with a subtle yet disturbing nerf too. Sova mains may have a hard time getting over the fact that their beloved Recon Bolt will now “reveal the area” only twice, down from the three scans it did before.
Breach’s kit has got something cooking as well, but thankfully, it’s a partial buff.
- Aftershock will now feature two damaging ticks, with each tick causing 80 HP damage, making it a more potent deterrent than it was before: three ticks, with 60 HP damage each.
- Rolling Thunder will now cost nine points instead of eight.
Gekko will be hit with a combination of nerfs and buffs, too.
- Mosh Pit’s impacted area will deal 10 damage per second before exploding and damaging anyone caught in it further.
- Wingman’s HP will be reduced to 80 from 100.
- Gekko also gets a Thrash animation makeover that’s neither a buff nor a nerf. It’s purely an aesthetic change for better visual clarity.
Lastly, for the initiator class, starting with Episode Seven, Act Two, it’ll take longer for Fade players to equip their weapons after they use her Prowler ability.
Related: All VALORANT agent pick rates in ranked
The controller class wasn’t left untouched, either. Astra, Viper, Omen, and Brimstone are all getting massive changes.
Starting with Astra, her Gravity Well (pull) will have an increased startup time and reduced time duration, while her Nova Pulse (concuss) will have a reduced startup time, which is a small buff. If it’s any consolation for those who loved using her pull to stop a defuse, her Cosmic Divide (ultimate) will now block audio completely instead of just muffling it.
Both Viper and Brimstone’s ultimate costs will be increased by one point, while Omen will no longer be able to reduce or increase his Paranoia’s velocity with the direction of his movement. Well, it’s just another day in the life of a Viper main now.
Last but not least is our beloved sentinel Killjoy, whose ultimate will now cost nine points instead of eight. That’s it for now, thankfully.
Patch 7.04 will go live next week, on Aug. 29, alongside the new map Sunset, and the usual new cosmetic content an Act brings to VALORANT.
