Valorant dev confirms changes for several Agents: Breach, Cypher, more
Riot GamesA Valorant developer has confirmed that the studio is looking to make changes to the likes of Cypher, Breach, Killjoy, and Brimstone that could be coming in Patch 1.11 and beyond.
Senior Game Designer on Valorant, Max ‘Orcane’ Grossman told Hitscan how Riot wants to change these characters in the future, and while he didn’t go into much detail, he explained what kind of impact they expect these gameplay changes to have.
While some of the changes should fit in the upcoming update, Patch 1.11, Grossman said that others are just getting looked into like possible balance changes to Brimstone.
Riot are even planning some shake ups to how some Agents are used, like making Cypher and Killjoys roles more defined to their “identities.”
Riot GamesBreach
Even though the Swedish engineer is already seen as a strong pick, Riot actually thinks there are improvements to be made for him. “I know there’s a community sentiment of Breach feeling really strong right now. Internally, the data does not even remotely backup that sentiment,” Grossman said, clarifying that the buff should be “minor.”
He said that pick and win rates are low for Breach, despite people saying he’s in a good place. The developer thinks it’s because the Agent’s “high teamwork requirement” to make an impact doesn’t necessarily work out well in typical matchmaking.
While players “feel his presence a lot” due to all the flashes and stuns he can dish out, Breach or his team can’t capitalize on these effects so often, according to Grossman.
Riot GamesCypher and Killjoy
Both Sentinels are highly-valued for their utility that can detect opponents while the player is elsewhere on the map, but Grossman says that he wants to see them used more distinctly.
“Killjoy has always been, in our minds, very potent at locking down a single site,” he said. “Whereas Cypher is more about creating this information network across the map. So we’re really trying to drill into those identities.”
This could mean anything from changes to how Killjoy’s turret works or how Cypher operates on a team, but that remains to be seen.
Brimstone
Brim’s incredible array of utility can’t go understated, but Riot are going to look at how to give the Agent a bit more flexibility that would make him an attractive pick as opposed to someone like Omen.
“When we look at Brimstone, there are reasons that I still think he’s really potent but I think he suffers in a couple of key areas with regards to flexibility compared to a character like Omen,” he said.
While the developers have just begun looking at how to make that happen, it’s a conversation they want to engage in since Brim can be really strong on maps like Bind.
As Riot discovers more about how players are using Agents, more changes will surely come about. But there should be some healthy short-term balances for Valorant that come in Patch 1.11, which is expected to drop on October 27.