Brimstone is getting nerfed again in new Valorant patch 4.05

Fariha Bhatti Published 22/03/2022

Brimstone’s 15 minutes of fame are finally over. The controller agent has once again landed under Riot Games’ nerf hammer. 

After months of player requests, Riot Games has showed the controller category some love. Brimstone was one of the smokers to get a heavy buff to his Stim Beacon. The unique device boosted Brimstone’s pick rate to the very top, making him a must-have in ranked games. The developer has now decided to make some crucial changes to his kit. 

Brimstone’s Stim Beacon will see a price hike in Valorant patch 4.05. This change is expected to make him more balanced. 

Brimstone Stim hit by nerfs in Valorant patch 4.05

In patch 4.04, Riot Games introduced a unique feature to Brimstone’s Stim Beacon. The device could also apply a 15% speed boost in addition to RapidFire, but this will no longer be the case. The speed boost will remain, but the developer has made it rare.

“Some call him “Brimmy with the stimmy.” And while it’s been exciting to see you all leverage Brimstone’s recent Stim Beacon balance in fresh ways, we think having two stims reduced the importance of deploying it at the right moment,” comms strategist Jeff Landa said. 

In patch 4.05, Brimstone’s Stim Beacon will go from costing 100 creds to 200 creds. Not only that, the developer has also reduced the available charges. Previously, Brimstone carried two stim devices, but now he’ll only have one. This change will ensure that players have a full-team speed boost only once in a given round. After this change, Brimstone players will be forced to use their devices more selectively. 

His smokes and molotov remain untouched, but the new changes could make for a big nerf. Players finally started picking Brimstone more for the Stim Beacon, which could boost as many as five players to a higher speed. This made breaking into the bombsites easier. But it also made him too strong, as only Neon and Jett have such movement tactics available to them. 

The Valorant patch 4.05 nerf to Brimstone’s kit shouldn’t heavily impact his new pick rate as Stim Beacon’s speed boost remains a feature. However, players may also start looking at other controllers after the price hike and charge reductions. 

Fariha Bhatti

About Fariha Bhatti

Fariha Bhatti is a long-time gaming writer who loves competitive FPS games and slots with particularly fun themes. She got her start playing classic games developed by SNK, from legendary fighting game series The King of Fighters to challenging platform franchise Metal Slug. She now spends most of her time playing Valorant and Counter-Strike 2 while working her way through new slot releases to find her next favorite. Fariha has been published at PCGamesN, TalkEsport and ONE Esports.

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