Cloud9 Mel highlights a bug in Raze ult, Riot developer responds

Fariha Bhatti Published 12/02/2021

A new bug in Valorant agent Raze has added to the long list of recent glitches. A Riot developer has provided a detailed response, explaining how the bug works.

In a recent stream, Cloud9 White’s Melanie “meL” Capone encountered a bug in Raze’s Showstopper where the ability would cause zero damage to the enemy.

can anyone explain this ???? pic.twitter.com/St1AooxOS5
— C9 meL (@mel_anji) February 10, 2021

Mel had just clutched the round when an enemy Raze launched her ultimate seconds before dying. Instead of blasting Mel to death, the ultimate caused no damage. Raze’s Showstopper is one of the lethal ultimates in the game and can easily annihilate an entire team within its range. Mel’s surprise was justified when she made it unscathed out of Raze’s blast.

The Valorant pro uploaded the clip on Twitter, getting an elaborate response from Valorant software engineer Riot Nu.

Yes! It’s a bug, and we can fix it.

Games are built on approximations of the real world for performance reasons. VALORANT doesn’t simulate the physics of a real explosion. This bug is a case where our approximation falls short. (1/9) https://t.co/4NGRMMRtEn
— Riot Nu (@RiotNu) February 11, 2021

How does Raze’s Ultimate work in Valorant?

The developer broke down how explosions in Valorant work and how it may have contributed to this new bug.

According to Nu, explosions in Valorant are approximations of the real world, and Valorant does not simulate an actual explosion’s physics. He then explained that a player must be the inner circle of a blast to deal greater damage or at least be within the range of the outer circle to connect with the explosion. He divided the two with a visual representation, designing a black and green circle.

If a player is within the range of explosion, the damage is bound to kill or injure. However, the visibility check may hinder the combustion from damaging an enemy. The player only takes damage if the visibility check finds an obstructed path to them. In an enclosed area, where players can dodge the explosion’s shards, the circle logic becomes redundant.

This method usually works, but sometimes the visibility check will fail if the explosion occurs in tight areas like in Mel’s video. Enemy Raze’s Showstopper slipped inside the pallet, failing the visibility check, Nu clarified.

The developer defined the mishap as a bug that could be fixed by adjusting the “collision settings on the problematic pallet.”

The fix here is to either adjust the collision settings on the problematic pallet or to adjust the logic driving the visibility checks to better handle small spaces. (9/9)
— Riot Nu (@RiotNu) February 11, 2021

While the developer has reassured that the bug is fixable, his detailed explanation provided an insight into how explosion abilities in Valorant work. This information could come in handy while dealing with Raze’s grenades and Boombot as well.

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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