After a year of player complaints and requests, Jett has finally been nerfed in Valorant. The agent can no longer exploit her Tailwind to instantly escape duels.
Valorant currently has 18 agents in its roster, and all of them are pretty well-balanced. Regular patches have ensured that no agent has an unfair edge over the other as Riot regulates the meta. However, Jett was one duelist that the developer had struggled to balance for more than a year. Despite various tweaks, players found a way to make Jett work across all maps.
This may no longer be the case. Riot Games has introduced a brand new change that may finally bring Jett down to earth.
Jett’s Tailwind is no longer OP in Valorant
Tailwind was easily Jett’s biggest strength, as it allowed her to escape risky situations. Patch 4.08 will make it significantly more situational, ultimately limiting Jett’s reckless mobility.
On pressing the ability key, Jett activates a 12-second window after a short delay. She must utilize her dash within this time window. Otherwise, the ability will run its course, whether she uses it or not. She can still gain it back after landing two kills, but this limitation will force her to anticipate the enemy’s move instead of relying on her escape power.
“Overall, we want Jett to have her power moments and to be able to dash, but we also want viable counterplay and for Jett players to be more thoughtful when using their abilities,” Riot Games said.
In her current state, Jett is tough to kill and can get away with risky plays without punishment. Especially on the defender side with an Operator, the agent can land one kill and instantly deny the enemy their trade. In most situations, Jett had little to lose without putting any thought into her ability usage. Patch 4.08 nerf will force her to strategize around her Tailwind instead of recklessly jumping into unfair duels.
How does Jett’s nerfed Tailwind work
Instead of her earlier instant dash away, Jett will have to activate her Tailwind and wait for a moment before she can escape a situation.
It’s unclear how long the delay will be, but it will allow enemies to secure trades that just weren’t there before. The new Tailwind lasts for 12 seconds, which means Jett must anticipate the enemy’s move at the cost of her ability.
Previously, Jett would dash away after landing a kill. Now, she’ll have to hope another enemy doesn’t follow up while she has to run like everyone else.
She can hypothetically still preserve her ability to snipe someone down and dash away, but it will require strong anticipation of enemy movements. Regardless this makes playing Jett much more challenging.
