Omen almost received some ridiculously OP buffs in Valorant

Omen has historically been one of the best agents in Valorant yet Riot Games was actually looking to make him even stronger.

Back in October, rumors swirled that some big buffs were incoming for Omen in the form of Paranoia no longer blinding teammates and his ultimate having the extra ability to blind enemies. Almost two months removed from those rumors nothing has been seen to suggest that this was anything more than a rumor or fan theory. Until now.

According to Valorant leaker Mike, Riot began developing the rumored Omen buffs but stopped short of actually releasing them. It’s unclear whether the plug was pulled on buffing Omen or whether the company might be looking into other ways to improve the already-strong agent.

So the rumored Omen buffs were true at one point, but were scrapped. | #VALORANT

— Mike | Valorant Leaks & News (@ValorLeaks) November 17, 2021

Omen has been a staple part of every high-level Valorant team since the game’s introduction. The agent has a very strong set of abilities for both offensive purposes and for utility. 

Buffing him further, especially in the ways that were proposed, would have been utterly ludicrous. Paranoia, Omen’s flashbang ability, would have been untouchably strong if he could use it without having the fear of disabling teammates. Omen’s ultimate is also already very strong, and making it even safer would have pushed him to the point of being absurdly OP.

Though nerfs have seen the agent get brought more in line with other agents, it’s clear that he already has the necessary tools to be a strong part of any team.

What is a buff in Valorant?

In Valorant, a buff is when a gameplay patch strengthens an ability.

The term “buff” has long existed in multiplayer games and is used uniformly across everything from Valorant to World of Warcraft to Pokemon. Different games have different ways of buffing things, but in Valorant there are gameplay patches that deliver targeted changes to specific agents’ abilities.

Meanwhile, an agent’s ability being weakened is called a “nerf.”