Omen and Brimstone are finally getting buffed in patch 4.04

Fariha Bhatti Published 01/03/2022

Controller agents are finally getting some love from Riot Games as Valorant patch 4.04 rolls in with much-needed Omen and Brimstone buffs.

Omen was a highly-contested controller in the first few Valorant acts. However, multiple nerfs from Riot sent him to the bottom of agent pick rates. The shadowy controller was replaced by Astra, a celestial trickster who places stars at will. The new patch will adjust the meta as Riot brings Omen and Brimstone back into the mix.

What are the new Omen and Brimstone buffs?

Omen’s smokes were earlier nerfed to travel more slowly. Riot Games has now retracted the nerf by increasing the projectile speed from 2800 to 6400.

The cooldown for the smoke reload has also been decreased by 10 seconds. But the Dark Cover ability will see a price hike from the previous 100 creds to 150. His teleport and Paranoia have also received some buffs. The Shrouded Step has gotten 50 creds cheaper with a decreased delay time. These changes should make Omen more viable in a poor economy and better able to provide smoke utility on most Valorant maps.

With new Astra nerfs, Omen may finally see a higher pick rate on Ascent. The celestial controller has become a riskier choice. A boosted cooldown on her stars, Gravity Well, Nova Pulse, and Nebula will impact high-level play. She can only shop for four stars now instead of the previous five. An increase in smoke size appears as a silver lining on Astra’s changes list. The Nebula will be much larger than before, blocking wider areas more efficiently.

Brimstone buffed, Viper nerfed in patch 4.04

Brimstone buffs have been long overdue in Valorant. The pack leader will finally see the spotlight now. Riot Games has expanded his smokes’ height and increased the deployment time, making Brimstone’s smoke both more effective and longer lasting.

Riot has also added a new tech to Brimstone’s Stim Beacon. The unique device applies a 15% speed boost in addition to rapid-fire after patch 4.04. This is a massive buff as players rarely ever utilized his Stim Beacon to make crucial plays. Recent nerfs to Viper’s kit may boost Brimstone’s pick rate on maps like Bind.

Viper’s fuel drain now increases 50% when Toxic Screen and Poison Cloud are both active. An increase to her utility cooldown will also impact her pick rates on specific maps. These changes paired with a deceased duration of incendiary will surely help other smokers such as Brimstone and Omen come back to the fore.

These controller balance nerfs and buffs were necessary to maintain synergy in the Valorant protocol. All Valorant agents may have a fair pick rate across all maps moving forward.

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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