This is how many new agents Riot plans to add to Valorant

Olivia Richman Published 14/09/2020

Valorant developers are planning to add a lot more agents to the game’s roster.

The team at Riot Games has already confirmed that it plans on releasing six agents per year. The plan is to release one for every Act, meaning that the 13th agent will arrive on October 13. But will they continue giving players six new agents every year?

According to Valorant developer Chris “Pwyff” Tom, that will most likely be the minimum number of agents for quite a few years to come. In a recent Reddit AMA, Pwyff discussed the “perfect” number of agents to create a roster balance. Pwyff and other developers told the Valorant community that 50 to 60 agents “felt about right.” That would make five agents per role.

Of course, that was just speculation. It could end up being an even greater number depending on how the game develops over time.

“Honestly I think we’ll start to understand how flexible the agent roster is as we inject more in, so I don’t think we can say ‘100 is crazy’ or ‘100 is great,'” Pwyff wrote.

How many Valorant agents will be released every year?

To reach 50 to 60 agents, it would take up to eight years to complete the roster if Valorant developers continued dropping six per year.

Pwyff also noted that one of their roster inspirations is Dota 2, mentioning the possibility of drafting. He explained that every unit in Dota 2 is unique, although some can be considered better than others depending on the existing meta. When it comes to “drafting at the highest levels,” it’s about having a “winning strategy” that revolves around the best characters. But if they’re banned, continued Pwyff, players start picking lower tier characters that “can still do that function.”

“If Valorant is more like that,” Pwyff said, “I can see it supporting a much larger ecosystem of agents.”

To begin accommodating new agents, Valorant developers gave Sage a significant nerf in Patch 1.07. Her zone control power and her healing were significantly reduced, on top of nerfs the healing agent had already received in the past.

Patch 1.07 has arrived with our first Killjoy update, changes to shotguns, a remake option, and those hit reg visual improvements you’ve been asking for. And those are just the highlights! Read the full patch notes here: https://t.co/i5JZBkPYPt pic.twitter.com/BDTl6uIbe9
— VALORANT (@PlayVALORANT) September 1, 2020

“Sage healing for 100 up to three times a round felt like it was going to start to crowd out future restoration characters and even duelists as she could self heal for 100. Sage, as a restoration character, should want to be healing others, while duelists should feel unique in being able to heal themselves to get back into combat,” developers explained.

The well-received Sage nerf has allowed for more healing-focused agents down the line. Now that Sage’s healing isn’t seen as so powerful, other support agents can play alongside her on the same team. They would have equally useful abilities that have different utilities and purposes.

So far there have been no leaks or statements from Riot concerning who the 13th agent will be. It’s still unclear what role they will play or how they will shake up the meta.

Olivia Richman

About Olivia Richman

Olivia has worked in media ever since graduating from college, with her coverage ranging from traditional newspaper reporting to digital coverage of all things gaming, online betting, and nerd culture. She has traveled around the world pursuing that coverage, from the far coasts of the United States to the busy downtown core of Tokyo, Japan. Olivia’s favorite games include Overwatch and Super Smash Smash Bros, and she has been published at Esports Illustrated, Inven Global, EsportsInsider, Upcomer, and elsewhere.

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