Valorant developer Nicholas Wu Smith revealed during a watch party of the North American Challengers 2 tournament that there will be some big changes in upcoming patches.
Many fans and professional players have been asking for changes to SMGs and the Frenzy, and those calls have been heeded. Smith confirmed that the Stinger and the Frenzy will be receiving some nerfs in the next patch. There may also be changes to the Marshal coming soon as well as some new guns that may be added to the game soon.
The Frenzy’s price will be increased, so players can no longer purchase the gun and armor in the first round, but will not be touched in terms of damage or accuracy. The gun has become synonymous with the first few rounds of professional and casual play as players opt for the gun and armor instead of utility or other cheap weapons.
As for the Stinger, Smith said that the range of the gun is going to be tweaked slightly. It’s unclear whether that means changes to its spray pattern, ranged damage drop-off, or something else entirely. Regardless, it seems like Riot Games is committed to making the game less powerful at range. As for running accuracy, Smith and Riot have said that they do not want to take away that style of play from the game which should keep SMGs as a go-to option in low-ELO play. Both of these changes are sorely needed, but they may not be enough to quiet the demanding Valorant community.
It isn’t just short-ranged weapons that will see changes, though. Wu Smith also let slip that the Marshal will be tinkered with a bit. He did not go into specifics besides to say that changes were coming and that he is interested in seeing how players will react.
No matter the change, the developers seem keen on adding diversity to the early rounds of the game. There has been a great deal of chatter at both the casual and professional level that early rounds are too heavily rooted in RNG based on the Frenzy’s spray pattern, with a lucky headshot potentially setting a team up for three or four easy round wins.
Valorant may also see some news guns in the future. Smith noted that while the developers are always looking to add more agents and maps, new guns are also a possibility down the line.
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