Valorant Patch 2.1: 3 Changes Riot Games Should Make

In Valorant's 2.1 patch, there are three changes Riot Games should make to improve the game. the 2.0 patch just went live, introducing Yoru while buffing Brimstone and finally nerfing Omen.

Valorant Patch 2.1: 3 Changes Riot Games Should Make

Buffs to Viper

Valorant detailed in their 2.0 patch their plans to buff Viper, who they've acknowledged as underperforming. Here are some ideal changes they can make to get her back up to par. Firstly, her snake bite ability should either cover a larger area of distance or do more DPS. Compared to similar abilities like Brimstone's incendiary grenades and Killjoy's nanoswarm, Viper's snake bite just isn't good enough. Another main problem for Viper is that her orbs and walls aren't threatening enough to make her feel like a proper controller. A possible fix is to either have the decay linger for a couple seconds after walking through her poison orb or wall, or temporarily obscure the opponent's vision.

Implement a New Mode

As of now, there are essentially two modes in Valorant, deathmatch and the usual plant/defuse the spike. Spike rush is a little different, thanks to the power-ups and preselected guns, but it still follows the same concept. Although the standard plant/defuse gameplay is the bread and butter of Valorant, Riot should branch out more and diversify the game. Some possible suggestions include a capture the flag variant or an Overwatch-esque escort mode.

Changes to the Guardian

The Guardian right now is in a tough spot. In theory, it's a devastating hybrid between a sniper rifle and an auto rifle with its long-range and high rate of fire. In reality, however, the Guardian feels pretty underwhelming. For one, although it can be used as a rapid-fire weapon, each consecutive shot just gets less and less accurate. What is supposed to come across as a hybrid weapon instead feels like a lower-tier sniper rifle. There are a couple of possible solutions, the first being an accuracy buff, such as lowering the time it takes to get back to a normal crosshair after a shot. They could also lower the price to make it more cost-effective, with a good compromise being somewhere from 2000-2200.