With the patch for Episode 4 Act 2 coming out way, here are all the Valorant Controller changes and how they will change the competitive scene.
Valorant’s competitive scene around controllers has been pretty constant since the release of Astra. And we got to see that Astra’s pick rate skyrocketed whereas for other controllers it decreased. So to balance this, Riot introduced new changes with Patch 4.04, for Episode 4 Act 2.
These changes are gonna improve the playstyle a lot. And without future ado let’s take a look at all the changes and their effects.
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All Valorant Controller changes
Astra Changes
- Max Stars Decreased from 5 -> 4
- Cooldown on retrieving a Star Increased from 14 -> 25
- Star Placement Distance increased by 3x.
- Gravity Well & Nova Pulse Cooldown Increased from 25s -> 45s .And doesn’t affect anyone under the ability anymore.
Omen Changes
- Smoke Cooldown Decreased to 30s from 40s
- Smokes Cost increased from 100 -> 150
- Smoke Speed Increased by 78%
- Teleport Cost Decreased from 150 -> 100
- Teleport Delay Decreased 1s -> .7s
- Players adjacent to Omen’s Paranoia are not hit
Viper Changes
- Fuel Drain increased by 50% when Toxic Screen and Poison Cloud are both active at the same time.
- Poison Cloud & Toxic Screen Cooldown increased from 6s -> 8s
- Cooldown now starts when smokes start to fade away.
- Snake Bite Duration Decreased by 1s
Brimstone Changes
- Smoke Deploy time has been decreased from 2s -> 1s
- Smoke Radius and Height have increased.
- Stim Beacon now gives a 15% speed buff as well.
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How it changes the Competitive meta
The Competitive scene till now mostly revolved around Astra actually, it revolved only around Astra. As she was the best controller, you were able to stop any push with both the Gravity well and stun. But her changes will prompt players to focus on other controllers, as her abilities are not that op. So we will get to see some new agent composition from teams in tournaments.
Apart from Astra, Vipers nerf will prompt teams to have a dual controller setup. For maps like Breeze initially, only Viper can be used to anchor a site and smoke at the same time. But her recent changes will force teams to change their comp a bit.
