Riot Games Nerfs Raze and Sage in Latest VALORANT Patch
Riot Games has made some changes in the latest patch of VALORANT, targeting the characters Raze and Sage. These changes are aimed at balancing the game and addressing concerns raised by players.
Raze’s abilities, specifically her rocket launcher and paint-spewing grenades, have been the subject of criticism in the gaming community. They were considered overpowered and not aligned with the tactical nature of the game.
Riot CEO Nicolo Laurent had emphasized in the past that abilities in Project A, the codename for VALORANT, should not be used for kills. However, Raze’s abilities were an exception to this rule.
Riot has decided to nerf Raze’s abilities in version 0.47. The changes include reducing the number of Paint Shells from two to one and adjusting the audio cues for all of her abilities. These adjustments are intended to make her abilities more balanced and less frustrating to play against.
Raze Nerfs:
- Reduced Paint Shells from two to one.
- Paint Shells now have a kill reset, requiring players to get two kills to refresh its cooldown.
- Tuned and adjusted audio for Paint Shells, Blast Pack, and Showstopper so that they’ll be easier to hear in hectic scenarios.
- Fixed an edge case where the secondary cluster of Paint Shells would explode quicker than intended. They now have a minimum duration before exploding.
Raze’s Paint Shells are considered her most powerful ability, dealing significant damage with their ricocheting shrapnel. The reduction in the number of shells should make players use them more strategically, rather than spamming them mindlessly.
However, Riot has provided a slight compensation by adding a kill reset to Paint Shells. This means that if Raze gets two kills with the ability, its cooldown will be instantly refreshed. This change will only occur rarely, but it can have a significant impact in certain situations.
Sage, on the other hand, is being targeted for a smaller adjustment. While not considered as overpowered as Raze, Sage possesses abilities that can greatly influence the outcome of a round.
Sage Nerfs:
- Slow Orb now also slows the airspeed of players in the zone.
- Players can now walk through the Slow Orb without making noise.
The Slow Orb ability, which can significantly slow down the pace of the game, is receiving a slight buff. It will now also slow down the airspeed of players within its area of effect. Additionally, players can now move through the Slow Orb without making any noise.
These changes might not be groundbreaking, but they are a step in the right direction to address the concerns about Sage’s abilities. The adjustments make her abilities slightly less powerful and introduce a new level of counterplay.
You can find the full patch notes for VALORANT update version 0.47 on the game’s website.
Riot Games, VALORANT, Raze, Sage, patch notes, abilities, nerfs, tactical shooter, balancing