VALORANT\u2019s<\/em> Patch 8.01 just killed one of the game\u2019s most versatile agents, and like most of the community, I\u2019m not thrilled about it. In fact, Riot Games seems to have embraced an approach that might be achieving its goals, but is hurting us\u2014the playerbase\u2014substantially.<\/p>
While Skye definitely needed a rework to balance the meta, absolutely decimating her in VALORANT<\/em> Patch 8.01<\/a> wasn\u2019t the way to go. I was expecting better of Riot, but the patch just left me worried about the game’s future.<\/p>
![\"Skye](\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Skye_GuidingLight.png?w=640\")
The Australian animal-whisperer offered the perfect intel-centric initiating kit anyone could ask for in VALORANT<\/a><\/em>.\u00a0Thanks to the flexibility she brought, Skye was undeniably overshadowing her peers, and it was time Riot took care of it. But taking away her flash\u2019s recharging potential seems like overkill, and it’s an evidently lazy move from Riot to avoid the effort of doing a proper rework. To top it off, Skye can no longer fake flash, as her hawk automatically pops at the end of its life.<\/p>
This isn\u2019t the first time Riot totally destroyed a VALORANT <\/em>agent\u2019s personality on the way to “balancing the meta.” We saw Chamber weakened over a number of patches before Patch 5.12 dealt the final blow<\/a>. While Chamber\u2019s unrivaled dominance was hurting the game, it was painful to watch one of the most popular agents die like that. He’s no longer the sharpshooter we used to love watching pros like yay, Cryocells, and Laz drive once upon a time.\u00a0<\/p>
Besides killing strong agents, Riot seems to be taking different approach to releasing new VALORANT<\/em> agents<\/a> since 2022. From Harbor to Iso, none of the past four agents launched strong enough for the meta, but they were buffed over time to make them viable. For a moment, this strategy might make sense—after all, it\u2019s easier to buff weaker agents than nerf overpowered ones to the ground, infuriating the player base in the process, right?<\/p>
Considering you have to pick up Gekko\u2019s orbs to get that many flashes, it might seem fair. But in the hands of a good Gekko player who knows how to throw a Dizzy, this is, simply put, a meta-breaking feature right now. It only takes a second to pick up those globules, by the way, thanks to the latest Gekko buffs in Patch 7.12<\/a>.<\/p>
