Clove\u2019s butterfly-driven kit has already led to players calling them a broken VALORANT<\/em> agent. But did you know Riot Games considered giving Clove the power to deploy flashes after death? Well, apparently, a lot of thought went into creating your next main.\u00a0<\/p>
In a post dedicated to how VALORANT\u2019s<\/em> first non-binary<\/a> was brought to life, the agent design team shared intriguing tidbits on Clove\u2019s developmental journey, including that it was experimenting with aggressive options for the post-death part.<\/p>
![\"VALORANT](\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/clove-news-feature.png?w=640\")
While Riot considered giving Clove initiator-like abilities, the team realized it\u2019d be unfair for opponents. \u201cClove being able to flash you after death was extremely frustrating, and Clove being able to stall out chokes after dying was powerful, but not very engaging,\u201d game designer Dan \u201cpenguin\u201d Hardison shared in the release<\/a>.<\/p>
While stalling out chokes still seems like an acceptable deal, being able to flash your opponents post-death would certainly break VALORANT\u2019s<\/em> meta<\/a>\u2014and I am glad the developers skipped on the idea. Releasing a broken agent is not a balanced experience for either of us, the player base and the devs.\u00a0<\/p>
As players, we get attached to our favorite agents emotionally, and every nerf affects us and our gameplay. The devs have to work on toning down an agent, keeping the player base\u2019s feelings in mind\u2014not an easy task either. Riot has been embracing a \u201claunch weaker, buff later\u201d approach<\/a> for the past few agent releases, and it hasn\u2019t been a great experience for players either.<\/p>
