Gamers confront Valorant over negligence of Harbor and Deadlock in latest patches
With the upcoming Patch 7.04 for Valorant, there's anticipation that it will rein in the dominant presence of Jett and Skye in the meta. However, some players are concerned that the patch might not do enough for less popular agents.
This update is slated to introduce changes to 11 agents, but interestingly, none of these adjustments seem to be aimed at Harbor or Deadlock, both of which are struggling at the bottom of the agent roster in terms of their roles.
A player took to Reddit on to voice their frustration with Riot Games for seemingly overlooking their favoured agents, Deadlock and Harbor. However, beyond any personal bias, the post highlights a valid point. These two agents have consistently faced challenges with low pick rates and win rates in ranked matches since their introduction.
Although Harbor has found some recognition in professional play recently, he has yet to be deemed a viable solo controller, often finding his place in double-controller setups only. Given their underwhelming performance, players naturally anticipate Riot Games to address these agents more equitably.
Given her recent introduction in Episode Seven, Act One, it's understandable that Deadlock might require some time to establish her presence in the Valorant meta. Although she was available for selection in the agent roster of Valorant Champions Los Angeles, professional teams chose to overlook her and adhere to their familiar compositions featuring other sentinels.
However, Deadlock's lack of popularity in both ranked and professional play doesn't necessarily stem from her being a "weak" sentinel. It's more likely that players need time to grasp her strengths and intricacies. She deviates from the conventional defensive sentinel archetype associated with agents like Killjoy, Cypher, and Sage. Instead, she's somewhat reminiscent of Chamber's aggressive potential. The key distinction lies in her abundance of utility focused on stalling and hindering opponents, as opposed to Chamber's precision-focused weaponry.
Fortunately, Harbor has managed to establish his value within the professional meta, garnering recognition as a "broken" agent when paired with Viper or Brimstone. Deadlock holds the potential to achieve a similar status once embraced by the Valorant esports scene, although this might take some time due to the ongoing VCT off-season.
It's important to acknowledge Riot's approach to balancing the Valorant meta, which doesn't usually involve direct buffs to underperforming agents. Their focus often leans towards addressing overpowered agents through nerfs, which subsequently indirectly benefits the weaker agents while introducing minor enhancements to those in need. Implementing buffs can sometimes lead to more drastic adjustments that disrupt the game's balance even further.