In Valorant new agents are regularly added, and they often have disruptive effects on gameplay and the meta. However, according to the developers at Riot Games, this is intentional. You can learn why here on MeinMMO.
These are the ideas behind new agents: In a recently released dev video, lead character designer Ryan “Morello” Scott explained what the plans and concepts at Riot are for the new agents.
Every time a new agent is brought into the game, it disrupts the balance and the meta gameplay. While this annoys many players, the developers want it this way.
What we introduce will always slightly disrupt the game. The learning curve of a new agent is important. It adds something to the game. We believe it is much better that there is a learning curve, or that it could be frustrating to learn how to play against someone, rather than just saying: “Why did we even add this new agent?”
It is therefore important that players are encouraged to actively engage with the new agents and adapt their playstyle to the new situation. This is intended to keep the game fresh and active, rather than letting it stagnate in a fixed meta.
The meta should always change
These are the developers’ thoughts on the latest agents: In the video, Morello further explained what their thoughts were on the latest new agents Reyna and Killjoy. Each new agent is supposed to not only be a nice new toy, but also fill a slot in the game’s “competitive ecosystem”.
Reyna is designed here as a “hard fragger.” She is meant to quickly secure kills and become even more powerful. Additionally, she can still help her team with her stuns.
On the other hand, for Killjoy, it was important to distinguish her from other sentinel agents like Sage or Cypher:
With Killjoy, it’s about bunkering down in an area, fortifying it, and creating risk factors – and this risk, if not handled properly by the opponent, can turn into kills for Killjoy. This is different [from Sage and Cypher] – setting up a sentry or a nanowarm and not being able to capitalize on it doesn’t bring much. Presenting two threats at once is how we want Killjoy to achieve patterns of defense and conversion [into kills].
Therefore, the meta must never hold for too long
Morello from Riot expresses my thoughts perfectly when he says that the meta needs to be regularly broken up. Therefore, I found his contribution to character design and the implementation of new agents very informative. Because I see it as he does: If too much consideration is given to the players, they will never change anything in their playstyle and gameplay stagnates. Sometimes one must break free from entrenched patterns, and it is good when a studio like Riot clearly states, “When we bring something new, it is always our goal to change something in the game.” This is the only way to keep the game exciting and attractive for both new and old players in the long run.
Just Killjoy caused a lot of trouble among players even before her introduction. Many were concerned that a female agent with automatic turrets would disrupt the game too much and take away any skill from the game. In the end, however, the agent integrated quite well. How her impression on the meta and the tier list of agents in Valorant turns out in the end remains to be seen.
