In Valorant there is a serious problem with the assault rifle Vandal’s aim. The first shot is often extremely inaccurate. This strange random factor seems to be intentional, but many players find it way too extreme and hope that Riot will change something.
What is the problem with the Vandal? The assault rifle Vandal is popular among players in Valorant and has been firmly in the S-Tier Super Weapons list since the beta, which every player wants to get eventually as soon as they can afford it in the shop.
But the Vandal is currently frustrating many players with its erratic shooting behavior. Because even though you clearly aim at the opponent in the crosshair, the first shot often seems to follow a random deviation pattern. It often happens that what should be clear headshots miss, leaving players wondering what just happened.
This strange inaccuracy frustrates many players. Currently, there is a discussion on reddit about why a tactical shooter like Valorant has such an extreme random factor with one of its top-weapons. Especially for professionals and players in the higher ranked area, such a random factor is a major annoyance.
Developer Explains “First Shot Accuracy”
This is what the developers say: Since the debate about the Vandal’s inaccuracy has been quite civil, a developer has also spoken up and tried to explain the matter. In a lengthy post, developer Classick explained that some weapons were deliberately designed with such deviation patterns.
In VALORANT, each weapon has a value for base deviation (deviation from the center). Some weapons have none (Guardian, zoomed Marshal, zoomed Operator), while others have quite a bit (Bucky, Judge, Ares). Weapons that are accurate but not perfectly accurate (Vandal / Phantom / Bulldog) have a certain unreliability at very long distances to compensate them against more precise weapons designed for those very long distances.
The first shot is therefore deliberately provided with a random factor. There is no “First Shot Accuracy” for the Vandal – meaning there is no guarantee that you will always hit the aimed spot with the first shot. However, according to Classick, you can negate the deviation by crouching and aiming down sights.
Further details can be found here:
Players Find Deviation Too Extreme Regardless: The explanation from the Riot employee generally makes sense, but some players still think that the deviation in the case of the Vandal is too much. It just doesn’t feel right that a top-tier weapon like the Vandal behaves so unpredictably when shooting. Especially since this seems to occur even at medium distances and not just at the mentioned long ranges.
It remains to be seen whether the repeated complaints from players on this topic might prompt a change in the Vandal’s shooting behavior. In the meantime, you should consider whether you might want to use the more precise Phantom, even though it deals less damage at long range.
