Another month has passed in the VALORANT ecosystem, and it has been a while since the launch of a new patch, which seemed to be delayed due to the upcoming LOCK//IN event. As such, seeing that we are past the Chamber meta in the game, many saw the rise of Killjoy. While being the core Sentinel in the game, many wondered if we would see the nerf on her kit. While the current 6.03 patch is quite a small update compared to the other patches concerning the gameplay, the patch seems to lay in the fundamentals of the game for 2023.
What are the Major Takeaways from Patch 6.03 in VALORANT?
At first, it might seem like a small patch to help keep stability within the game, but there is a major keynote to take a look at in the patch notes. If you played the game in January, you would have noticed a new game mode in beta. Swiftplay was introduced in January for players to test out. In theory, this is a shorter version of an unrated game in VALORANT, where players would play in a BO9 game, and the team to win five rounds first would win the match. This game mode was quite popular with the fanbase during its beta phase amongst casual fans. As such, it has now been added permanently in the latest patch.
Getting into changes to the gameplay, the first change was quite random and out of nowhere. It was a nerf on the duelist Raze. While not being the go-to pick Duelist on each map and team, Raze did receive quite a confusing nerf. The secondary ability of her kit, the Boom Bot, has been nerfed. Boom Bot is known for the number of angles it can cover and its massive impact on Bind while clearing hookah. As such, this nerf doesn’t change its health or even the damage output; instead, the launch time is halved. From ten seconds, it has been dropped to five seconds.
The second major nerf is on the most picked character in the game, Killjoy. Her kit receives two nerfs; the first is on her secondary ability, the Turret. The turret health has now been reduced from 125 to 100. As such, shooting down with cheaper and weaker weapons and utility will become much easier. We all have been there on those pistol rounds seeing our teammates get killed by the Turret because it wasn’t broken down. The second nerf comes to her lockdown ability. No changes were made to the duration of the Ultimate; it’s the Ultimate Orbs required that have increased. While in the past, it required seven Orbs, it now needs eight. As such, making it the costliest Ultimate in the game along with Chamber’s “Tour De Force”.
What changes to expect in the Competitive and Ranked meta?
As Bind currently is not in the map pool, there will be no way to detect how low Raze falls on the map. She is the highest-picked character on that map, but we imagine her usage on other maps will stay the same. Players will need to adjust to using the Boom Bot from a shorter range due to the active time being cut by half. This patch could mean we could see this ability being launched from very different locations. Due to there being no impact of the damage output by the Boom Bot, players won’t shy away from using this ability.
The Killjoy Turret nerf will not affect the game as much. This is because while the health of the Turret has been reduced, the area which is covered by it is a lot. As such, it can cover a few angles when deployed on a site. Now we see its usage at its highest during the pistol rounds in the game. While on defense, on a map like Ascent or Haven, keeping the turret on mid instead of just A site would be quite helpful. This would be to catch the rotations seen during the middle of a round.
The nerf on her Ultimate is one which most will keep their eyes on. This is because getting that extra Orb is going to reduce the frequency at which one will launch the Ultimate. Players playing this character will have to use the Ultimate more sparingly and ensure they get the most out of it. Whether that be to clear a site or to assist when the player is in a handicapped situation, it will be interesting to see how it will be used. The reduced frequency of the Ultimate will make the IGL’s call all the more crucial.
