VALORANT Patch 8.11 balance changes: Reyna, Raze, Clove get nerfs

Valorant
June 5, 2024
Tarun Sayal

The VALORANT 8.11 patch is a few days away and Riot has already announced all the major agent balance changes coming with the next update. So far, it seems like the changes heavily revolve around the duelist characters such as Reyna, Neon, Iso, and Raze which may affect the way you play the game. So, without any further ado, here’s a detailed overview of the agent balance changes in the VALORANT 8.11 update.

All agent balance changes in VALORANT Patch 8.11

Valorant 8.11 agent updates

Image Credits: Riot Games

As mentioned earlier, Riot making some updates to a few Duelists and a Controller in the next VALORANT update. Those changes are:

  • Iso – Buff
  • Neon – Buff
  • Reyna – Rework
  • Raze – Nerf
  • Clove – Nerf

Iso gets an amazing buff in VALORANT Patch 8.11

Iso is getting some amazing buffs in this patch to boost his game at all skill levels. His signature ability is getting a boost to make him better in tight spots and early fights, giving him his shield right after he channels. Even if he loses his shield but scores a kill during Double Tap, his buff stays active, and orbs will still spawn. Finally, shooting the orbs will refresh his buff and shield duration.

Double Tap (E)

  • Iso now grants himself a shield upon finishing a 1-second animation during which he can’t use his gun.
  • This plays a shield-forming sound at the end of the channel when the shield is activated.
  • Charges 2 to 1
  • Kill reset added to Double Tap (Iso gets a charge back if he gets 2 kills).
  • Iso now receives a Wall Penetration tag instead of a standard Heavy Penetration tag when the shield is broken. This means he’s slowed less upon his shield breaking.
  • Additionally, Iso now gets a damage indicator towards the direction of the enemy that broke the shield
  • Iso can now recast Double Tap while it’s active to refresh the duration of the shield.
  • This is relevant if he gets a refreshed charge of his Double Tap from getting 2 kills.

Neon

Neon’s mobile combat skills will also be revamped in the upcoming patch. Her slide is now smoother with no weapon errors. On top of that, Fast Lane (C) updates make fights around her wall easier for teammates and cut down on visual clutter in the game.

Fast Lane (C)

  • Fast Lane (C) dissipates from behind to minimize visual noise in combat space while giving cover for Neon.
  • Fast Lane’s (C) audio has been updated to travel with the fade out of the wall.
  • Wall Duration 6 to 4 seconds
  • Wall Dissolve Duration 1 to 2 seconds

High Gear (E)

  • Sprint
  • Neon no longer has her strafe speed reduced while sprinting.
  • Max Sprint Speed while moving sideways 6.73 meters/second to 9.11 meters/second
  • Time until Full Fuel Regen 60 to 20 seconds
  • Slide
  • Slide charges 1 to 2
  • Neon now removes all weapon movement errors when sliding.
  • This effectively means she’s more accurate while sliding.
  • Second Slide Cost: 150
  • Equips out of slide: Fast >>> Instant
  • Slide equip buffer >>> .2s (after sliding, there is .2 seconds before her gun comes out)

Relay Bolt (Q)

  • Charges: 2 to 1
  • Windup delay: 1.1 to .8 seconds
  • Concuss Duration: 3.0 to 3.5 seconds

Reyna gets a rework

Reyna, the agent with one of the highest pick rates, is receiving both buffs and nerfs in this patch to reshape the power of her kit. The goal of the changes is to reduce the level of dominance she can achieve in Ranked, especially at low and mid ranks when outperforming her enemies.

Devour (Q)

  • Healing decreased from 100 to 50.
  • Full heal time reduced from 3 to 2 seconds.
  • Overheal of armor no longer decays after a timer.

Dismiss (E)

  • Top speed increased from 9.1 meters/second to 12 meters/second.
  • The total duration of Dismiss reduced from 2 to 1.5 seconds.

Empress (X)

  • Empress no longer has a timer and is permanent until Reyna is killed or the round ends.

Raze’s mobility affected with new nerf

The developers have observed how good you’ve gotten with Raze’s satchel mobility, but her speed can mess with the tactical balance. These changes aim to make it easier to counter Raze using your skills or gunplay. They still want to keep her fun movement, but she shouldn’t be as unpredictable without team support.

Blast Pack (Q)

  • Raze’s satchels no longer explode for damage/knockback upon opponent destruction.
  • Raze’s horizontal velocity when satcheling has been slowed.
  • Satchel explosion audio has been updated to be audible farther away to ensure enemies can hear the first satchel when a Raze double satchels.

Clove receives a nerf too

In VALORANT Patch 8.11, Riot is trimming some extraneous power from their selfish, duelist-oriented outputs while preserving the Controller-leaning power in their kit.

Pick-Me-Up (C)

  • Cost increased from 100 to 200.
  • Duration reduced from 10 to 8 seconds. 
  • Damaging Assist Time to activate decreased from 10 to 6 seconds. 

Not Dead Yet (X)

  • Cost increased from 7 to 8.
  • Unequip Delay increased from .7 to .8 seconds. 
  • BUG FIX: Clove’s ultimate will no longer survive the fighting state if they get a smoke assist.

So that was the complete list of agents that are getting nerfed and buffed. The complete patch notes of the 8.11 update will be announced closer to its release, so stay tuned.

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