Riot Character Producer John “MEMEMEME” Goscicki has announced the 16th agent in VALORANT. The as-yet-unknown character is set to appear in patch 3.0.
In his developer blog, Character Producer Goscicki has addressed future changes and additions for the shooter VALORANT. The biggest addition from Episode 3 onwards will be the debut of the 16th agent with Patch 3.0.
Our Character Producer @RiotMEMEMEMEME goes into planned 3.0 Agent changes and who’s coming in Episode 3.
Read it: https://t.co/TZodTwkzET pic.twitter.com/DXbnTUfxqP— VALORANT (@PlayVALORANT) May 28, 2021
While neither the name nor the character design of the new agent has been revealed, Goscicki spoke indirectly about the traits: “This time we’re throwing in abilities that should feel familiar to people who have played traditional FPS games their whole lives. This agent can create moments with its traits where you have to rely on your gunplay.”
Based on this statement, it seems very likely that the new agent will be able to suppress enemy abilities. Because of this, it then comes down to pure aiming with the weapons, as it is in first-person shooters like CS:GO without utility.
Goscicki also explained why Agent wasn’t released earlier: “We prioritise quality over speed.” Riot Games did not release another character in Episode 2 Act 3, leaving the community already impatient for a fresh one. The wait is about to come to an end. Because Episode 3 could start as early as this month. The end of Episode 2 Act 3 is set for 21 June.
In addition to the new agent, existing characters will be adapted. Especially the agents with flashes are in focus. “We want to release updates to Breach, Skye, Yoru and Astra,” says Goscicki. Especially for Skye and Breach, the possibilities for three possible flashes in a row are to be limited. Astra will also receive a nerf: “Some of their play patterns are too oppressive in coordinated play,” he explains succinctly.