Unlike Valorant Patch 1.06, which launched just a couple of weeks ago, today’s update is a “full” update, featuring a wide range of balance adjustments, fixes, and so on. Of course, these include several major changes to the existing Agents, nerfing some while buffing others considerably. (While Omen didn’t feature in Patch 1.07, the update does, however, seem to have introduced a rather unfortunate glitch…)
Valorant Patch 1.07: Sage & Killjoy Nerfs
The first Valorant agent to feature in Patch 1.07 is Sage, and this time, she has received a substantial nerf. Her Heal ability, which previously healed 100, will now heal only 60. However, it will heal that amount in 5 seconds rather than 10, unless you heal yourself; self-healing will still take 10 seconds. This disincentivises Sage from healing herself, and should also reduce the amount of healing she can do overall. Her Slow Orb ability has also been nerfed somewhat, reducing its size by 30%.
Finally, Sage’s Barrier Orb has actually received a buff rather than a nerf. Its cost has gone down from 400 to 300. Additionally, the wall will now form with 400hp before fortifying up to 800 after a 3-second delay.
Killjoy has also received a slight nerf in today’s patch, though arguably not as significantly as Sage. Her Nanoswarm ability now has a “brief windup” before it begins dealing damage, and its DPS has also gone down from 60 to 40. Additionally, Riot has added new visual effects so that it will be easier for players to spot the Nanoswarm grenade. “Killjoy’s Nanoswarm has been a terror to play against,” explains Riot; “It’s meant to be a strong stalling and post plant tool – but we feel it’s currently dealing far too much damage and players aren’t able to engage in the desired counterplay.”
Finally, Patch 1.07 includes a few minor alterations to Killjoy’s Turret, though these are a buff rather than a nerf. The device will no longer be revealed by Sova’s Recon Bolt ability, making it harder to avoid. Additionally, it will now shoot with greater accuracy at a target’s last known location.
Valorant Patch 1.07: Viper & Breach Buffs
As for the Agents who have received more significant buffs, Viper is up first – not the first time that Riot has given her a buff via a recent update. Her Toxic Screen ability can now be placed during the buy phase of a match, and can also be placed through spawn barriers. Additionally, once the Screen starts to form, it will rise faster than before. As for Decay; the Decay effect on her various smoke abilities will no longer affect allies. This change mainly focuses on Viper’s Pit, the area of which will now appear on her teammates’ mini-maps.
The second Agent to receive a buff is Breach, although Riot writes that they have more changes planned for him in the near future. Firstly, Breach’s Flashpoint ability now has 3 charges rather than 2, and a slightly reduced windup time; 0.5 seconds instead of 0.6. Additionally; “off-screen flashes now match behaviour of other flashes in the game and apply a minimum amount of flash more aggressively.”
Breach’s Rolling Thunder ability has also had a mild reduction to the delay between blasts. Rather than a 0.3 second delay, it will now be 0.255 seconds. Finally, his Concussion ability will now automatically knock players out of their scope and in fact will also temporarily prevent players from using their scope.