Current meta isn't bad, but I could see RIOT making a few changes sometime in the near future:
-
Omen Nerf:
Omen has never been weak but we've recently started seeing him get upwards of 80% pick rate. Although this is due to his heavily favored map pool, it still wouldn't be surprising to see him receive a small nerf (particularly his Paranoia). I believe they would change the size of it - make it thinner or shorter. Its blind mechanics seem balanced enough, but the fact that it can stop entire pushes and facilitate executes so effectively makes its size a bit of an issue. -
Yoru Nerf:
Yoru himself isn't seeing extraordinary pick rates, but the fact that he's being used as a replacement for every flash initiator in the game should be concerning. All four flash imitators rarely see above a 10% pick rate, while Yoru is consistently picked as the #1 or #2 duelist. Again, this map pool favors him quite a bit although he's not particularly terrible on any map in the game. I could see RIOT nerfing his flashes, likely decreasing the duration. That being said, flashes overall aren't very strong in pro play simply because players are too quick. The two recon initiators dominate in pick rate and overall strength. However, a small nerf to Yoru's flashes would likely balance out pick rates of flash agents. -
Breach Buff:
It's true that they just nerfed him, but let's be honest: the only reason he was being used at all this year was because of the Tejo meta. After Tejo was killed, he became nearly useless again. Instead, they decided to make his stun even worse. I think they might revert this change to make it at least somewhat viable. Additionally they may buff his flashes because they are some of the worst in the game. This will also help with the "Yoru takeover".
I think these three are the most the obvious, but there are obviously some more glaring issues.
- Harbor Buff/Rework:
The long awaited Harbor buff/rework... I'd like to believe that it will come in the near future but at this point I couldn't know. Harbor is in a weird spot because his role within the game isn't fully understood. He's a bit of an initiating controller with his ultimate, while also being a bit of a sentinel controller with his slowing walls. There are a couple ways RIOT could take this. The most obvious rework would be his Cove ability. This seems like the most glaring issue because this ability has very minimal impact in any scenario. The most value it ever finds is getting a spam-safe plant on attack. What else does it do? Pretty much nothing. Can't really use it as a dome smoke to cover chokes because of its short duration and awkward placements. On top of that, there's not even a need to use it in that way since Harbor already has 2 other smokes. There are 2 directions RIOT could go with the Cove: 1, remove it completely and add an ability that would better fulfill Harbor's role as an initiating controller. There are multiple ways to do this. Easiest and simplest one would be to give him a water grenade. You could make it do virtually anything, it's water. Make it slow enemies like the rest of his abilities. Make it to damage. Make it get in their eyes and blind them. You name it. Just give him a damn water balloon. 2, make the Cove more viable for a sentinel style role, perhaps changing the deployment of it to a more traditional dome smoke, or making changes to the shield aspect of it (e.g. enemies not able to walk in or out, decay similar to viper smokes). Personally I think the first option is better. Not only does Valorant lack an initiation-focused controller, it would also help balance out Harbors kit. The Cove in general is a very odd ability that's hard to balance and make useful.
With all that being said, these are some of the changes that I expect RIOT to implement into the game soon. Or at least what I hope to see, in terms of pro play. I main Omen so seeing him get nerfed again will be a sad day, but at this rate it's an inevitable future.
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