I want to ask if you think these changes will genuinely improve gameplay in the sense that the utility will now have to be more carefully used. Gunplay will be incentivized, making the game more slow-paced and tactical rather than large executes (util expense) being the win con, or do you think this will take the enjoyability out of most agents? I suppose if every agent is properly changed, I believe it is really good for the game.
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util changes genuine feedback
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With more scarce utility, teams will need to commit more relative utility to have the same effect. A normal layered execute: Drone->2 Smokes->Flash->Dart. Pretty standard entry, however now that total available utility is less, the commitment of that normal layered execute is much higher. Meaning you are inclined to use even more utility in that exec to assure success, as a second chance at the execute is more difficult with 60 second cooldowns as apposed to 40 second cooldowns. Now obviously utility dumping won't be a new thing with this patch, but what I am saying is that you are penalized more in this patch for NOT utility dumping. Genuinely I think the optimal way to play after this patch is to default to find the Veto E if applicable, bait it out, then utility dump as hard as you can with 2 duelists who can capitalize off of it. Condensing all of that effective util leads to two distinct playstyles: Pace abuse with duelists like I outlined, or painstakingly slow play to manipulate rotations, which I don't believe will be as effective in this meta for MOST teams as it was in 2023.
Sadly I think you're prediction is correct for the upcoming meta, I genuinely hoped the utility changes would change the game in a way where utility was being placed less yet more strageticly (a fair trade) yet it seems they are simply trying to reduce utility so teams will be incentivized to preserve their utility until the final exec where its a battle of which team was able to keep the most utility :/
Sentinels will be useless because there is less utility or because a new Senti that is great for coordinated play got added? Not sure I get your point. What I will say is that even if Veto is not in your comp, having the stopping power of a Sentinel to derail a hit and then force the other team to wait 60 seconds for cooldowns vs 40 seconds will greatly impact the game. That said maybe some teams will not play sentinel and instead bring another agent with redundant utility ie: playing 2 recons so you can "waste" a dart and still have one to hit. Or even more duelists will be played as they have more relative utility now, aside from the nerfs to Yoru and Neon. The problem with redundant or non-sentinel comps is you are preparing for the side with less inherent advantages after these changes. IMO better to plan for a 9+ round defense side and find ways to make up a few rounds on attack, rather than prepare a comp that can maybe get 6 on either side.
I mean, I understand the sentiment, but the game was never meant to be played with a crutch on utility. I believe they also saw the majority of mid to low elo players crutched on utility too much and weren't being incentivized to prioritize improving their mechanics. I see a world in which the game becomes incredibly boring because changes weren't equally dished out to each agent, making some objectively better than others, but I see another world where the game will go back to how it was very early on, where good mechanics got you very far, and utility was a more adverse thing. Guess we gotta find out.
The game is not CS but you bums want it to be just like CS. If you want weak ass utility and an emphasis on gunplay just quit val and play counter strike. Why would anyone even bother locking in a weak util agent when they can just run it down with reyna jett iso like its CS? If you are gonna make the game gunfight focused more people are gonna play agents that help you take gunfights. This is just making the already horrible ranked meta worse.
So hostile for what? You completely missed the point. The game was never meant to be completely dependent on utility. I never called for "weak ass utility" 😂 but this isn't Overwatch, the agent's utility shouldn't dictate anything other than your playstyle. Far too many people who are in mid to low elo hard crutch on utility to win gun fights, it should always be more rewarding to have good mechanics in a game like Valorant because it's the only universal thing in the game. In Overwatch, each hero's mechanics-- obviously, it isn't like that in Valorant, that's why agent nerfs are more spaced out and low impact. Also, even if the meta was iso, Reyna, and Jett, which it won't be, how does that make it CS? Valorant would still retain its identity. But the endpoint is I'm not the person calling for an emphasis on gunplay; it was legitimately always emphasized.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4iGU6PctOBg&t=47s
It was always incentivized to have unique utility to support gunplay. If you want to play Overwatch, play Overwatch.
Your entire sentiment was contrary to this: "Looks to me like Riot made these changes with only high ranks/pro play in mind". To me, I read this as "Valorant should stop forcing the incentivization of good mechanics and realize a lot of the casual player base relies on utility." Also, I'm not claiming utility is a crutch inherently; it just shouldn't be treated as one.
Looks to me like you live in a different reality, because it's precisely the casual player that relies less on utility and more on aim. Lower elo players cannot coordinate util, they can't do executes properly, they can't do retakes, they don't even know when or how to use their util correctly most of the time. And as I said, players will never stop improving their aiming, because as I said, aim is king. Riot is "fixing" a problem that was never there.
You make a point and then completely retract it and act as if I'm crazy? "Looks to me like Riot made these changes with only high ranks/pro play in mind, and they have no clue how the majority of the playerbase approaches the game." This is a direct quote from you in regards to utility being nerfed. What else is there to infer from this? If you're making the claim, this won't affect the "majority" because they can't use the utility to its full extent, then you might genuinely have zero clue how this game works😂 Casual players wouldn't rely on aim more because they don't have refined mechanics (i.e., aim, movement) there's no logic behind stating casual players rely on aim because they don't play the game that much which begs the question, how would they have good aim or aim good enough to rely on it? If anything, casual players would rely MORE on utility because using utility is a lower skill ceiling than having good mechanics. You're either grossly underestimating the experience needed for good mechanics or grossly overestimating the skill ceiling for good utility usage. Don't make ambiguous points and then enact grandiosity as if your point was clear.
I think this is a very nice change at least when it comes to the higher levels of play, no longer do you have the choice to wait out your signature ability cooldown to have during all phases of your gameplan, you now actually have to pick and choose when it's most important to use said ability which contrary to popular belief might actually increase the pace of rounds
(Also astra is SO back btw guys)
I think it's good, personally I feel like we always overreact to changes on big patches and then a few days later everyone is slowly adapted to it. I understand people think they are fixing a non-problem for the casual playerbase but there are alot of people in the casual playerbase that did rely on utility especially if anyone has played in Japan servers, the util usage was pretty much king over aim alot of the times when I was climbing there. We are all humans, we can adapt to these changes and we got a whole ass off-season to do it so honestly I wish we would just see how it plays instead of reacting first
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