tw: allat
This is just a rant about why nerfing agents is bad for the game overall (specifically nerfing agents into the ground). While the different metas dominated by a couple agents have been crazy to play in, the way Riot turns good agents into unviable ones is detrimental for both the competitive and casual scene.
POINT 1:
One upside I enjoyed about eras of broken agents was the diversity of agent comps it allowed.
Consider Ascent; during three overpowered agent eras we saw some interesting teamstyles rather than the same boring meta comp
- pre-nerf skye: viper harbor ideas (which are pretty unviable now)
- chamber: triple initiator no duelist ascent
- tejo: yoru tejo vyse structures
I prefer watching games like these instead of the default meta comp. However, nerfing agents like Tejo so harshly means this structure is pretty unviable now and more teams will probably decide to return to the meta ascent comp. The absence of a good solo initiator now means double initiator team structures will become more common, and thus ideas like double duelist, double controller, and double sentinel will likely disappear.
To be clear, I am not saying Tejo should not have been nerfed. Instead, I would have preferred if Tejo was nerfed much lighter than it was (say give it 3 missiles in total without recharge or let it recharge one missile after a long period of time). On any initiator, removing recharge from the signature ability absolutely crushes its viability, as gathering information and reclearing space is much harder. Skye sucks now.
POINT 2:
Pickrate =/= broken. Just because an agent is picked a lot doesn't mean they are broken. Some agents are plain good, and enable a variety of team structures that would otherwise be impossible. Omen has a really high pickrate; does that mean he should be nerfed? If Omen was nerfed, pretty much every comp would be TERRIBLE. Consider the following nerfs that I've made up to imitate how Riot nerfs agents. The descriptions are there to make it seem realistic—that in fact, I could see Riot releasing these changes
Omen:
C: Shrouded Step
Charges decreased 2 -> 1
Windup increased 0.7 -> 1 s
Equip time increased 0.5 -> 1 s
*These changes were made as we find Omen has overwhelming mobility options as compared to other agents both within and outside the Controller class. We have decreased the number of charges and increased the vulnerable teleportation period to force players to be more careful and conscious about the decision to use this ability, rather than the quick get-out-of-jail-free card it was previously. *
Q: Paranoia
Velocity: 16 -> 10 meters per second (thus covering less ground)
Nearsight duration: 2 seconds -> 1.6 seconds
*Paranoia is one of the strongest personal abilities an agent has, so we've decided to decrease its duration and velocity to keep it in line with other nearsight abilities, such as Reyna's leer.*
E: Dark Cover
Cooldown 30 -> 45 seconds
*Compared to other controllers, Omen possesses significantly longer range for his signature ability. Thus, we've decided to increase the cooldown period on his smokes to offset this advantage.* Omen is gutted, and lets say we think he is so bad that teams stop playing Omen altogether. What compositions are even viable now? If you need a second controller because Omen just can't cut it anymore, the OVERALL SKILL CEILING of the game has decreased. You simply aren't able to do what you could before, because agents physically can't anymore with their nerfed abilities. Everyone starts playing Astra, and now fun reclears with Omen flash and aggressive teleport plays and clutches are no longer possible. Your team now has less overall tools, so now your team needs two of every character or else your composition will be bad at SOMETHING. Now, because you have to play double controller or else your smokes are unreliable, you have to forgo a sentinel, and now you have to constantly worry about mid. Or you decided to play single initiator sova/fade—oh wait, most initiators suck now, so now you have to play yoru or else you don't have flashes.
POINT 3:
This just hurts the casual scene. It's hard enough getting my teammates to comm. Now, the agents they play also suck. Good luck. Making solid agents is good because it enables players to use creativity and use their abilities to their advantage.
Also, nerfing agents makes players unhappy because they remember what it was like before. The Omen changes I made would make flash tp plays impossible, so now you have to win your 1v1 in a straight aimduel.
rant over
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