thats cool but we're talking about solo q not pro play dumbass.

The original thread was about Iso's kit as a whole. An agent being useful in either a pro play setting or in a ranked play setting demonstrates some sought of success in their kit. Outside of using popularity and win rate stats the opinionated points surrounding Iso's kit can be easily deemed as subjective.

His q acts as a fade seize that lasts longer and is on a duelist

All his Q/"Undercut" provides is the fragile effect.
Fade's seize provides a decay, restricts movement and deafens the enemy. Whilst also providing a slight indicator to whether an enemy was hit or not. That's not even mentioning the other util Fade provides.

His C (which ironically is a tool for taking space contradicting your earlier point) is a better harbor wall for taking space.

Iso's one charge thin wall is not better than Harbor's two charges which has the option to stopped.
Even outside of the frequency of the wall, Harbor's wall also provides a slowing effect and lasts longer.
The indestructibleness can be useful but it stills weak in comparison.

Besides it's all good to argue about each ability in isolation but what makes an agent useful is the way they can use their abilities in tandem. With the comparison with Reyna you are forgetting the flexibility of use cases that the devour/dismiss combo allows for. Reyna's kit works well for individual expression which it was made for, Iso has individuality in some of his abilities but in unison the kit does not function as smoothly or as usefully as Reyna.

Of course ranked pickrates/winrates do not always correlate with the overall state of an agent.
But when you bring the argument that Iso is "in a completely OK state rn outside of pro play" and equate his performances to a similar agent like reyna despite the fact he his massively underperforming her in every metric it seems ridiculous.

I don't think Kay/o needs a buff because he's utility translates over to a structured pro play scenario very well, which is shown in his pick rates in a pro play.

You are making the argument that an agent that has no popularity in pro play and no popularity on the ladder is in a "ok state" which is laughable.

His kit is indeed on the selfish end of things however his kit is still far weaker than other agents that fall in this category.
He's not in an "ok state" his current kit is very underwhelming and does not provide any space creation or any advantage over another agent in the roster.

Despite both agents being viewed as "ranked agents" Reyna still does have a small presence in pro play.
Reyna has been played at every VCT event this year (this includes every regions kick//off and Masters Madrid).
Iso has not been played a single time.

In terms of ranked presence in 8.04 for all ranks, which was last patch. (according to metasrc).
Reyna is the 2nd most popular with a 11.13% pick rate. (highest rank win rate, 50.62%)
Iso was the 4th least popular with a 1.55% pick rate. (3rd lowest rank win rate, 49.40%)

Yes Iso's kit can be viewed as selfish but i wouldn't say he is an OK state right now.

In terms of ranked pick rate he is still like bottom 5 at all rank levels.

If you changed his E (DOUBLE TAP, the ability that provides a shield to ISO) so that it granted an initial shield upon activation as well as a refresh on kills, would that be too OP?

It would help to improve his ability to make/create space dramatically.
You could always reduce its up time and some changes to its costs/charges to make it more balanced.

Currently, he's not in a very good state especially at the highest level.
Other than that change, you would probably need to rework his kit.

How?
In terms of the GiantX squad he has done pretty well so far.
I was pretty impressed with the ideas surrounding set plays that they used at champs.

Their IGL (rhyme) decided to retire after 2023, which resulting in them needing to bring in redgar.
Had a tough group at Kick//off but still were competitive, lets see how they perform in split 1 before we jump to conclusions.

Hype has Polaris residency which Nukkye does not have.
By removing Hype, Apeks would not be eligible for Polaris at this moment in time.

That was Rhyme, the Norwegian former IGL for Giants.

Also I could easily see Valve cramping down on CS skin gambling again because of this.
Which would be good to see, its such a vile industry.

Scamming gambling site pays people to storm the stage in "protest" of another scamming gambling site!!!

like yeah man you look completely sane doing this.
Renting 10 girls to dance behind you on stream definitely makes you look like the sane guys.

The game is older.
The demographic is also older.
The venues and the players are more historic.
European crowds have more "Ultras" like the Golden Hornets, these are in valorant but they are not as involved.

These things take time to develop.
The Madrid crowd was good though.

Best player outside of the top team in the region now riding the bench for a year.

Yes, it makes sense for PRX to do this considering the reason for getting Monyet in the first place is now gone.
Hopefully Monyet can leave PRX in the off//season, a player of his calibre is too good to be a 6th.

Neither NAVI or NRG were superteams last year?
Superteams are created when you combine multiple big pieces from different teams into one.
NAVI kept a 4 man core.
NRG kept s0m who was unproven internationally at the time + the optic pieces were more of the support core rather than the star pieces. (still very good players).

FNC was, and they were a success.

Outside of the top 10 it becomes a lot harder and more opinionated.
It's kinda hard to judge how good teams were now and how could they could be based on such a limited sample size.
Almost every team haven't even revealed their whole map pools either.

KC 13-8 FPX ICEBOX
KC 13-10 FPX LOTUS
HERETICS 13-5 SEN SUNSET
HERETICS 13-10 PRX LOTUS
KC 13-6 PRX LOTUS

So 5 maps won. 3 on lotus, 1 on icebox and 1 on sunset.

Heretics also beat PRX on Lotus. (if you are talking about the head to head, heretics beat them on split + lotus in EMEA groups.)
Both teams are very close to each other though.
My main way of comparing KC and Heretics were on how they fared versus Sentinels.
I felt watching the game heretics were slightly better in comparison.

Beating PRX always requires some sort of experience versus their style, which both teams lacked and PRX games quite often have a lot of variance in their performances.

1. Sentinels: Fresh off winning Masters Madrid, good read on the meta.
2. GenG: Have shown that they can contend versus the very best. Hopefully they can easily shake off that loss to Sentinels.
3. Fnatic: Fnatic still have all the pieces to be THE TOP TEAM again. However they will need to prove it this split.
4. PRX: It still feels like they are suffering from the growing pains of integrating monyet. Always looking to innovate, I feel they can find a way to make things click.
5. NRG: The NRG project is still in its infancy, despite this they still looked deadly. Some more time and cohesion and this team could be hoisting a trophy.
6. Loud: Unfortunately Visa issues will slow the teams development. I wasn't a fan of the triple flash comps however a Saadhak led team will always be a threat.
7. Heretics: "Los Niños" surprised almost everyone by qualifying for Madrid. Despite going 0-2 they were very competitive and the experience will benefit the team.
8. KC: Another young roster from EMEA. They showed some interesting set plays and ideas this season and will have benefitted a lot from their international debuts.
9. Leviatan: Simply too much firepower on the roster. They suffered from being placed in the "group of death", hopefully this split will allow them to show what they can really do.
10. EDG: The kings of china. Completely exploded versus Loud and seemed off the pace versus the western style teams.
11. 100T: Despite going 0-2, I actually liked a lot of what I saw. A few rounds going differently and the perception of the team would be different.
12. FUT: Tried some new ideas and comps in an VCT EMEA group which was deceptively strong. I still have a lot of faith in MrFalin and his ideas.
13. DRX: The dethroned kings of Korea will be looking to bounce back. The core of buzz/mako/stax is still reliable, drx just needs to find a way to slot in the final two pieces of the puzzle.
14. EG: Potter has the incredible ability to unearth all the potential out of her players. The team has the potential to punch above their weight.
15. Navi: I truly do not know what to think. I might have developed Stockholm syndrome from watching this roster.

This cloud9 roster should have never gone ahead.

The roster was built by Zellsis with the plan of him transitioning into an IGL role. (igl being arguably the most important piece in roster construction).
However, he then left to join Sentinels after he was given a good deal to be a 6th man. (can't blame him really, good pay + try content creation).

So now we have a roster which was built around... no one?
The players aren't really the problem, we now just have a roster built without a reason or purpose anymore.

Because in events prior to 2023, the americas region and pacific region was split into sub regions which resulted in each region having more slots internationally.

Champions 2022 for example:
3 EMEA teams: fpx/fnc/liquid
7 Americas teams: optic/xset/loud/lev/100t/kru/boom
5 pacific teams: drx/zeta/prx/xerxia/boom
1 chinese teams: EDG (this was a qualifier slot also included pacific teams)

It's time, the prophecy is unravelling.

Beyn is coming to beat Meteor and help DRX reclaim the throne.

#DRXWIN #EnjoyChallenge

Going from T3 EU as a Portuguese player to T2 china is one hell of a journey.

A couple of interesting rosters in the mix like RA/CCG/ZY

Sayonara is pretty damn good.

It's missing a few historical data points.

Here is the top 10 highest FKPR performances (minimum 200 rounds)

| Player   | Tournament      | Fkpr (accurate) | RND |
|----------|-----------------|-----------------|-----|
| Derke    | CHAMPS 2021     |          0.2657 | 207 |
| Derke    | COPENHAGEN 2022 |         0.24359 | 234 |
| Derke    | TOKYO 2023      |        0.242857 | 210 |
| ZmjjKK   | TOKYO 2023      |        0.240469 | 341 |
| leaf     | CHAMPS 2021     |        0.233051 | 236 |
| zekken   | Madrid 2024     |        0.228029 | 421 |
| f0rsakeN | ICELAND 2022    |         0.22488 | 209 |
| Derke    | CHAMPIONS 2023  |        0.222222 | 270 |
| yay      | BERLIN 2021     |        0.221774 | 248 |
| Derke    | LOCKIN 2023     |        0.221498 | 307 |
| Asuna    | BERLIN 2021     |        0.221154 | 208 |

In terms of fkpr, its not an incredibly important stat and it is dictated by playstyles.
To gain a better overall picture a combination of stats would be better, like using first kill involvements, traded first deaths and true first kills. Or obtaining the atk side data only to gain a better picture of the impact a duelist is having (for entrying purposes)

Championship Points

Throughout Regional and Masters play, all teams will have the opportunity to earn Championship Points. Championship Points are awarded based on the following system:

One (1) point for each match win during Stage 1 & Stage 2 Regular Season
One (1) point for each match win or earned bye during Mid-Season and Season Playoffs
Three (3) points for winning Kickoff
Three (3) points for winning Mid-Season Playoffs
Three (3) points for winning Masters Madrid
Three (3) points for winning Masters Shanghai

https://valorantesports.com/news/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-2024-vct-americas-season/en-us

Theoretical max points: (lets use nrg for an example)
Group Stage split 1: 6 points
Split 1 playoffs: 4 points
Split 1 bonus points: 3 points
Shanghai bonus: 3 points
Split 2 group stage: 4 points
Split 2 playoffs: 1 points. (this is to ensure they finish 4th)

so.. 21.

Winning kick//off + Masters Madrid would be the equivalent to six wins.

It's a nice little safety net.
Riot still wants the best teams at the end of the year to play at champions, granting too many points could allow sentinels to not try as hard at the end of the season. (nobody wants to watch a team not trying).

New Championship Points system is introduced

1. Teams will earn 1 point for each win during League Stage games
2. Teams will earn 3 points for winning regional Kickoff, Masters Madrid, Masters Shanghai and Stage 1 Playoffs

To qualify for champions you can either finish top 3 at the end of stage 2 playoffs.
OR have the most championship points in your region (Outside of the teams that have already qualified)

So what championship points does is it rewards a team for being competitive throughout the season, even if they fail to get top 3 at the end of split 2.

The issue is if you start giving too many points out it will result in regular season games becoming less meaningful.
and in some cases straight up meaningless for teams.

Accidently missed that atakaptan masterclass.

Teams that took maps of FNC in VCT 2023:
Loud: 6
Liquid: 3
DRX: 1
EG: 1
BBL: 1
FUT: 1

I don't see it.
The biggest valorant fanbases have traditionally been BR/NA (JP is big but they are not competitive enough to make a grand finals).
The timezone for shanghai and champions would not be great for either regions.

Madrid is super high due to sentinels overwhelming popularity.

LoL is stupidly high.
Peaked at 6.4m at 2023 worlds.

CS peaked at 2.7m at stockholm 2021
cs has an issue that the last 7 major finals have been 2-0 sweep.

Almost guaranteed.
Would have to be a generational fuck up to not qualify.

Gambit
LOUD
OPTIC
FNC
EG
(based on rosters not orgs)

This sentinels roster could enter the group granted they have more success going forward.

It's a kilt.
its a scottish thing

Its not even funny at this point.
I kinda feel bad.

Very high pressure scenario so im not surprised.

its time.
we go to map 5.

Playing like the Korean c0m right now

Munchkin is playing so smart right now.
The way hes using his viper utility is almost perfect.

This might just be a coincidence but every vct event location post "franchising" has a correlation to a partnered team.
(the city and the nation).

São Paulo: Loud / mibr
Tokyo: Zeta/dfm
Los Angeles: sen/100t ... etc

Madrid: Heretics
Shanghai: BLG / NOVA
Seoul: DRX/GENG/T1

I wouldn't mind dubai but id expect there might be a few locations they would want to go to first (london/paris in eu for example)

Demon1 on clove... would be very strong.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_LajxYS2b8
-Ability leaked footage, dont watch if you dont want to be spoiled.

Kinda looks like a controller version of Iso.
Both with onkill effects and vulnerability inducing abilities.

It's an interesting balance where aggressiveness isn't completely punished, but at the same time is still rewarded.

Prx over the years have become more calculated with their aggressions, i agree.

The cases where Monyet is becoming more of a "traded body", i feel are instances of lack of synergy or wavelength with the rest of the team.
Some of those cases being moments where with Jinggg another player would be double swinging with him.

I still believe there are minor differences between Jinggg's raze aggression and monyet which over time cascade into bigger differences.

I dont know I just think the issues could be slowly fixed over time and the Monyet hate is being too forced.
People are just expecting Monyet to slot in perfectly to a team that plays a contrasting style to GE.

Honestly, "W gaming" plays against what has become the fundamentals in valorant.
It requires a constant high level of fire power and individual brilliance to make work at the highest level.
Jinggg being the spearhead to the style ,with his almost complete mastery of raze.

Trying to find the next jinggg is a near impossible task, there is not really anyone with experience that could replace him.

Monyet thrived it what was a more "western style" in Global Esports.
There's no doubt Monyet is incredibly talented but it feels like they are trying to use him like jinggg and not like monyet.

But it's hard to blame PRX when this style has kept them at the highest level for so long.
The style has become synonymous with paper rex, it has become their identity.

It's a tricky conundrum and there is no right answer.

No.

No.
I just think they were never winning tokyo with fnatic being there.
Fnatic's playstyle was very good at containing prx.

They were outsiders at madrid but i still think there was a higher chance of them winning here (albeit a slim chance)

PRX tokyo is more impressive because they were playing with a sub and were 1 map away from the final.
Although I do think they were closer to winning the event in Madrid.

Tenz and sunset is like bread and butter at this point

Ok I just checked the stats.
1.25 rating on sunset in 133 rounds.

Roster Changes
Meta is not solidified, still a variety of comps being played on every map.
Riot deciding to push a very influential patch towards the end of the off//season.

Towards the end of the season these things get ironed out.
Teams start to default towards a standard comp, protocols expanded and understandings get developed.