The highly anticipated Valorant Episode 4 Act 3 update is here, and it has brought a number of changes to the competitive shooter that can potentially change the current meta in the professional scene.
These changes include not only the introduction of the new Initiator, Fade, but also some significant nerfs to Jett and Sova, alongside a few changes to Neon.
Valorant patch 4.08 will be decreasing Jett’s maneuverability on the battlefield quite a bit, as she’ll only have a 12-second window to use her dash once she decides to activate the ability.
Here are the official Jett changes in the next Valorant update as confirmed by the developers:
Tailwind
- On pressing the ability key, after a short delay Jett activates a 12 second window where she is empowered to immediately dash on next button press.
- Her Tailwind charge is lost whether she Dash’s or the window expire, but can still be regained with two kills.
“With this update, we want to bring Jett back into that core loop by asking her to call her shots and then engage with a window of dash power to make those trademark explosive plays,” the devs said in a statement. “This should create clear signals for other players to consider and understand that Jett made a deliberate call. Jett’s new dash will require an adjustment for players but we feel this is the best solution to balance maintaining Jett’s identity while increasing game health.”
Sova is undoubtedly the worst sufferer of patch 4.08 as his overall impact on the battlefield has been significantly reduced through some heavy nerfs to his Shock Bolt and Owl Drone.
Here are all the nerfs to Sova coming with the 4.08 update:
Owl Drone
- Duration reduced 10s >>> 7s
- Health reduced 125 >>> 100
- Number of reveal pings reduced 3 >>> 2
- Initial delay before first ping reveals increased 1.2s >>> 1.6s (Delay between the first and second ping remains 1.2s)
Shock Dart
- Max Damage decreased 90 >>> 75
- Radial damage has been scaled in accordance with new max damage.
Neon, on the other hand, has been buffed and nerfed simultaneously in the Episode 4 Act 3 update. Here are the changes to Neon that patch 4.08 will bring to the shooter:
General
- Battery energy received upon killing an enemy increased 25%>>>100%
High Gear
- Slide cannot be cast during equip delay
- Velocity restriction removed
- Neon can now slide sideways and forward, and only requires that she is moving
Energy drain increased 6.7/s>>>10/s
Fast Lane
- Wall damage removed
Valorant 4.08 also reduces the penalties on 5-stacking in competitive games. However, Immortals and Radiants will still receive 25-75% penalties when queuing in a pre-made lobby. Here are the changes to competitive matchmaking in the Valorant 4.08 update:
If EVERYONE in your party is Iron–Diamond 2:
- No RR penalty if within normal grouping
- 25% RR penalty for all players if any player falls outside of normal grouping
If ANYONE in your party is Diamond 3–Immortal 3 (but no one in your party is Radiant):
- 25% RR penalty for all players
If ANYONE in your party is Radiant:
- 75% RR penalty for all players
- Tuned matchmaking to reduce wait time for 5-stacks
