Valorant’s Episode 4 Act 2 is here with a variety of changes coming across for agents and other aspects of the game although we won’t be seeing any new agents being added to the ranks or a new map being introduced.
It’s just about time, Episode 4 Act 2 is shipped to Valorant but here we are, getting you all listed with every detail that is expected to come along with the update.
Earlier in January, Valorant developer Anna Donlon explained that the upcoming act wouldn’t feature any new agent or a map and would just focus on other aspects as mentioned above.
“So what does that mean? Well, first, and lets get it out of the way, there will be no new Agent or Map in Act II. Instead, lots and lots of updates that target Agent balance, existing maps, promoting good player behavior and an even better-ranked experience. Things like that.” said Anna in the company’s video.
When we speak about a dozen changes being brought to agents, they are mostly controllers who would almost shake up the entire meta going into the 2022 pro season and that will be the multiverse of madness when the least picked agent in 2021 or 2020 would be picked up the most going forward.
With changes for Brimstone, Omen and Yoru already been discussed earlier, we now set our focus on Astra who has been nerfed ahead of Act 2.
| Stars Max Stars reduced 5 >>> 4Cooldown on retrieving a Star increased 14 >>> 25Astra can now pick up placed Stars during the Buy Phase to refund their charge immediately.The Maximum distance of Star Placement increased 10000 >>> 30000 to allow her to place Stars across the furthest corners of maps. |
| Gravity Well Cooldown Increased 25 >>> 45Gravity Well Size Decreased 525 >>> 475Gravity Well no longer affects anyone fully underneath the Gravity Well. |
| Nova Pulse Cooldown Increased 25 >>> 45Nova Pulse no longer affects anyone fully underneath the Nova Pulse. |
| Nebula Cooldown Increased 14 >>> 25Nebula cooldowns are now sequential instead of simultaneousNebula size increased 410 >>> 475 |
| Astral Form While in Astral form, pings are no longer blocked by level geometry that Astra cannot seeAstra’s targeting ring in Astral form is reduced to one ring that reflects the now unified size of all her utilityAstra’s targeting ring no longer randomly disappears when aiming across some map locationsIncreased the speed of the overlay that covers Astra’s screen when transitioning in and out of Astral formFixed an issue where Stars were placed slightly above the location Astra was targeting. |
“With the mastery of Astra’s play patterns over time, she’s become an overwhelming force in both coordinated and high MMR play. She’s crowded out Brimstone and Omen by replicating their strengths and they simply couldn’t keep up with the map-wide impact of her utility. We’re taking steps to create clearer relative weaknesses in an attempt to carve more space for our other Controllers. This starts by reducing her overall utility output and increasing her ability cooldown , in the hopes that this will increase the importance of each move she makes. Paired with this, we’re taking the opportunity to provide some quality-of-life updates and bug fixes that we feel are long overdue.” said Jeff Landa, Comms Strategist.
