VALORANT's Most Hated Agent Neon Will Finally Get a Nerf
VALORANT players worldwide have spoken out about Neon's overpowered abilities. Now, Riot Games is taking note and will be nerfing the agent in Patch 9.11. Here's everything we know about the upcoming Neon nerf and what VALORANT players can expect.
The Neon Meta
TenZ proves why Neon is the most broken agent#VALORANT pic.twitter.com/09jaw3RRwT
— JARSO (@JARSOYT) October 21, 2024
Duelist agent Neon has ruled the VALORANT competitive meta since a significant buff in Patch 8.11. The buff removed all weapon error while sliding and removed weapon equip cooldowns after slides. In addition, it buffed her strafe speed while sprinting and reduced her fuel regen time from 60 to 20 seconds.
The VALORANT team added a few hotfixes throughout Episode 9 including a Concuss mechanic change which slows Neon's dashes by 50 percent. However, the changes have had very little effect and Neon remains extremely overpowered in ranked play. Even VALORANT icon TenZ has noted, "this character is [...] stupid. This is wild."
When Will VALORANT Nerf Neon?
VALORANT will finally nerf Neon in Patch 9.11, which will release on December 10 2024. This Patch will be the final change in VALORANT's Episode 9.
The VALORANT Neon Nerf
For what it's worth - we agree that Neon is too strong as well. We're working on some adjustments to balance out the parts that feel overpowered while maintaining her grounded movement combat fantasy. These changes are coming in patch 9.11. https://t.co/hKjatYnENX
— penguin (@penguinVALORANT) November 11, 2024
Riot Games have not specified which aspects of Neon's kit are getting nerfed. It's likely that her slide accuracy or ultimate ability could be nerfed since it is one of the main abilities causing players frustration.
Developers have given a few clues about what players can expect. Riot developer @penguinVALORANT wrote in an X.com post on November 11, 2024, that the team is "working on some adjustments to balance out the parts that feel overpowered while maintaining her grounded movement combat fantasy."
