The Valorant team at Riot Games has recently released their newest “State of the Agents” update regarding the state of the Valorant meta. The development blog also included a teaser for an upcoming agent and major balance changes for select agents. 
What Changes are Coming?
According to the official development blog from the Valorant team, the upcoming 3.0 patch will include a variety of changes for Initiator-agents like Skye and Breach. The patch will also include new tweaks and adjustments for Viper, in accordance with Riot’s continued re-work of the character, including monitoring her utilities to “smooth out any rough edges” left on the agent.
Viper will not be the only agent changing with the upcoming 3.0 patch however, with the Valorant’s team focus on nerfing Initiators’ multiple “flash” and “blind” abilities. According to the developers, the patch goals for Breach and Skye are to make the characters more self-sufficient, including a major nerf for their blinds. “The goal here is to provide Breach and Skye with more self-sufficiency, to do so, we’re looking to remove their ability to dish out 3 consecutive flashes.” The team has said that they are looking to increase the overall firepower of Initiator agents like Breach, making their “fake-out” abilities more effective for in-game scenarios. Along with Initiator changes, the team mentioned in the post that Astra changes were on the horizon, as they search for counter-play to Astra’s oppressive control-based gameplay.
New Agent Teased
Along with an update on upcoming character changes, Riot teased the newest addition to the Valorant cast, with a peek at an upcoming agent to be bundled with the new map “Breeze” that was recently released. The team shared some insight regarding general concepts of the agent, citing that the newest agent will feel familiar to traditional FPS games. The end of the team’s blog detailed that, “This time around we are throwing in some abilities that should feel familiar to folks who’ve played traditional FPS games their whole lives, but with added elements that will make those recognizable abilities unique within our roster. This is an Agent who’s utility can create moments where you must rely on your gunplay.”
The new agent appears to be orientated with hacking and brings the gunfight to characters or players that might be overly-reliant on their agent’s abilities. The upcoming Valorant 3.0 patch is scheduled to release in 23 days after the current Act has finished.
