All about Chamber nerf in Valorant 5.12
Following the demands of the Valorant community About the much-needed nerfs, Riot has confirmed that Chamber will be receiving various changes to balance Agent's performance.
Chamber was a constant force of dominance in Valorant, so much so that the community has been asking for nerfs for the Agent for a long time. Some fans have even suggested their own ideas for changes to balance out the French dude.
However, after confirming that Chamber will indeed receive nerfs, Riot has finally revealed all the changes they have planned for the Agent with the release of update 5.12. Having said that, let's dive in and check out all the upcoming nerfs for the most peak agent in the tactical shooter.
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Details on the Chamber update in patch 5.12
Headhunter (Q)
- Stability.
- Increased dispersion after the 2nd bullet in fast fire. This change is intended to reduce the effectiveness of quick non-targeted body shots.
Rendezvous (E)
- Chamber now places one anchor that can be teleported to while in its area of effect.
- Range increased from 15m to 26m.
- Removed the height limit for teleport activation.
- You can teleport to an anchor above or below you as long as you are within range.
- Increased weapon selection time after teleporting from 0,4 to 0,7 seconds.
- This change does not affect the Bounty Hunter.
- Destroying Rendezvous' teleport anchor disables it for the rest of the round - the charge will no longer regenerate.
- Returning the anchor after teleporting does not increase the recharge time.
Crown move (C)
- The trap's range is now limited.
- The Signature Trap is deactivated if Chamber moves out of range, and re-enables if Chamber returns.
- The trap can now be recalled during a round.
- The recall does not require line of sight.
- Cooldown after recall - 30 sec.
- The charge is not restored upon destruction.
- Initial preparation time increased from 2 to 4 seconds.
- Increased health from 1 to 20.
Show of Strength (X)
- Rate of fire reduced by 57,5%.
Deceleration
- The change concerns crown reception и Shows of strength.
- Duration reduced from 6 to 4 seconds.
As with Jett's Tailwind updates, we think there's a place for escaping skills in VALORANT, but their power shouldn't outweigh their drawbacks.
Riot Games on the goals of Chamber's changes
Analyzing the Chamber agent, we identified several goals, from which we then identified two main ones:
- Find the right balance between Chamber's ability power and ways counteraction them
- Provide more conscious use of skills
"Opposition" и "mindfulness" - two main principles that guide the team when creating agents for VALORANT. Chamber skills do not leave room for effective confrontation, and the absence of significant restrictions allows you not to think again when using them. These factors make Chamber invincible.
Here are some examples of how the updates have changed the Chamber game:
- The teleportation distance has been greatly reduced. This change allows enemies to receive more accurate information about the new location of the Chamber, and the agent himself will be at greater risk when encountering an enemy. Chamber will still be effective at long range, but winning in close combat will require more effort.
- The long-range teleport provided Chamber with too fast movement, ignoring the strengths of other agents. Now the detection of Chamber will play a more important role, as it will move more slowly around the map. Especially its effectiveness will decrease with an aggressive game.
- The limited activation radius of the Signature Move allows opponents to understand where can be Chamber. This information can be used to better plan an attack on a point or determine the most vulnerable sides of a defense. Flank Watch is Cypher's unique power, not the core skill of all Guardians. Cypher and Chamber must perform different tasks for the Guardians.
- Players now need to be more conscious about their initial location and trap placement when playing as Chamber. After the update, aggressive play as Chamber will imply an inefficient use of the Signature Move, so players will have to choose between risky aggressive actions and securing one or another point.
- The updated anchor eliminates the need to rely on efficient teleportation during the round, providing a more straightforward gameplay experience.
WHY ARE THESE CHANGES NEEDED?
Agent skills affect each aspect of the tactical cycle in a different way, while they must fulfill a specific goal and not deprive opponents of the opportunity to counter them. This is a key tenet of VALORANT's tactical design: it allows for change and leaves room for innovation.
Our goal was to reduce Chamber's sphere of influence on all maps, while maintaining its combat power and originality. The new Chamber can be tricked and outplayed, so fans of this agent will have to look for new strategies. The reworked skills will continue to allow experienced players to make good use of Chamber's strengths.
CONCLUSION
We tried to keep the unique cyclical and full of aggression gameplay for Chamber, while giving opponents more options when confronting this agent. Each agent must have complementary strengths and weaknesses, defined by its role and tactical cycle.