Just two months after releasing Tejo<\/strong>, Riot has introduced a brand-new duelist, Waylay<\/strong>, to the VALORANT agent roster. Many pros and coaches have openly discussed the rapid meta shifts, making it difficult to adapt\u2014especially with back-to-back events lined up\u2014leading to highly unpredictable results.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n\n\n
\u201cIf agents keep coming out and they are this strong, and with two maps changing for Stage 1 alongside the addition of a new agent at the same time, fatigue is going to hit really hard,\u201d Sentinels head coach Adam ‘kaplan’ Kaplan expressed his frustration<\/strong> during a post-match press conference at Masters Bangkok.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n\n\n
Now that Waylay is playable and will be allowed in VCT Stage 1, Esports Insider asked Jordan ‘Zellsis<\/strong>‘ Montemurro for his thoughts on the current VALORANT meta, given Waylay\u2019s aggressive playstyle.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n\n\n
\u201cI think Waylay is good, but right now, so many duelists are overtuned that it\u2019s hard for her to fit in,\u201d Zellsis said during the interview<\/strong>. \u201cI just don\u2019t think she\u2019ll be game-breaking like Tejo was.\u201d<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n\n\n
While Tejo was a meta-defining agent<\/strong>, Zellsis doesn\u2019t see Waylay having the same impact<\/strong>. Comparing her to other duelists, she is similar to Yoru, Raze, and Neon; however, Zellsis would prefer an overtuned Yoru or Raze<\/strong> in her place.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n\n\n
\u201cI just don\u2019t think she\u2019s good enough to replace an overtuned Yoru or even a Raze if you need her nade or something like that,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n\n\n
Beyond the frequent meta shifts, players have also voiced concerns over the VALORANT\u2019s utility-heavy nature.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n\n\n
\u201cVALORANT promised gunfights will decide, but recently I just feel so overwhelmed by the sheer amount of utility. During the Chamber meta, at least people got to aim and play like a traditional shooter\u2014now, good luck even seeing your screen some rounds,\u201d Team Vitality\u2019s IGL Saif ‘Sayf’ Jibraeel tweeted<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n\n\n
Adding to the discussion, Tyson ‘TenZ’ Ngo<\/strong> jokingly mentioned<\/a> that sometimes with so many colors and effects from abilities on his screen <\/strong>makes him feel like his color blindness is momentarily cured.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n\n\n
Zellsis shared similar sentiments with ESI:<\/strong> \u201cWith the way new agents are coming out, I think teams are shifting away from default compositions. The game is getting to a point where you have to keep countering the comp of your opponent, and at that point, it just becomes a comp war.\u201d<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n\n\n
Alex Wheeler, Principal UX Designer at Riot Games<\/strong>, has acknowledged the issue<\/a> and assured players that the team is actively looking into it<\/strong> and working on improvements.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n\n\n
Despite these challenges, Sentinels remain confident heading into Stage 1. It\u2019ll be interesting to see if they have something cooked up with Tejo and Waylay.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n\n\n
The org will open in VCT Americas Stage 1<\/a> against 100 Thieves on March 24th and fans will be able to catch the action live on VCT Americas\u2019 official Twitch<\/a> and YouTube<\/a> channels.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n\n\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Image Credits: Riot Games, Colin Young-Wolff Just two months after releasing Tejo, Riot has introduced a brand-new duelist, Waylay, to the VALORANT agent roster. Many pros and coaches have openly discussed the rapid meta shifts, making it difficult to adapt\u2014especially with back-to-back events lined up\u2014leading to highly unpredictable results. \u201cIf agents keep coming out and … Continued<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":183,"featured_media":170179,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","esi_template":"default","excluded":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[50,55,54,106,8701,18248,8723],"tags":[7391,16031,20559,20459],"class_list":["post-170167","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features","category-esports-titles","category-interviews","category-latest-news","category-shooters","category-top-stories","category-valorant","tag-sentinels","tag-vct-americas","tag-vct-americas-stage-1","tag-zellsis"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n