Valorant patch 5.01 was the last significant update to Riot’s flagship FPS, with 5.02 being skipped over in order to upgrade the game’s engine. Patch 5.03, though, is set to change up how Neon players approach skirmishes.
For many, patch 5.03 is an absolute godsend. With Riot finally nerfing one-man army, Chamber, after his astonishing pick rate at the Valorant Champions Tour (VCT), we may finally see the Frenchman slip down the Valorant tier list.
Set to drop on August 9, patch 5.03 also looks like it will implement some huge changes to Filipina Duelist and fan favourite, Neon, while also nerfing her companion, Jett.
While Neon’s changes are a bit more even (there’s buffs in there as well, don’t worry), they’ll completely change up how players use her Overdrive ultimate, which has been heralded as one of the game’s most powerful abilities since her release.
The current PBE patch notes (obtained via the ValorantPBE subreddit) state that Neon’s ultimate will be undergoing some changes to ‘regional damage’ – the damage individual body parts take when hit with an ability.
Chamber and Jett’s ultimates will now do less damage to other Agent’s legs, but Neon’s Overdrive has undergone some massive changes. Her damage per lightning bolt has been reduced, as well as her damage to players’ legs, but her headshot multiplier has been increased to 3 and the Killzone has been increased to 20m, meaning she can snipe you from further away.
These changes are being implemented to help “reward accuracy” – especially in Neon’s case where headshots are now very much encouraged.
The official changes are:
- Damage per shot reduced 22 > 18
- Killzone increased 15m > 20m
- Leg shot multiplier reduced 1.0 > 0.85
- Headshot multiplier increased 1 > 3
While this is a little disappointing for more casual Neon players who have been scoring easy kills using her ultimate, it adds an extra dimension to her kit that’s perfect for skilled players. Plus, hitting a headshot is basically an instant kill, meaning you won’t be standing awkwardly shooting lightning at the enemy while they try and shoot back.
If you’re zipping around the map on Valorant patch 5.03 and are finding these changes are hitting harder than expected, be sure to make use of one of the best Valorant crosshairs in order to land those insta-kill headshots.