Some of Valorant’s earliest agents are getting some much-needed buffs. Riot Games admits in a recent ask-me-anything session on Reddit that Phoenix and Cypher could do with some love, though there’s nothing specific to share just yet.
“Upfront, yes, we are working on Phoenix, but it is too early for us to talk about details of what it may entail,” character producer John Goscicki tells one fan. “Right now, we want to take the time to explore everything between number tweaks to something more, unfortunately, we do not have a solid ETA on that, and we want to take the time to find the right long-term place for Phoenix.”
Naturally, that prompted some fans to ask if the team had similar plans for another popular character. “Cypher is in a similar situation,” agent designer Jay Watford confirms. “We aren’t prepared to share details or dates, but he is definitely on our radar.” The duo were among the original cast of agents to launch with the CS:GO and Overwatch mashup in 2020. While characters like Jett have remained firmly in the meta, the introduction of new faces has crowded Phoenix and Cypher out.
Valorant’s current meta is undergoing a decent shakeup. Alongside the upcoming Chamber tweaks in Valorant’s next patch, a recent Sova nerf has coincided with Riot introducing a new agent called Fade to challenge the marksman’s dominance in the meta.
“Inspiration can and has come from all over the place! Viper originated from an amazing piece of concept art, Reyna from the orb mechanic we thought could resonate with duellist players, and part of Fade’s initial inspiration came from wanting to create an agent to compete in Sova’s space and building from there,” Watford explains.
Agent Designer Nicholas Smith adds: “We specifically wanted Fade to not be as line-up dependent as her counterpart (Sova) is more line-up dependent. This isn’t to say specifically that more agents will trend toward one way or the other though, and we want to support all kinds of playstyles and players. Fade and Sova have their strengths and weaknesses, and we want to continue to expand the roster in this way.”
If you’re looking for the full lowdown on Valorant’s new agent Fade, you can follow that link.