Valorant: Riot addresses the Operator problem, says nerfing it is not a solution

Players have been complaining about Valorant’s Operator ever since the closed beta, and Riot Games really didn’t seem to address it all that much, even after the game got an official launch.

Many players, especially in the higher-ranked tiers, find the Operator to be a bit too overpowering for a game like Valorant. Even popular Twitch streamer Shroud went on to address the issue by saying that the Operator has no counter-play. There are also not enough crowd control abilities in Valorant as there are in a game like CS: GO.

Shroud even goes on to give his own unique suggestions to the problem, one of which was increasing the cost of the Operator, thereby making it a much higher purchase risk.

Riot addresses the Valorant Operator issue

Ask VALORANT, and we shall respond! This week we’re answering whether the Operator is OP, what’s up with footsteps, and why we’re choosing timed rollouts vs all at once. Click to read all about it: https://t.co/qELyxBSSVN pic.twitter.com/dH3TrhokuO

— VALORANT (@PlayVALORANT) August 27, 2020

In a recent tweet, the developers talked about how they are looking into the Operator issue and linked the details of their take in the recent Ask Valorant #6 blog post.

Valorant’s game designer Nicholas “Nickwu” Smith said in the post:

“We think the Operator isn't 'too OP' but do believe that the feeling sometimes comes from a lack of personal agency against the weapon (for Agents that don't have tools to break the line of sight for themselves), coupled with an overwhelming amount of team coordination to effectively counter an Operator. We're looking into a lot of avenues to help smooth out the experience but we do believe the Operator should be powerful and should encourage a team to thoughtfully enter a space where it might be in play.”

Image Credits: Early Game

So nerfing the Operator is not in the cards for the Valorant devs. However, adding viable counterplay options are. Making the Operator any weaker than it is will just make it a more expensive version of the Marshal, who does the same thing but worse.

Nickwu ends his statement by saying:

“The Operator—like all weapons, maps, Agents, etc.—is a part of our continuous holistic review of the state of the game, and we’ll make changes in the future if we feel it’s needed. No changes now doesn’t mean no changes ever.”

The Valorant devs have promised to come up with changes in the near future but for now, the oppressive tendencies of the Operator will remain.