Valorant: Riot Games will be making a lot of changes to the in-game combat score

In a tactical first-person shooter where KDA is everything, Valorant does indeed do a poor job in giving the more supportive players a sense of accomplishment during a game.

Healing, damaging and peeling are some of the most essential mechanics in the game, and the role that the support players play goes a long way in helping the team win out in rounds.

So, if you’re a Sage main who has a grudge against the combat score system in Valorant, then there is some fortunate news coming your way.

In the latest Ask Valorant #7 blog post, senior producer Ian Fielding discussed Valorant’s combat score and how they will be looking to overhaul the system in the coming weeks.

The devs will be looking into ways to make the non-damaging and damaging assist add to the overall combat score, making it more satisfying for players to pick up support Agents when the team needs them to.

It will be more satisfying to play the supportive role in Valorant

Frags are very important when it comes to shooters. Having your back patted for a high KDA has a very satisfying feel to it, and that is precisely why players shy away from using supportive characters.

In Valorant, Sentinels are the supportive class, and players only opt for a Sage or Brimstone because the team forces them to. They would rather play something like a Jett, Raze or Reyna as playing for frags is still the most satisfying way to play Valorant.

In the blog post, Ian Fielding says:

“Your combat score is not just based on kills, although that is a big factor in the score. We also look at damage inflicted, meaning that assists where you help kill an enemy are taken into account, as well as utility that does damage. There are some other factors that help inform your combat score, such as first bloods and streaks. These are called out on the combat score tool tip. Longer term, we are looking into ways to incorporate non-damaging assists into your combat score as well. Regarding competitive, while your combat score indicates how well you performed in core combat during the game, it’s not 1:1 with the performance calculations we use for your rank updates. Rank updates leverage some, not only, of these data points. Simply put, the focus of whether or not your rank updates is primarily focused on wins and the decisiveness of these wins.”

Your combat score will soon depend on how well you perform in the match not just as a fragger but as a supportive teammate as well.