Is Killjoy overpowered in Valorant in 2023? Exploring recent nerfs and viability

Killjoy is one of the Sentinel Agents in Valorant, and she was the first Agent to be introduced to the game after its stable version was released in 2020. Players who have remained dedicated since those early days would undoubtedly acknowledge the substantial progress made by both Killjoy and the game. In many ways, they have experienced significant improvements as a result of the numerous changes inflicted upon them.

The Sentinel Agents in Valorant fulfill very niche criteria. They are specialists in site denial and experts in watching their team's flank. Additionally, they can double up as proficient lurkers and create space for their team to exploit in late-round situations.

Killjoy has received a series of nerfs recently to bring her abilities in line with those of other Agents in her class. This article will examine whether she is still overpowered or whether these nerfs balanced her power levels.

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How have recent nerfs in Valorant affected Killjoy, and does she need more?

There are currently four Sentinel Agents in Riot's tactical shooter: Cypher, Sage, Killjoy, and Chamber. The first two have been around since the closed-beta days of the game, while Killjoy was added in Act 1 Episode 2, and Chamber was added in Episode 3 Act 3.

Sage is a slightly different class of her own because she performs unique functions on the team that requires more coordination with her teammates to fully utilize her Healing Orb. Compared to her, the other Sentinel Agents are much more independent.

Coming back to Killjoy, ever since the Chamber nerfs and the buff to her Ultimate in Patch 5.12 in late 2022, she has been the most-picked Sentinel on most maps in both professional and amateur Valorant play. This update buffed her Ultimate's health from 150 to 200 while reducing the damage it takes from the enemy utility.

However, the developers soon realized that this made Killjoy too powerful, so they started hitting her with nerfs. The first thing they did was to increase the cost of her Ultimate from seven to eight points, aligning it with the cost of the most expensive Ultimates in the game. They also reduced the health of her Turret to make it easier to break.

In yet another nerf dealt to Killjoy by Valorant developers, her Nanoswarms are exposed to enemies from far away. As a result, these swarm grenades can be destroyed much more easily, often before they can be used in most rounds.

Interestingly, despite these nerfs, Killjoy has a 78%, 60%, and 68% pick rate in VCT Americas, EMEA, and Pacific Leagues, respectively. These numbers correspond to the highest pick rate in the Americas and the second-highest in the other two Leagues. It is also the highest-picked Sentinel in Valorant ranked games.

The reason behind this, however, is not that Killjoy herself is overpowered. She doesn't even feel particularly oppressive to play against (almost no Valorant does anymore). It is just that the rest of the Agents in the class are badly in need of buffs (the last thing resembling a buff was longer Trap Wires and twice scanning Ultimate).

It is high time that a new Sentinel Agent is introduced to the game. Either of these things should go a long way in ironing out Killjoy's current potency in Valorant.