Valorant to fix Neon's unintentional nerf in patch 10.03

Modified Jan 26, 2025 01:25 GMT

Valorant to fix Neon — Neon's unintentional nerf gets addressed by Riot Games devs (Image via Riot Games)

Valorant developers unintentionally nerfed Neon's movement in patch 10.01 released on January 21, 2025. This issue was brought to light by the content creator known as temet. The streamer took to X to show a before-and-after video where Neon's movement appears significantly different. After patch 10.01, the Agent experiences a speed drop after sliding which had not been the case earlier.

After the post went viral, Valorant's Live Balance Lead, penguin, revealed that the silent nerf was unintentional and will only be fixed in patch 10.03.

Valorant Live Balance Lead addresses Neon's silent nerf in Patch 10.03

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Episode 10 Act 1 was released on January 7 or January 8, 2025, depending on your region. The act introduced several Agent changes, however, Neon's post-slide speed drop after patch 10.01 was unintentional.

The nerf was not revealed by the developers but it caught the attention of several spectators online including temet who posted about it on January 23, 2025. On January 24, 2025, @penguinVALORANT responded to the post promising a fix:

"This wasn't an intentional balance change, will be looking into this today."

In another post, penguin revealed that the silent nerf cannot be hotfixed. Therefore, fans will likely have to wait for some time before it can be fixed for good. The developer promised to have the issue fixed by Valorant patch 10.03 which currently does not have a confirmed release date.

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While the nerf is unintentional, it may affect the gameplay of Neon mains who are used to a specific speed of release after sliding. The character earlier received a major nerf in patch 9.11 released in December 2024.

Under this nerf, her slides were reduced from two to one and her ultimate duration was reduced from 20 seconds to 10. The patch also increased her ultimate orbs from seven to eight in order to balance the Agent.

The new silent nerf could have been seen as another method to further reduce her power. However, the developers have not announced any plans to nerf the character any further.

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Edited by Sijo Samuel Paul