Riot Games has officially announced that agent Neon will be nerfed in the upcoming Patch 9.11. The news was shared by developer Penguin, responsible for agent balancing in Valorant.
In a post on his X (formerly Twitter) account, he stated:
We understand that Neon is currently too powerful. Our goal is to preserve her unique movement-based combat style while balancing aspects perceived as overly strong. These changes will arrive in Patch 9.11.
Neon, known for her high mobility through dashes and slides, as well as her ultimate ability that fires electric charges, has been dominating matches lately. After significant buffs in Patch 8.11 — which included an increased maximum dash speed and the removal of aim shift during slides — she quickly rose to prominence.
Player criticism has grown since the SEN City Classic tournament, where Zekken, playing Neon, achieved a K/D ratio of 1.61. The player himself remarked, "Neon and the old Chamber feel too strong, even for inexperienced players".
For what it's worth - we agree that Neon is too strong as well. We're working on some adjustments to balance out the parts that feel overpowered while maintaining her grounded movement combat fantasy. These changes are coming in patch 9.11. https://t.co/hKjatYnENX
— penguin (@penguinVALORANT) November 11, 2024
T1 player BuZz, whose team recently won the Red Bull Home Ground 2024 APAC tournament, also emphasized the need for a nerf:
She’s definitely too strong. However, until the nerf arrives, we’ll continue using her to maximize our team’s potential.
Riot Games plans to implement these changes in the next patch to restore balance to the competitive environment.
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