While VALORANT’s impending Patch 7.04 is expected to leash the Jett-dominated (and Skye) meta for good, some players believe it didn’t do enough for unpopular agents. The update is set to bring changes to 11 agents, and none of them are addressed to Harbor or Deadlock—both at the bottom of the barrel of their roles.
In a Reddit post dated Aug. 26, a player named Lucstar004 called out developer Riot Games for ignoring their favorite agents, Deadlock and Harbor. But the bias aside, they actually had a point to make.
Both agents have been battling low pick rates and win rates in ranked since their release. Although Harbor has found some love in pro play recently, he was never considered a viable solo controller, with teams playing him in double-controller compositions only. Considering their underwhelming state, players are naturally expecting Riot to be fair.
Due to her recent launch in Episode Seven, Act One, it’s justifiable for Deadlock to take some time to squeeze her way into the meta. She was an available choice in VALORANT Champions Los Angeles’ agent select screen, but sadly, pro teams ignored her, choosing to stick to their tried-and-tested comps with the remaining sentinels.
Albeit, Deadlock’s unpopularity in ranked and pro play isn’t because she’s a ‘weak’ sentinel, but it’s likely due to players taking their time to learn her strengths. She isn’t the conventional, defensive sentinel we’re used to with agents like Killjoy, Cypher, and Sage. She’s sort of comparable to Chamber’s aggressive potential, only that instead of pinpoint, gilded weapons, she has a ton of stalling utility to offer.
Related: VALORANT Deadlock tips and tricks: How to best play Deadlock
Harbor is a quirky controller agent, too. While his flaws are incredibly apparent and can be taken advantage of easily, his strengths take quite a bit of mastery on the player’s part to be valuable. And very few players in VALORANT’s ranked would want to spend time practicing a niche agent over picking an easy-going one.
Luckily, Harbor has cemented his worth in the pro meta, where he’s being hailed as a ‘broken’ agent when clubbed with Viper or Brimstone. Deadlock has the potential to reach that state once VALORANT esports embraces her, but with the prevailing VCT off-season, it may be a long wait.
It’s worth noting that Riot’s approach to balancing VALORANT’s meta isn’t usually by buffing underperforming agents. The devs tend to focus on nerfing broken agents, which acts as an indirect buff for the weak while adding small improvements to weak agents wherever necessary. Buffs can be more drastic to adapt to than nerfs, throwing the game’s balance even further.
Viper, Brimstone, and Astra have received subtle and influential nerfs in Patch 7.04, and these changes are likely to boost Harbor’s place as a solo controller. Killjoy, arguably the best sentinel in VALORANT currently, is also going to feature a nine-point Ultimate starting next Act. So, Deadlock’s got a small indirect buff too.
