Riot Games developer Ryan ‘Morello’ Scott responded to criticism that damage abilities in Valorant are making the game look too much like Overwatch.
While Valorant’s tactical gameplay has been quite well received by gamers and fans alike, some Agents’ abilities have been met with disdain, such as Raze’s grenades and, more recently, the Killjoy turret.
In a Twitter post on July 28, a fan contacted Morello suggesting that by deploying more Agents with damage abilities, the game will begin to resemble FPS Overwatch based on the Blizzard hero.
With OW, many of the heroes have damage-focused rather than utility-based abilities. Even then, those who offer some use also have some sort of damage element.
I think harmful skills = supervision is where I think the problem is here; Things like Raze Grenade and Boom Bot create an intense threat, but they are there to support the tactical shooting. When we do damage abilities (including KJ), this is always the goal.
– Morello (@RiotMorello) July 28, 2020
In response, Morello stated that he had a problem by directly comparing damage abilities to OW.
“Things like Raze Grenade and Boom Bot create an intense threat, but they are there to support the tactical shooting,” he explained. “When we do damage abilities (including [Killjoy]) this is always the goal. “
He also mentioned abilities in Rainbow 6, suggesting that criticizing damage abilities in Valorant is like “saying frag grenades, splash mats, or Ash makes R6S tactical.”
Also, that would be like saying fragmentation grenades, splash mats or Ash make R6S non-tactical; Damage-causing abilities are a central part of most tactical games, but they have to be designed differently than an OW character, who plays more like RPG characters
– Morello (@RiotMorello) July 28, 2020
“Harm-causing abilities are a central part of most tactical games, but they have to be designed differently than saying an OW character, who plays more like RPG characters,” he added.
Needless to say, it looks like damage abilities are here to stay and we can look forward to seeing more of them in the future. However, Riot doesn’t want to be overshadowed by Valorant’s shots and core mechanics.
As Dexerto previously reported, more Raze nerfs are on the way as part of Riot’s “commitment to tactical play.”
Only time will tell whether Killjoy ends up being a welcome addition to the game’s cast, or facing a reaction very similar to the one Raze received when Valorant was first released in beta.
