Riot Games is adjusting the balance of the Outlaw sniper shotgun in VALORANT to make it less punishing for defenders who survive the first hit. The adjustment addresses the Outlaw's previous dominance in close-quarters combat, where it frequently forced opponents into disadvantageous situations. Players who relied on the Outlaw for aggressive entry will now face steeper penalties for missing their opening shot.
Balance tweaks arrive globally on July 21 alongside new anti-cheat tools
The balance tweaks arrive with the 13.01 patch, which rolls out globally on July 21 wherever Discord is available. Riot Games aims to keep the shotgun feeling powerful while giving defenders a chance to recover and counterattack. Riot Games aims to preserve the weapon's power while introducing greater player expression and control, moving away from its previous state of overwhelming dominance.
The patch increases the Outlaw's recovery value to 0.15 after the first shot, up from 0.1. Spread increases to 2.25 after the first shot, and recoil jumps to 4.0 after the first shot. The increased recoil and spread values after the first shot make landing the second shot more difficult than in previous versions.
Agent updates include Yoru's Gatecrash ability, which now lasts for 20 seconds instead of 15. Iso players can now equip their weapon instantly after unequipping Double Tap, removing the previous delay. Riot Games also introduced new rank manipulation detection tools that can suspend accounts and reverse ranks using systems from League of Legends.
The update addresses several bugs affecting agent abilities for Astra, Clove, and Cypher, as well as map interactions on Split and Summit. Discord integration allows for in-game party invites and lobby link sharing across all supported regions. We looked at previous balance adjustments while tracking Riot's ongoing efforts to refine the competitive meta.
Source: DEXERTO
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