VALORANT Patch 9.11 has just gone live, and the long-awaited nerfs to the game’s most overpowered agent have finally arrived. Neon has been running wild across VALORANT competitive queues, and her over-tuned abilities have even drawn complaints from many pro players.
At long last, the Neon nerfs have arrived, but how impactful are they really going to be?
Slide cancel
The most impactful change made to Neon is the nerfs to her sliding ability. While her High Gear sprinting ability is active, Neon can right-click to slide, temporarily increasing her speed. With the release of Patch 9.11, Neon now only have one Slide charge instead of two. Additionally, accuracy while sliding has been reduced from “full” accuracy down to the consistency of crouch-walking accuracy.
These changes walk back the buffs Neon received back in June 2024. In Patch 8.11, Slide was granted two charges and “all weapon movement error” was removed while sliding. This resulted in Neon retaining precise firing accuracy even while sliding around a corner or angle at an alarmingly fast pace. Neon and her Slide became the default agent/ability combo for entry players. In the second half of the 2024 VALORANT Champions Tour season, Neon was a go-to for pro teams on maps like Sunset and Haven.
The Patch 9.11 nerfs to Neon’s Slide accomplish two things. First, they prevent Neon from using two charges to just slide into an area, get a kill, and slide away safely without getting traded. Secondly, the changes to movement accuracy will deter Neon players from winning long range duels while sliding against stationary opponents. The Slide is still deadly at close range, but it’s no longer a broken ability that lets Neon get free kills at long range.
In addition to the Slide nerfs, Patch 9.11 will nerf Neon’s ultimate ability, Overdrive. The deadly lightning beam now lasts only 10 seconds instead of a full 20, and players need to earn an additional eighth ultimate point in order to activate it. Patch 9.11 also gives some minor buffs to the newest agent Vyse, and changes the in-game pinging system. Pings are now blocked by smokes, and pings made using the map will stay on the map and not appear in the world.
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