VALORANT continues to be one of the top titles going into its fourth year in 2024, but the game is far from complete.
As a live service title, VALORANT benefits from consistent updates, catering to the needs and wants of players across the globe. Yet live service games are also constantly under pressure to meet these expectations.
Though VALORANT had a stellar run in 2023, with new content keeping players tied to their computers, there are a few things we want to see from Riot’s hero shooter this year in order to keep it moving in the right direction.
Here are the top five things we want to see in VALORANT in 2024.
CONSISTENCY BETWEEN AGENT CLASSES
One of the biggestissues with VALORANT in 2023 that may have flown under the radar for many players is the inconsistency between agents of the same class. Though this has been an issue for several agent releases, the three agents released in 2023 solidified this problem.
VALORANT has four agent classes: Duelist, Sentinel, Initiator, and Controller. A well-balanced team will consist of one agent from each class. To fulfill various roles needed to work towards the objective of planting the spike or defending a site. Each agent class has different specialties, and while there is some overlap, most of the time certain abilities stay in one agent class. Smokes, for example, are almost exclusively in the utility kit of Controller agents.
The problem is, with each new agent design, some elements have begun to overlap. To the point where we’re not sure that some agents really fit the identity of their class anymore. This issue actually began all the way back in 2021. When Chamber was released, a Sentinel who made waves in the competitive scene by being used as a Duelist.
While there isn’t any issue with pushing the boundaries of different agents to use their abilities in new and creative ways. Such inconsistency between each role can actually make the game less accessible.
The biggest, glaring example of this issue in 2023 was Deadlock.
The Norwegian Sentinel was branded as a flank-watching master, with deployable sound traps and a net to trap enemies. However, her signature ability is a massive shield that completely blocks off a choke point—something normally reserved for Controllers.
Another prominent issue with Deadlock is that upon release, her flank-watching abilities didn’t work in the same way as the other Sentinels in her class. While other agents can pick up and re-place their utility, she can’t. Which is a massive nerf in itself but also undermines the integrity of the Sentinel category as a whole.
If Riot wants to continue to stick to a model that sorts agents into four distinct categories, we need to see more consistency between agents of the same class. This will make the game—which already has 23 agents to learn—more accessible. Currently, VALORANT is borderline overwhelming for new players, and new agents even take veterans by surprise.
MORE LORE FOR EVERYONE
Another inconsistency in how Riot treats the various agents in VALORANT is that some simply have much more lore than others. While some agents have been featured in multiple cinematics, artwork, and in-game cosmetics, others are still a mystery. Not in a cool way like Omen.
The difference in lore allotted to each VALORANT agent likely also has to do with a crunched timeline and release schedule that is balanced not only around Riot’s own business incentives but also the competitive VCT season, which is not franchised, and the desires of worldwide players. Iso, for example, was released after VALORANT became playable in China.
However, if the game is going to push out so many unique characters with different abilities that represent different types of potential players, each agent deserves their time in the spotlight.
An extreme example of this is the lore we’ve been given for agents like Neon, Killjoy, and even Harbor, in comparison to those like Phoenix, Iso, and Breach.
While Neon had, in our opinion, the best release of any agent, with a beautiful cinematic and abilities that align with her fiery personality, some of the game’s older agents haven’t been touched in literal years. When is the last time we saw Breach in a cinematic? Or a funny player card featuring him?
All agents in VALORANT have something to bring to the table, so let’s revisit some old characters and let them shine, too.
PREP TIME FOR PREMIER
Riot made several incredible changes to the Premier model in 2023, like adding a practice/scrimmage time slot and altering playoff procedures, but the system still has a few things that could make it even better.
Our biggest gripe with Premier is that the time between the seasons is very short. While it’s great to have consistency, which allows players to compete regularly and gain skill and confidence, the brief turnaround time makes it difficult for your team to reset for another season. So far, Premier has had three beta seasons and one official season.
If you want to take time to reset and make changes to your team, like a roster swap or a strategic mix-up, there is very little time to do it. Premier seasons are also announced on an irregular basis, so it’s pretty difficult to predict how much time you’ll have to make these changes in the first place. So far, the time between seasons seems to be about 1-2 weeks.
While Riot has been great about communicating and nailing down a schedule for each season of Premier, it’s the time in between that has continued to puzzle me and my teammates. Hopefully Riot can iron the schedule out now that Premier is out of beta mode.
VARIED SKIN PRICE POINTS
Riot has continued to add a wide variety of colorful and charismatic cosmetics into VALORANT throughout 2023, so much so that players may be getting skin fatigue with each new bundle being better than the last.
However, most of these high-tier skin bundles that get the most attention from fans are, frankly, ridiculously expensive. I’ve spent a good amount of money in the game, but not everyone has the ability to do so.
While some may argue skins are purely a luxury item, not actually affecting gameplay, it would be great to see more skins at varied price points. Though VALORANT players are somewhat famous for hating skins with no VFX or cool color variations, we think it’s nice to mix up these higher-end drops with other skins at a different price point.
REPLAY MODE
Are you getting sick of using the NVIDIA GeForce Experience to clip all your sick VALORANT plays? Or streaming your team’s Premier match on Twitch so you have some record of how you played? Yeah, us, too. One thing VALORANT desperately needs is a replay mode.
While comparative titles like Overwatch 2 have had extensive replay modes for years, Riot hasn’t yet implemented replays into VALORANT despite promises that the mode is in development. It’s surprising that the game literally has an in-client competitive system, yet no replay mode.
Players can better track their mistakes, issues with team play, and even verify disrespectful behavior from teammates with the use of a replay system, making it one of our top must-sees for VALORANT in 2024.
