Oh my God! Okay, it’s happening, everybody stay calm. Riot Games is finally, finally tackling the Neondemic that’s been sweeping Valorant. Sprint, slide, Judge to the face could be about to become a thing of the past, but the studio has yet to dish out the details on what it’s got in store for the speedster on the upcoming Patch 12.09. What we do know for now is that she’s being locked away for the remainder of the current patch due to a game-breaking bug, which honestly is great news for all involved. Well, except Neon players.
As shared by Riot on Valorant’s socials, the studio “found a graphics exploit with Neon’s Fast Lane ability that affects competitive integrity.” This is seemingly a PC-only issue in the FPS game, hence her only being put into Riot jail on the single platform. Now, I’m certainly elated to be getting a reprieve from attempting wrist-snapping hospital flicks game after game, though really it’s probably just a skill issue that has me on the verge of a military-grade RSI.
The real spice, though, is that Neon will not return the same way she left. According to Riot, “some Neon changes” have been simmering away for a while that will “address parts of her kit that are over-tuned.” These tweaks are set to go live with Patch 12.09 when Neon’s released from custody, and we’ll find out what those entail tomorrow, May 8.
So why has Neon become such an issue? Valorant has been in its double Duelist era for some time now, and it’s unsurprising. With Sentinels as a class having been pretty much nerfed into the ground last year, the best defense has become a formidable offense. At VCT Masters Santiago, Yoru, Neon, and Waylay were by far the most popular Duelists, registering an overall presence of 62%, 45%, and 36% respectively according to VLR. The trio are all incredibly proficient at quickly repositioning, and throughout the event we saw how difficult it was for teams to keep tabs on their whereabouts – Yoru especially.
Shortly after Masters concluded, Yoru received a heavy nerf, halving his Gatecrash beacon duration and Blindside charges. Waylay, meanwhile, became less of a hindrance after her Saturate was changed from an insta-cast ability to an equip-and-fire one. Neon got off scot-free, and has since dominated pro play in every major region by a huge margin. Indeed, Neon’s prevalence can be partly attributed, at a macro level, to the overall state of Valorant right now, where her biggest counters and role competition have been weakened. She may not be quite as popular in ranked, with SoloQ stalwarts Jett and Reyna seeing the most play below Immortal, as per vstats, but she’s right up there with them.
From a gameplay standpoint, Neon is a bit of a chimera, and she’s incredibly economical. Her kit allows her to be proactive on an entry, setting up a Fast Lane while clearing angles with her Relay Bolt as she zooms in with High Gear. Alternatively, you can play her reactively, jiggle-peeking for info or waiting for team intel before sliding out, putting your opponent at a massive disadvantage as they struggle to track you. Or, you know, you can just buy a Judge and either sprint at people or rat around in smokes, blasting them before they can react.
The latter of the three options has become a mainstay in the Valorant ranks, and indeed in pro, and it’s devastatingly effective. It’s not a new tech by any means, but with utility like Cypher traps not being as strong as they were, Neons are often free to roam as they please. This playstyle also makes Neon considerably cheaper to play, which is huge in a game like Valorant where economy management is king.
As noted, tracking Neon can be a nightmarish task if you’re playing on low sensitivity, which makes taking duels a problem no matter how slick your Valorant crosshair is. It’s also part of what makes her so annoying to play against. Some have argued that her mobility is where the problem lies. Other Duelists like Jett and Raze have the means to fly into the fray, so Neon’s movement still arguably sits within the confines of ‘standard’ Valorant, though it is less limited. Others, meanwhile, have pointed to her slide accuracy being far too high. Back in December 2024’s Patch 9.11, Riot nerfed this from being fully accurate to having the same accuracy as firing while crouch-walking, but the studio perhaps could have been tougher on her.
Most of the options for dealing with Neon, then, are quite dramatic, and it’s why I suspect Riot’s taken so long to act. The studio could have nerfed the Judge, be it through damage, fire-rate, or price, but this would have had a much broader knock-on in terms of weapon diversity. It could also have buffed Sentinels like Cypher, pushing players away from double Duelist, but no one agent should be so powerful that they require an entire meta rebalance to bring to heel. Additionally, manufactured metas are detrimental to player creativity – nobody likes that. Taking to her kit itself is the only realistic option, though Riot has to be careful not to damage what makes her unique.
If I were to posit one small change that could make a big difference without being too disruptive to all of the above, then it’d simply be to increase the time it takes for Neon to ready her weapon after using High Gear, whether sprinting or sliding. This creates a trade-off between utilizing her high mobility and quickly taking on fights, and offers an opportunity for players to react if she gets up in their grills.
This potentially would deter reckless Judge play, without compromising Neon’s high-speed fantasy. You won’t just be able to slide into the middle of a corridor and expect to win a fight, but instead High Gear will become more of a repositioning tool. Of course, I’m no game designer, just a desk chair pundit and player, but nonetheless I’m excited to see what Riot has in store for next week’s patch.
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