Valorant is one of those games that seems entirely different each time you check back. Since its release, Riot has kept an intense schedule of updates, bringing in fresh agents, skills, and maps along with a plethora of cosmetic items. If you’re not deeply involved in the community, trying to stay current can feel overwhelmingly complex.

Recently, a particular complaint has gained momentum amongst gamers. Despite being deeply involved in the gameplay and familiar with the latest agents and their skills, the overwhelming volume of utility spam in the game can make it difficult to follow everything.

If we can use a brief shortcut, Valorant started off as an adaptation of Counter-Strike featuring characters with special powers. Each player’s character plays differently based on these distinct skills they possess. Gradually, however, the game has seen more utilities being introduced which tend to dominate the screen—blinding players, causing stuns, applying knockbacks, among others. When comparing this evolution, people frequently draw parallels between Valorant and another popular title, aptly naming League of Legends.

Therefore, considering the latest agent introduced to the game, Waylay stands out as an extremely agile duelist capable of zipping across maps via light beams, yet simultaneously slowing down and impeding opponents with various skills. This character can make for an exceptionally exasperating encounter, particularly because it seems as though special abilities dominate traditional weapon-based gameplay rather than complementing them.

Feelings to this effect were recently shared on X by the esports professional and leader of Team Vitality, Sayf.
Who competes inValorant and also does writing?
:

Valorant advertised exciting gun battles, but lately I find myself inundated by all the utilities available. At least during the Chamber meta period, players had to focus on aiming and playing like in classic shooters; nowadays, you’re lucky if you can even see through all the distractions on your screen.

“I’d say ‘overwhelmed’ captures it well: In Valorant, you often find yourself unable to grasp everything happening at once.” This prompted a reply from Dan Hardison, known as Penguin Valorant, who serves as the game’s live balance lead for Valorant.

In spite of that, the balancing team mostly concurs with this viewpoint,
writes Hardison
We are exploring methods to improve this, yet we are still at an initial stage and cannot provide specific details or commitments just now.

Going into details will eventually become essential since we’re discussing quite a crucial aspect ofValorant’s essence. The issue doesn’t lie with the abilities themselves; you might say these powers are what make Valorant stand out and differentiate it from direct competitors. However, their current dominance in games poses a challenge, and Riot needs to adjust this balance without sacrificing the game’s distinctiveness—a situation similar to one highlighted by player Seed.
Sure, please provide me with the original text you would like me to paraphrase.
The relentless hero shooter conundrum.

Valorant keeps progressing steadily.
And appears to maintain a substantial number of players, although Riot does not disclose specific figures; additionally, it brought in new additions last year.
the first new firearm in four years
. Much of Riot’s recent focus has been on policing cheating and bad behaviour in a wider sense (last year it even took on the Quixotic task of
tackling off-platform conduct
), even going as far as proposing a reward for it
Anyone capable of leveraging its exclusive anti-cheat technology
Next to that, you might assume cleaning up some visual distractions should be as easy as taking a leisurely stroll in the park. However, if Riot genuinely aims to address this concern, I reckon the issue runs deeper than merely reducing graphical embellishments.