Valorant: What do the patch 0.50 Sage nerfs mean for her in the competitive scene?

Ever since the release of Valorant’s closed beta, Sage has garnered the reputation of being an Agent who can more or less do anything in the game.

From blocking pushes, to gathering information and slowing enemies down, her kit has everything a rank climber can ask for. She also possesses the ability to heal and resurrect her allies.

Sage can control the pace of the game from the back-line, while at the same time, she has the potential to turn an unfavourable fight around in the blink of an eye.

Needless to say, in the right hands, Sage is outright overpowered. Her nerfs in patch 0.50 come in the form of a much-appreciated balance change.

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The Sage changes in Valorant’s latest patch:

• Slow Orb zone duration decreased from nine seconds to seven seconds.
• Slow Orb slowing amount decreased from 65 percent to 50 percent.
• Riot has decided to try to reduce some of Sage’s stopping power, while still allowing her to fulfil her role as the premier staller in VALORANT. These changes aim to reduce the overall efficacy of her Slow Orb, especially if they are chained back-to-back.

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How does this impact her effectiveness in competitive mode?

When it comes to the high-rank Valorant competitive scene, the Sage changes will not be affecting her position as an S+ tier Agent in any way.

“We all know Sage is OP,” Riot said. “We’ve decided to try to reduce some of her stopping power while still allowing her to fulfill her role as the premier staller in VALORANT. These changes aim to reduce the overall efficacy of her Slow Orb, especially if they are chained back-to-back.”

So, in essence, Sage will still be able to do everything that she was capable of. However, it’s going to be much easier for the enemy team to play around her CC.

She will remain an invaluable asset for a team to have.