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After an exciting patch 5.0 update with lots of changes to the game, Valorant developers have already shifted their focus onto the next update.
The latest patch 5.0 update has brought in several changes to the game. With the introduction of a new underwater-themed map 'Pearl,' new ranking 'Ascendant,' new Battlepass items, a new weapon skin bundle 'Prelude to Chaos,' and many more, players have a lot to get excited about.
Riot earlier promised that they would work on Agents in every update to make them more competitive. Although the developers skipped the Agent re-work part in the latest update, they will surely try to keep their promises in the upcoming updates of the game.
Based on PBE patch 5.01, the developers are ready to make some significant changes to some of the Agents in the game, and KAY/O will be one of them who will receive balance changes in the upcoming update. Riot has already tested the changes in the PBE server.
KAY/O's FRAG/ment range will be decreased in the upcoming Valorant update
At the start of Episode 4, developers promised players to balance every Agent this time around so that each one of them becomes equally powerful in the game. Keeping that promise, Riot has already made some significant changes to some of the most-used Agents like Sova, Jett, Astra, Chamber, and more. This time, they will be focusing on KAY/O.
KAY/O is an Initiator Agent in the game. The robotic Agent can disable enemies for some time with his ZERO/point (E) and NULL/cmd (X) abilities and force them to rely only on their gun-power. Moreover, the Agent can stall the enemy push into sites with the perfect utilization of FRAG/ment (C). His FLASH/drive (Q) can blind enemies for a few seconds and his allies can capitalize on the opponent in this time.
Valorant developers are ready to make some changes to KAY/O's abilities in the upcoming patch update. The developers have already introduced the KAY/O changes in the PBE patch 5.01 update.
Potential changes to KAY/O and how it can affect the meta
KAY/O was first introduced to Valorant in June 2021 with the commencement of Valorant Episode 3 Act 1 with patch 3.0 update. After some initial struggles with the pick-rate, KAY/O has become one of the most-used Agents in the game after meta-changes. In the last international LAN event i.e. VCT Stage 1 Masters Reykjavik, KAY/O had a 33% overall pick rate, the seventh highest (second highest Initiator after Sova) in the tournament.
However, players might see changes to the Agent in the upcoming updates. Here are the changes that might be made to KAY/O in the next update:
FRAG/ment:
- Removed LOS requirement to deal damage
- Range of zone decreased from 10m > 8m
NULL/cmd (ult):
- Allies are the only ones that hear the full audio when KAY/O is revived. Enemies will hear a short audio cue.
This looks like a minor change but it will surely have a big impact on the game. Players need to strategize some new things with the changes in KAY/O's FRAG/ment. Meanwhile, the change in the NULL/cmd audio cue will be helpful to surprise your opponent in intense firefight.
