Despite Patch 7.04 nerfs, Jett’s pick rate in VALORANT ranked is still as good as ever

VALORANT’s Patch 7.04 brought some of the game’s most divisive agent changes, a fraction of which was aimed at hammering Jett’s high-value, no-risk state back to the level of other duelists in the game. Of course, the community spent a couple of days lamenting how Riot Games had “killed” Jett, but did it, actually? Well, the numbers tell a different story.

Over a week after her latest nerfs, agent stats from Blitz.gg show that Jett’s not only alive, but she’s also thriving in VALORANT’s ranked games—at least in high and mid-Elo. Currently, in Episode Seven, she’s the most picked duelist and agent across all tiers in the top three Elo—Radiant, Immortal, and Ascendant.

Her pick rate is only slightly affected from Diamond onwards, but the change doesn’t seem significant enough. In Diamond Three, she’s the second-most chosen agent, right after Reyna. In Diamond Two and One, she’s fourth in line, with players preferring Raze and Reyna only slightly more. She’s also the fourth most-picked agent across Platinum’s tiers.

You could say that Jett used to dominate across all ranks in VALORANT before the nerfs happened. But that’s nothing close to ‘killing’ an agent. In fact, the reasonable drop in her pick rates only justifies Riot’s decision to nerf her. 

A balanced meta shouldn’t hail one duelist agent as the best or unavoidable; instead, it should force players to make a gamble when they choose an agent with distinct characteristics over others. With pre-nerf Jett, picking her was always a win, to the point that if you picked any other duelist over her on certain maps, you’d be trolling. No wonder she enjoyed steady, dominating pick rates throughout the VCT 2023 season.

As opposed to stats in Platinum and higher, Jett’s pick rates in Gold, Silver, and Bronze tiers have fallen quite a bit (as compared to numbers from Episode Seven, Act One), and it only goes on to highlight the Elo quality. 

Players in the top ranks still understand the distinct value Jett can bring to a VALORANT game even after the nerf, while low Elo players aren’t exactly well-versed in using her qualities efficiently. It’s worth noting that although there’s a fall in pick rates, Jett hasn’t vanished from low Elo games. She’s still within the top 10 most popular agents, and that isn’t bad at all.

As Riot explained in the patch notes, Jett’s nerf was aimed at reducing her kit’s efficacy in high-risk situations and forcing her to make mindful decisions. Honestly, the nerf wasn’t that drastic and not half as bad as most of the community considered it to be, although I’d agree that it came unexpectedly.

Jett’s a duelist meant to focus on taking site control, so she’s still allowed to effectively dash into a site and keep herself safe for enough time. But peeking mid with the Operator may not be as safe and flexible as before. Maybe let Chamber and his Rendezvous do that from now on.