Even with an already impressive ranked win rate, and despite assurances from some of VALORANT’s top pros that the agent will be nerfed, the new initiator agent Gekko will be receiving an important fix to his Wingman plant and defuse ability, plus a collection of other audio improvements.
When Patch 6.05 goes live, the plant and defuse targeting for Gekko’s Wingman ability will be improved to target higher locations. Wingman, who can plant or defuse the spike in place of Gekko, has had some inconsistency issues when it comes to directing him toward elevated plant spots, such as on Icebox.
Gekko is also set to receive a handful of different audio and visual improvements. The audio fixes will add audio variations to his Mosh Pit explosions, while also improving the audio for Dizzy so that it’s easier to identify the direction it’s going. The primary visual improvement will be “improved visuals for enemy creature globules,” which should easier differentiate allied and enemy globules.
Related: Best agents to pair with Gekko in VALORANT
A number of various Gekko-related bugs have also been fixed, including a definitely broken issue where Wingman was able to pass through a Cypher Trapwire that should have been triggered. Another broken bug where players could crouch jump to avoid damage has also been fixed.
While the Gekko changes in VALORANT Patch 6.05 are billed as improvements or fixes rather than buffs, the improvements to Wingman and various effects will make him a bit more viable. Already Gekko is enjoying a successful run in the competitive meta; from Bronze upwards he’s a top seven agent in pick rate, and he has a win rate just above 50 percent in virtually every rank that’s not Radiant, per Blitz.gg.
Whether or not Gekko will receive significant buffs or nerfs in the future still remains to be seen, but it appears that Riot Games is still waiting for more feedback before making that decision.
