New VALORANT leaks suggest big price changes are coming to multiple weapons, including Operator and Judge

Get ready, agents. There could be some significant changes headed your way in terms of weapon prices in an upcoming VALORANT patch, according to new leaks that surfaced today from the ValorLeaks Twitter account.

Price shifts are reportedly coming for nine different weapons, with eight of those adjustments being drops in price. Two of the most significant movers, however, have to be the Operator and Judge. These two weapons have seen plenty of use in both solo queue and professional play, which should warrant some discussion from the community around their impact.

First, the Operator’s price is reportedly dropping from 5,000 credits to 4,700, which is a huge decrease for one of the strongest weapons in the game. But the weapon’s effectiveness—especially at the pro level—has lowered a bit since teams and players have started to find better ways to use utility against the gun. There are so many different ways to block vision, whether it’s through smokes, blinds, or walls, all of which render the Operator’s massive range advantage close to useless.

As a result, the gun can sometimes be far too expensive to risk buying, knowing that the enemy team has plenty of tools to counter. Additionally, pros can usually opt into buying a rifle like the Vandal or Phantom since their aim is so accurate that they don’t need the one-shot power behind the Op. By lowering the weapon’s price, it could incentivize players to pick it up since it won’t be such a huge risk to their own economy.

The Judge, on the other hand, is reportedly seeing the only price increase among the nine weapons, going from 1,600 to 1,850 credits. The automatic shotgun has become a staple for multiple players due to its effectiveness in a variety of situations.

It’s extremely powerful and fires relatively fast, which allows people to blast away multiple opponents in a matter of seconds. Accuracy isn’t the biggest deal with the Judge since the pellets spread wherever you aim. By increasing its price, players might not opt into purchasing the shotgun all the time, but it will still remain a strong weapon to buy, especially as a cheap option to combat eco rounds.

Riot Games has yet to officially announce these leaked price changes.

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