Last year, Chamber was one of the most feared agents in competitive VALORANT play, with enough stopping power and utility to stuff any oncoming attacks from enemy team compositions. But several patches later, the former powerhouse has become an afterthought on the professional stage.
The agent currently has hit the lowest pick rate in his history so far, sporting two games in VCT Americas and not a single game on the Pacific or EMEA stages, according to pro VALORANT stats aggregate The Spike.
Professional players are refusing to touch Chamber after the sweeping nerfs he received over the course of last year, which decreased his Trademark charges, ultimate ability costs, ability slows, and his Rendezvous teleport range.
Related: All Chamber updates: History of changes made to Chamber in VALORANT
As a result, he’s unable to rotate to other areas as quickly as before, and with the cost increases, he’s much less efficient when playing out save rounds and eco rounds. The final nail in the coffin was the nerf to his Trademark range because this meant that he wasn’t able to cover flanks and other choke points with the same ease as before. Other agents, like Jett and Killjoy, began to rise in usage over the Frenchman, and now, he’s been barely touched this year.
Some former Chamber enthusiasts believe that slight cost reductions and a Trademark range increase could be a good way to buff the agent without making him too overpowered. In his current state, however, he cannot compete with the other agents who fulfill his role with stronger, more impactful abilities.
Riot hasn’t shown any indication that it will be changing him up any time soon, so Chamber fans will need to patiently wait to see if this suave weapons specialist can rise back to relevancy.
