Operator to receive a slew of nerfs in upcoming VALORANT Patch 1.09

The Operator’s reign in VALORANT may be coming to an end.

VALORANT game designer Nick “Wu” Smith discussed extensive Operator nerfs in an interview with Team Liquid content creator Mendo today. The overpowered sniper will be tweaked for Patch 1.09.

The Op’s price will be increased from 4,500 to 5,000 credits, forcing players to make an even bigger investment for the powerful weapon. A player’s scoped movement speed is also being targeted, going from 76 to 72 percent. And the Operator’s deadzone will now be 15 percent movement speed, instead of 30, which means you become “inaccurate sooner and you become more accurate later when you’re attempting to stop,” according to Wu.

As if those nerfs weren’t enough, the Op’s fire rate will drop from 0.75 to 0.6 and it’s instant equip time will go from 0.3 to 0.5. And VALORANT‘s jump land accuracy is being increased to 0.225 seconds and will make players inaccurate for the entirety of that time. Previously, players would gradually get their accuracy back within 0.2 seconds. While this change will affect all weapons, the common jump land Operator shot will be harder to pull off and easier to counter.

The Operator is currently an oppressive weapon, stopping teams from pushing onto sites with a one-shot kill. These extensive Op tweaks should make purchasing the weapon more of a gamble and could allow for more counterplay.

It’s unclear if Patch 1.09 will include any direct nerfs to Jett, one of the better agents in the game. But the Operator nerfs should indirectly take her down a peg due to the prevalence of sniping Jett players. If she continues to dominate the meta, Riot may consider nerfing her mobility.