The Stinger has been underused in VALORANT following the major changes to its alternate fire, according to the latest pick rates.
The Stinger has a 0.38 percent pick rate on the attacking side and a 0.46 percent pick rate on the defending side, according to data provided by METAsrc. That gives it a 0.42 overall pick rate. The Stinger is the least popular gun in the game second to shotguns such as the Bucky, which is seen as inferior to the Judge.
The change has caused fans on Reddit to criticize Riot Games for its gun balancing. Reddit users said that the Stinger has been seen as the inferior submachine gun to the Spectre. The Spectre has a 9.32 percent pick rate, which would make the gun one of the most popular choices following wins in the pistol round, according to the data.
Another cheap weapon, the Marshall, has a 2.46 pick rate.
The Stinger was changed alongside the Bulldog in VALORANT Patch 4.07, which was released on April 12. The “Bulldog and Stinger now delay firing inputs while bringing up the weapon to aim down sights (ADS),” Riot said.
This meant there was a slight accuracy change if players switched between the classic and alternate fire of the weapon. This was likely implemented to force players back to choosing between fire patterns rather than binding both the aim and the shoot keys to remain accurate.
Riot will likely change the weapon in the future since its adjustments are based on a number of factors, including pick rates.
