For years, being a controller main in VALORANT meant finesse, requiring strategic smokes, perfect timing, and selfless utility. When Clove arrived with their shimmering butterflies and pseudo-duelist abilities, they stripped the sophistication out of being a true team-support controller. With Patch 11.10, however, Riot seems poised to bring the crucial role back to its roots.
The latest VALORANT update nerfs a couple of Clove’s aggressive abilities with the aim to curb their “snowballing power” that lets them outperform other controllers in advantageous situations. As part of these changes, they can no longer drop more than one Ruse (Smoke) at a time after their death and can only “overheal” up to 50 HP with Pick-Me-Up. I can’t advocate much for the Ruse nerf, but that overheal cut should definitely make duelist players, who instalock Clove because they couldn’t pick their main, think twice next time.
As a controller main since 2021, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t play Clove at all. But unlike other controller agents, they were more of a “one-night stand” experience. Sure, their abilities take away the heavy responsibilities that a true controller like Omen, Astra, or Brimstone has to shoulder. I really enjoyed using Clove’s happy-go-lucky kit for a week or two before realizing how bland their utility power is. Except for Meddle, it’s all centered around their own survival. They made everything feel easy, which took away the real craft of being a team’s controller.
It’s honestly an insult that a blatantly selfish agent has been undermining true, hardworking controllers in ranked. These days, I can hardly pick my main, Omen, because there’s always someone who instalocks Clove—and then plays like it’s a Deathmatch, ignoring smokes and team play entirely.
It’s an even bigger insult to VALORANT’s current casual competitive state that a shallow agent like Clove has been dominating both the pick rate and win rate charts—across all agents, not just controllers—for months now. At least pro play understands it: aside from a few experimental double-controller setups seen in certain regions, Clove has received little to no attention throughout VCT 2025.
Thankfully, Patch 11.10 aims to address all of these issues with solid nerfs and marks a step toward restoring the controller role’s true integrity. Still, it’s hard to say whether it will actually stop the chaos. Clove’s design, as a whole, remains controversial—nerfs can only make them weaker or even unplayable, not balanced. And there’s still room for autopilot duelists with bruised egos to instalock them because, hey, they can still heal a bit and self-resurrect, right?
Considering everything, it’s safe to say VALORANT’s most brainy role never needed a Clove in the first place.
Published: Nov 11, 2025 09:01 am