Competitive VALORANT matches can be won or lost during save rounds. But many in the pro scene believe that the new two-Slug quickfiring Outlaw rifle is going to drastically change how save rounds are played.
The new rifle was introduced officially at the start of Episode Eight, as part of Patch 8.0. The Outlaw, which many have dubbed “a Shorty with a sniper scope,” fires two slugs in quick succession with no recoil between shots. More importantly, the Outlaw deals 140 damage to the body, meaning one shot will instantly kill an enemy with half armor.
Half armor has been a consistent part of eco buys, providing a decent amount of protection from common anti-eco or bonus round weapons like the Marshal or one of several SMGs. But against an Outlaw, one shot is all it takes against half armor, and at the game’s highest level, you’ll find very few players who will miss a body shot in two tries.
Fnatic star and multi-time VCT trophy winner Timofey “Chronicle” Khromov posted that he said the weapon was broken when it was first presented to pro players, adding now that we will “see the death of eco rounds” with almost no chance for teams to lose an anti-eco with one or two Outlaws in hand.
Chronicle isn’t the only pro to share this opinion. The majority of the Sentinels roster believes the weapon will be impactful, per their recent podcast: Zachary “zekken” Patrone says the “light armor meta” will die, and both Tyson “TenZ” Ngo and Mouhamed “johnqt” Ouarid see themselves using the Outlaw a lot, primarily in anti-eco situations.
In ranked, where forced light armor buys are plentiful, this weapon could prove to be even more valuable when holding long angles. But at the esports level, there will be significantly less half-buy rounds with how powerful this weapon with a 2,400 credit cost is against half armor.
Published: Jan 10, 2024 03:14 pm