Riot responds to calls for Valorant accuracy nerfs for Stinger & Frenzy

After calls from pro players to nerf SMGs and the Frenzy, a Valorant dev has teased a potential range nerf to the Stinger, but believes running accuracy is less of an issue.

With players calling for nerfs to ‘running and gunning’, in patch 2.02 Riot drastically increased the accuracy error for all the rifles in the game. However, other automatic weapons were left untouched.

This meant a new meta came into play. Players started buying cheap weapons like the Frenzy and Stinger, both of which were normally reserved for pistol and eco rounds, as a viable option against rifles.

As a result, several pro players, including Nicholas ‘nitr0’ Cannella and  Melanie ‘MeL’ Capone expressed their frustration at the prevalence of RNG in early rounds, which MeL described as a “coinflip”.

Valorant Game Designer Nicholas Wu Smith, who works on premium content and weapon balance, teased a range nerf to the Stinger in the next patch on his Twitch Q&A.

“Range is something I’ve hopefully tuned properly for the Stinger. We’ll see that in the next patch. I’m excited for everyone’s opinion on it.”

However, he said there were “no plans” to adjust SMG running accuracy, as the weapons are designed to be good for running and gunning.

“Generally speaking SMGs and the Frenzy are going to be better on the run than other weapons,” he said. “Whether they’re too effective right now is something I’m still looking at and trying to understand.

• Read More: Everything we know about Agent 15

“It’s a tough balance when these weapons are meant to be pretty effective at that particular thing that is frustrating people.

“It is a level of efficacy that I’m trying to understand and tune back to a point where it still feels good in moments, but it doesn’t feel as frustrating [to play against]. But it’s going to be frustrating no matter what.”

He also has “no strong opinions” on movement speed, but admitted it’s not his area. “I think people are pretty fast and agile,” he added.

• Read More: Shroud exposes game-breaking ‘wallhack’

It seems running and gunning with automatic weapons will continue to be a viable option for Valorant players, but range nerfs to weapons like the Stinger could reduce their prevalence in the meta.