ScreaM reveals his nerf wishlist for Valorant patch update 1.13

Alan Bernal

Valorant is off to a great start in its short lifespan, but Team Liquid pro Adil ‘ScreaM’ Benrlitom thinks that the game needs meaningful changes to the default Classic pistol, shotguns, the surprising amount of moving accuracy, and more.

There are multiple facets to the game that Riot are constantly looking at to improve their tactical shooter, often looking to the community to find out what players are having problems with the most.

One of the more reputable members of the Valorant community is ScreaM, the 26-year-old Belgian pro who has found a series of things the studio needs to “nerf today, not tomorrow.”

While there are the obvious bug fixes and quality of life changes that can be made to the game, Valorant could benefit from some changes to their formula, which the Team Liquid star is hoping happens soon.

Classic and Shotguns

Even as the default pistol, the Classic can make quick work of opponents in Valorant.

ScreaM identified that both the Classic and shotguns, in general, need to be scaled back. Specifically, he wants to see an added delay between right-click bursts. Though left-clicking doesn’t inspire much confidence, the Classic can actually land an impactful three-shot burst at close range.

Shotguns taking that sort of potency to yet another level. While the Judge can drown you in damage at a moment’s notice, the Bucky comes in a little weaker but can land pivotal shots at a decent range.

There’s a ton of room to tinker with the guns if you’re Riot, so hopefully, there’ll be something on this front in the future.

Moving accuracy

The moving accuracy from guns like the Phantom or Vandal is pretty wild in Valorant. While most people are closely comparing how weapons behave in this game vs the likes of CS:GO, there’s a stark contrast to how forgiving Riot’s title can be when running and gunning.

Pros like Cloud9 Tyson ‘TenZ’ Ngo and Skyler ‘Relyks’ Weaver have found consistent results that make shooting-while-moving fairly viable in a pinch. This is an aspect that ScreaM thinks needs to be addressed, and it could be something that Riot looks to touch on soon.

Last but not least, the Belgian wants to see more changes to the ‘tagging’ in Valorant. This, of course, has to do with the slow effect that people feel when they get shot, and the pro player has been vocal about this before.

Even after the June patch’s updates to tagging, ScreaM said he “would love the tagging to be reduced a bit, (since) having the advantage of holding an angle is already too strong since the movements are slow.”

phantom riot valorant
Valorant’s moving accuracy is pretty forgiving, making run-and-gun tactics viable at times.

Any of these would be a great way to shift the balance of power in some of Valorant’s more problematic features, and if it’ll improve the game’s state, then Riot could take a closer look as feedback continues to file in.

As for when the next major patch update will be, Riot have not announced any information on that front yet, so ScreaM and the rest of the community will have to wait and see what changes the devs have in store.

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About The Author

Alan is a former staff writer for Dexerto based in Southern California who covered esports, internet culture, and the broader games/streaming industry. He is a CSUF Alum with a B.A. in Journalism. He's reported on sports medicine, emerging technology, and local community issues. Got a tip or want to talk?