Valorant pros TenZ, Hazed & more explain why Astra is bad for the game
Riot GamesValorant has an ever expanding collection of interesting characters, but some pros and other top names are demanding changes to the newest Agent on the roster: Astra.
The Ghanaian Agent, added in Act 2, Episode 2, is a Controller that bends the cosmos to her whim and can greatly influence the game with her abilities.
Since she was introduced to the Agents roster, players have been slowly trying to figure her out, and it turns out she can be pretty devastating in the right hands, especially with the correct use of her utilities.
Now, several top players across both Valorant and CS:GO are critiquing the Agent, calling for changes to be made to make her more balanced and in line with the others.
Riot GamesOne of those players is none other than Sentinels star man Tyson ‘TenZ’ Ngo, who revealed his disdain for the Agent.
“Astra pull is by far the most annoying and OP ability in the game,” he said, a pretty damning statement for her Gravity Well ability.
This was corroborated by TSM’s James ‘hazed’ Cobb, who posted a thread stating that “Astra is bad for the game,” explaining why and offering possible solutions.
Since people are asking why:
1) Shes too versatile. She has too many options with no counter play other than to bait it out. She can single handedly stall for 30+ seconds.
2) She takes away the essence of an FPS. Half of Astra's round in Astral Form playing a mini game.
— hazed (@hazedCS) April 28, 2021
After saying that she’s “too versatile,” hazed suggests that one fix could be making her Orbs permanent so you can’t recall them, or make them removable.
As for a solution… i dont think i have one. You COULD make her orbs permanent so you cant recall them. You COULD make them removable in a way similar to defusing the bomb or capturing an Ult Orb, but it would be silent instead and only take a second to disarm.
— hazed (@hazedCS) April 28, 2021
Team Liquid CS:GO star Jonathan ‘EliGE’ Jablonowski agreed, calling her “the worst character ever that has 0 counter play.”
worst character ever that has 0 counter play
— Jonathan Jablonowski (@EliGE) April 28, 2021
Many responses seem to agree with the belief that Astra and her abilities need to be nerfed, but the question becomes how developers Riot Games feel about that.
Astra’s Gravity Well actually received a slight buff in Patch 2.07 earlier in April, making it affect players defusing the Spike, but they might want to make some tweaks going forward.