Riot Games has given us a sneak peek into VALORANT’s new agent Veto, and one thing that has come up a lot from the players is whether the ultimate interacts with other abilities. The biggest reveal came from a leak that showed the fate of the ultimates when they were used against Veto while he was in his ultimate form, and it is a fact that some of these interactions are practically nonsense for people.
To put it concisely, Veto’s ultimate shields him from the major part of the game abilities, but there are odd exceptions which make the community ponder. For instance, why does Jett’s ultimate kill him but the Raze rocket is not affected? This is the first question asked by the community, and the explanations given are quite interesting when you break down the game mechanics.
Let me clarifying this – as per the programmers who play the game, it all comes down to how the game categorizes the damage types. Jett’s knives, Neon’s lasers, and Chamber’s sniper are all classified as direct damage rather than ability damage. They are treated as if you are using a gun – you start, you keep using, and give no uproar, that’s why they can still damage Veto when he is in his ultimate. Raze’s rocket, on the other hand, is treated as an ability and totally negated. The same is true for Sova’s arrows and nearly all other ultimates in the game.
The community’s reactions have been diverse, to say the least. Some see it as a pretty fair situation since Veto’s ult will only last for a short time and he will still be vulnerable to regular gunfire and those specific ultimates. Others consider it as completely unfair that a 7-point ultimate can effectively nullify most 8-point ultimates and at the same time, grant him an over-heal. So, it is a huge value proposition if viewed in such a manner.
A player made a statement, “Being able to counter almost any ability in the game for a whole round by simply clicking one button is just a very dumb idea” and honestly? I partially agree with him. On the other hand, however, others are saying Veto still has counters – just shoot him with regular bullets or use Jett/Neon/Chamber ultimates or even just letting time pass waiting for his duration. It is not like he is totally immune or anything.
But for me, the weirdest part of all this is that Kay/O’s ultimate does not affect Veto. Like according to the lore, Kay/O is supposed to be the anti-radiant agent, but his disabling ability is useless against Veto’s ultimate? This seems like a huge mistake from both the gameplay and the storytelling angles. Gamers are simply talking about it as something that does not make sense at all.
And then there is the whole Harbor mess – it appears that when Veto is in his ultimate state, he is actually being revealed by Harbor’s ultimate which if this interaction continues will result in a significant increase in Harbor’s pick rates. This is in fact, a very sneaky counter that not many would think of at first.
The community is very much engaged in a heated debate as to which among the above interactions should/should not be changed and one of the questions being why Neon’s ultimate works but Raze’s does not? A number of players have said, “Anyone who thinks Veto should be immune to neon but not raze needs to take an iq test before using social media again” which is… quite harsh but it is very clear that the intensity of the discussion here.
What is more impressive is the fact that this brings to surface the underlying game mechanics that most casual players never even think of. The whole “ammunition” system where Jett and Neon have real ammo counts for their ultimates while Raze’s is a one-time ability actually determines these interactions. It is the difference between gun damage and magic damage, as one player put it very aptly.
Some players have started calling Veto as “the most balanced character that has come out in a long time” while others think he still needs a lot of adjustments before his official release. The very fact that his ultimate costs less than most others but counters them is definitely a hot topic and I wouldn’t be surprised if Riot Games changed either the cost or the potency before he officially launches.
The image that was leaked is supposed to be Breeze, which means a possible return of that map which is a favorite among many, and thus, players are happy at least there are even more things to discuss along with the balancing issues.
New agents always change the meta and cause some controversy, but at the same time they are the ones who players are able to talk about most. Just like with Chamber and he was already considered broken when he came out; or if you prefer, the opposite case of Harbor where he initially looked quite weak. The community tends to make initial overreactions before they realize the actual counters and strategies to play the new character. It might seem that Veto’s ultimate is too strong on paper, but when players get to try him, learn how to play against and around his abilities, he might be quite perfectly balanced after all.
Or he might be completely broken and need nerfs immediately—only time will tell. But one thing is for sure, the VALORANT community will always express their opinions on game balance and this recent leak has given them plenty to discuss. The debate over what should or shouldn’t be able to counter Veto’s ultimate is likely to continue not only until but also beyond his official release.
PlayStation and Xbox gamers might find these discussions interesting as well.
