The discussion around the new Bandit pistol in VALORANT was initiated not long after its launch by the game’s community. The @VALORANTUpdated account on Twitter also invited users who play the game to share their opinions which resulted in a wide debate over the weapon’s balance, its economic worth in the game, and whether it is overpowered or not. This player feedback is very valuable to Riot Games, who monitor the game’s meta after each new installment.
The Bandit is now officially part of the VALORANT ecosystem. Its price is 600 credits, which is exactly halfway between the Ghost and the Sheriff. Everyone has something to say about it. Everyone, and I do mean everyone. The Twitter post by @ValorantUpdated unleashed the flood of opinions and players now have the freedom to share their thoughts without limitations. Is it going to make eco rounds impossible to win? An outright OP beast? Or just a weapon that is not too bad but rather annoying to farm? Let’s step into the chaotic thoughts of the players.
Almost immediately, there were players reporting @FirstAnd20 saying “so op” and claiming that those who think it is bad have aiming problems. He was even showing a 56% headshot rate on his tracker, quite impressive for a new pistol. But immediately responses like @bvnkorea’s appeared denying this by stating it is “more of an eco weapon than a pistol buy” since on pistol round you lose one piece of utility compared to buying a Ghost or a Frenzy. Can you already see the split?
The main argument circles around the specific pistol’s fit in the current meta. The majority of players still consider the Ghost to be the best option for real pistol rounds. Acknowledging this, @dxnny7x referred to the Ghost and opined, “‘ghost still better on pistol, more of an anti eco gun imo, not too op.” And @hmmmmyuhh reacted to that by communicating that they would “buy the ghost over the bandit on pistol then buy between bandit or sheriff on eco’s.” So, is the consensus shaping up? It is not your first round buy, but it becomes a surprising choice for the second round, anti-eco, when you have a little more money.
But this is where the debate becomes really interesting. Suppose you win the pistol round, then the opposing team goes for saving, right? They may get, at most, 1900-2400 credits. They cannot buy rifles in full. So what do they buy? The Bandit. @ZuCoolxD was very sure of his point when he claimed this indeed creates a difficulty. A headshot from the Bandit would kill the enemy player’s Vandal who has half shield, given that the winner of the round buys a Vandal with only half shield. “I buy vandal half shield yes. But the other team always buys this fucking Pistol and can 1shot us.” It forces the winners to invest more in full armor, thereby impacting their economy. @Crezforlife even foresaw this happening: “It’s gonna change how eco rounds gonna be played I feel at some point they will nerf it.”
Wait, other players are like, hold up, that’s the whole deal? @Mufc_Dio and @MotionSwYT did not let their opinions be silent and popped up with the replies saying that if you buy half shield on a bonus round against a potential Sheriff or Bandit, then that is maybe your fault. “You should have full shield to avoid this anyway,” is what Mufc_Dio argued. MotionSwYT also said that in a higher rank, “youll just get 1 tapped” anyway. So maybe it is just teaching better economic habits? The argument in those reply chains is indeed more heated than some rank matches I have played.
Next, let’s move on to the topic of the gun’s feel. Mechanics play a very major role. @VeIezz was not pleased with the gun’s performance and remarked that “the kick is a lil annoying, like i can visually see it after each shot and it throws me off, no other pistol in the game has kick that crazy.” @WaryNiklas, too, was dissatisfied with the performance of the gun and remarked “everything after the first (already fairly inaccurate shot) was not complete RNG.” And @SkurrrBango could just say that the “recoil make’s me dizzy,” which, mood. However, there are also players like @norhoticrinaus who claim that the gun is “Basically a 600 cred sheriff but with much faster fire rate” for anyone who aims well. So is the kick a skill issue or is it a legitimate balancing imperfection? The community simply cannot come to an agreement.
It is quite impressive to observe how the addition of just one new gun can completely turn the strategy of a game like Valorant. This level of community engagement is common on platforms like PlayStation and Xbox as well.
