Riot Games recently made massive changes on Harbor in VALORANT, which have split the community completely. Honestly, this is one of the most controversial topics in the gaming world right now. The VALORANT Updates account just said, “What do you think about the new Harbor changes?” and the overwhelming response was of various opinions. It’s really mixed up out there, with players who are praising the buffs to others who are cursing the rework.
So, what exactly was the issue with Harbor? The Indian controller got an enormous rework of abilities. His signature High Tide wall has now been changed from two charges to one, which is a huge modification. However, to compensate for this, his Cascade has transformed into the new Cove, which is a smokable bubble that can be thrown and has a replenishment system. Also, his ultimate has gone through a total revamp. The former ult known as Reckoning, which exposed and shocked enemies, has been exchanged for Crashing Wave, which is a combination of blinding and slowing. To sum it up, they switched him from an absolute controller to a character that feels like an initiator-controller hybrid.
The player’s responses have been… huge. Some gamers are huge fans of the changes. User koorrrbb wrote “I love them thanks @VALORANT” with heart emojis and everything. BluthundAu said “Im happy i loved hobur from day one but definitely more playable” – although they better get the spelling right on that Harbor name. At the same time, there are players who are utterly confused about what role Harbor is supposed to play now. JettSt0rm made it very clear: “They basically turned him into an initiator brah.” What is he now even?
On one side, there are the adamant critics, who think the changes are completely wrong. Kapsel_44 didn’t mincemeat words: “Buff from super ass to ass.” Ouch. That’s pretty serious. iamraven07 went as far as saying the changes “only corroborated my belief that they have no clue what they are doing.” And BrianMcAlp53745 confidently stated “Nobody will play him. Waste of riots time.” Wow, let us know your true feelings.
Most interesting are the reply chains, where there are the most engaging subjects. A debate is going on between Mudkip Shileno and The_Kingtsabiox9 about whether Harbor can match up against Viper or if he is just different by nature. They are telling about map control and agent roles in multiple languages and getting really technical. Mudkip Shileno says that Harbor can’t revive his wall if he gets baited, while Viper earns rewards for better macro play. The_Kingtsabiox9 counters with the assertion that Harbor’s global influence is one thing that Viper lacks, especially in the case of larger maps like Breeze.
Moreover, there is the question whether Harbor is good enough to be a solo controller or should he always be paired with another controller. hmmmmyuhh commented “the wall is now the cove smoke, the rechargeable. smokes are more important imo so he will still not be able to be used as a solo controller in comp but rather double controller.” And MemesNigg4 agreed with him, saying “nobody uses double controller today, it’s better duelist or initiator.” So the meta might not really favor how Harbor wants to be played now.
Among the ultimate changes, there is another big point of controversy. Some players claim that the new Crashing Wave is worse than the old Reckoning. khnahnav983 very honestly stated “old ult could be better than new ult.” but milwyy stood ground, saying the new ult is “literally an impossible to avoid flash (unless you are Veto ulting) and a big smoke at the same time.” Hence, the disagreement regarding whether the ult swap was a buff or a nerf is very strong.
What is more amazing is that some people are getting very personal regarding the whole issue matter. id0ntm1ss commented “Fuck harbor, they nerfed viper for this guy” which is, well, a tad too much. And magurobocho said “hope more ppl aint gon start playin him :3” as if they are protecting their main character or something. Meanwhile, Hugo12581551 was a bit contradictory: “I like pretty much everything except that his two walls were replaced with a grenade that nearsights and slows.”
The community appears to be divided between those who consider the changes to have finally made Harbor and those who still consider him to be stealing. Kindred971 called it “From ass to slightly below average, still a big step in the right direction” and suggested he be given a couple more buffs like allies not slowing when the wall is up and the smoke fades slowly after the shield breaks.
The gaming community on PlayStation and Xbox platforms often has similarly divided opinions on major game updates.
