Riot Games has revealed a VALORANT inventory UI change recently, and the players’ reactions differ substantially, to say the least. The leak account ValorLeaks has shown the entire transformation of the update that the players were not aware of, i.e., the way users interact and order weapon skins and cosmetics. The feedback from the community has been on a wide scale from ecstatic to totally bewildered.
What in particular changed? The new user interface is futuristic and smooth looking compared to the old one. It has a tidier layout and apparently better organizing tools, maybe even a search function which some users are calling a must-have feature. The aesthetic part is referred to by some as a “mobile-style” interface which has turned out to be a contention point among the gamers.
VALORANT users and their responses are mixed and very much confused. Some consider the changes to be nothing short of legendary and they are the “best additions” for which the game receives praises. One player MQ GH0ST even said that the update was “Goated” and “everything is so much easier to access now.” Especially the search feature seems to be a favorite, user Drizz commented “Love the search bar”.
On the other hand, there are people who prefer the old UI over the new one. Lokky said in a straightforward manner: “IMO old view was better,” and Giurgi Catalin wrote a rhetorical question: “Am I the only one that doesn’t like it?” The negative reaction seems to be based on practical problems – a user Ricky pointed out that “WE USUALLY LOOK FOR SKINS WITH SLIDES SO IT’S PRACTICAL,” where he was arguing that the new layout might create the opposite situation of not being able to find certain skins as compared to the previous slide system.
The global VALORANT community is also sharing their opinions. A user from the Portuguese-speaking community who goes by the name UnLazy stated that the update is “Útil, upgrade na experiência e padronização entre plataformas,” which translates to “Useful, upgrade to the experience and standardization between platforms.” The implication here is that Riot Games could eventually merge the UI design across different game versions for various platforms.
Sorting method has also created some confusions. A thread of discussion among players revealed that the skins are, in fact, sorted with the equipped items first, then follows alphabetical order. This caused some players to be confused trying to figure out the new system, and UltimateGangsty was the one to clarify, “It’s already sorted alphabetically,” as he responded to a user who was asking about the sorting method.
Moreover, there are gamers who supported the update but still want more features. TheWizard expressed his dissatisfaction about the one feature that was omitted, and in a sarcastic tone he asked, “Where the FUCK is my buddy randomizer?” – which indicates that even if the UI makeover is worthy of praise, some gamers still wish for other quality-of-life improvements that they have been requesting.
The conflicting opinions during this period have illustrated how hard it is for already well-established games to change their UI. When players have already invested so much time (hundreds or even thousands of hours) into a particular interface, any change, no matter how good, will be difficult for them to adapt to. In such cases, the classic “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” mentality opposes the developers who want to refresh and enhance the user experience.
What’s interesting is how this is a reflection of the current trends in gaming UI design. The migration to what some are calling “mobile-style” interfaces is not a trend that is exclusive to VALORANT; developers across the board are doing it for various games to offer similar experiences on PC, console, and mobile platforms. Whether this is good or bad is down to personal preference, but it certainly is a direction the industry is heading.
What is more, the update has come at a time when it is interesting. VALORANT has been in the market for a couple of years already and in the process, it has acquired a vast inventory of skins and cosmetics. The old inventory system was becoming very inconvenient especially for those with large collections and was starting to show its weaknesses. As shitpantsam pointed out, the update was “looong overdue” – which means that the majority of the players had already experienced the discomfort of using the outdated tools to find their way through the crowded inventory, therefore, it has been a long time coming.
Regardless, UI changes will continue to be a matter of contention. People quickly adjust to certain actions and any interruption may feel very unsettling at first. The actual test will be in how gamers react after one or two weeks of acclimatization to the new system. Sometimes the initial negative reactions dissipate as the muscle memory gets adjusted to the new setting, while other times…occasionally when the community backlash is so thunderous that the developers just opt to roll back the changes.
