A new Wasteland 2.0 bundle has just been unleashed on VALORANT by Riot Games, and the majority of the player base aren’t exactly jumping for joy over it. From confusion to outright anger, the gaming community throws the new cosmetic pack into the pit. So, what’s really behind this controversial bundle that everyone is talking about?
Wasteland 2.0 is one of a few combinations of a fantastically rough and rugged post-apocalyptic industrial cum rusty metals and makeshift modifications for your weapons. Yet, the loudest player’s reaction would probably say that this is one bundle that should indeed have stayed in the wasteland! This is how bad the backlash is, and you’d almost swear that Riot actually did release a bundle made of garbage-or trully joined in with the community.
There’s just heaps of confusion as to who actually was behind this. MarcooAmorim epitomized the general sentiment when he wrote, “Who asks for these dawg” and GzaOnAir simply put it, “No one asked for this bundle…” The criticism kept coming, with wickedcheeser lamenting, “this is what they’re wasting their time on?” and ilikelatinas02 demanding, “literally WHO asked for ts.” It’s quite clear that nobody was on the lookout for a Wasteland sequel.”
Thus, a state of dramatic hilarity ensued. Some defenders to this bundle appear to exist? domowens_ bravely stated, “I might be the only person in the world that thinks wasteland actually slaps hard,” while there is IBSSammy who might have justified: “As a Fallout fan, I think they’re neat,” i.e., if you’re into the whole post-apocalyptic vibe.
For the most part, it’s seemingly only the melee weapon that gets some love. Seunglii called it “sick 🔥,” and IgnitionCasino chimed in, “Only the melee skin is worth getting.” That goes a long way! Then, the bizarre conversation regarding the presence of a melee weapon in the bundle itself emerged, with senzu_god and NoSoyFranz arguing about a “bluetooth crowbar,” which sounds fabricated but whatever.
Interestingly, so many players are setting this up with other skins that they’d rather be receiving. joeghenov noted, “Wasteland 2.0 but no Protocol 2.0 – wtf @riotgames,” whereas eDexterAi demanded angrily, “Cmon no Aries or frenzy? 😡.” So the two-fold thing now: the players do not like this bundle, and in addition, they have a bone to pick with Riot for actually creating this over the things they want.
Criticisms for quality were everywhere. john_gylor regarded this as “a waste of a 2.0,” RussoGR7 had said, “They are REALLY out of ideas,” while MrmattyOP argued, “So new content is just 2.0 every other skin bundle,” which is actually a great evaluation of Riot’s enthused and fruitful directions lately. Meanwhile, vesky_ took the high road with, “if they added some little effects and sounds it would be cool,” which again kind of points to the bundle feeling a little incomplete.
There are also those criticisms coming from foreign lands- lovemaracuja commented about the bundle in Portuguese, making the game “10 MB more pesado pra essa merda ai,” so to speak, which is Latin for disappointment knows no borders.
Well, it almost should have a Shroud conspiracy behind it. “There is or was a video of Shroud praising that bundle,” mentioned JColtYT, and if true, that’s oddly wild, for Shroud’s opinion usually holds so much weight within the community that this time around, the community is NOT having it.
…The naming themselves got roasted- InfinityGlock99 said, “The name itself has waste so yeah,” which is unexpectedly brilliant wordplay once you actually think about it. More voices just outright declared it an “L bundle,” gaming-talk for a winner-less bundle nobody wants.
Though what truly gives away all the murmurs: tons of players are very much questioning Riot’s priorities. So many highly requested skins and bundles players have been begging for, the decision to release Wasteland 2.0 has left far too many people scratching their heads. It’s not just promo materials about whether the skins look good or not; it’s about whether Riot had really been listening to the community at all.
This whole mess brings up some much bigger questions about VALORANT’s cosmetic strategy. Are they out of ideas? Are they recycling old concepts again? Or, is there an obnoxiously rich silent majority that actually loves these kinds of skins, while the real vocal minority cries about them? It’s hard to say; however, the reaction on social media to Wasteland 2.0 has been a very solid UGGRRRR! Screamed from all of its corners.
In any way, this could just be one more case of gamers nitpicking cosmetics-but you would think Riot would put much effort into all the other behaviors people actually want to see advertised, as they’re asking players to empty their bank accounts for these virtual guns. The Wasteland 2.0 bundle is an entirely missed opportunity, and the community is more than willing to express this in no uncertain terms. Maybe next time they’d consider listening to earnest requests instead of giving more wasteland stuff that nobody ever wanted to begin with.
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