Olivia Richman 
Valorant patch 9.03 has some big changes to Brimstone and Viper that have caused some controversy among players.
Patch 9.03 is a bit small but it includes many quality-of-life changes that impact agent abilities, maps, and collision detection. These changes are meant to make gameplay a bit smoother and keep players satisfied with the experience. It also maintains the game’s competitive integrity to ensure everything’s working as intended.
One of these changes was to ground-spreading abilities. In an update that has Valorant players torn, Brimstone’s Incendiary and Viper’s Snakebite have been fixed to make them spread more consistently and only apply damage in places that are “consistent with the visuals.” While this seems straightforward, some players are calling this a “nerf” to these agents.
Valorant patch 9.03 nerfs Brimstone and Viper
The latest changes to Brimstone and Viper are meant to make their abilities more consistent. In theory, this should help players be able to plan their gameplay a lot easier since the abilities will work the same every time.
But a lot of players actually feel this change will nerf Brimstone and Viper.
Valorant players pointed out that Brimstone and Viper’s ground-spreading abilities have been the same for about three years so why fix them now? That made it feel more like a nerf rather than a bug fix.
While the update is a “fix” and not officially a nerf, a lot of players felt that it was still clearly worse for Brimstone and Viper mains if their abilities don’t spread as far. This was especially upsetting to Viper mains who feel that the agent is already underwhelming in the current meta.
Players started to debate if Valorant patch 9.03 would impact Viper’s playability at all. Some pointed out that Viper is still one of the most-used agents in pro play. While she isn’t the best solo, her smoke and wall abilities still make her very helpful to have on most competitive teams. For this reason, the fix to Snakebite won’t impact her playability.
Viper mains didn’t agree, however. A lot of Valorant players expressed that the most recent change may actually make her “suck,” expressing that she has continued to get nerfed after getting one single buff two years ago. While the fix may seem small, to some Viper players it feels like another hit that adds up to make Viper less and less impactful over the years.
