The 15 minutes of fame are seemingly over for Iso as a Valorant developer reveals heavy nerfs for the OP fugitive.
Valorant patch 8.11 was intended to bring the spotlight to lesser-used duelists. To achieve this, developer Riot Games delivered significant buffs for Iso and Neon, two agents who hit the bottom of the barrel right after their big launch. But it seems Riot didn’t anticipate the impact Iso buffs would have on the game meta. The sharpshooter was being called a “high ELO terror” for his constant cracked plays, but that dream is now over.
Taking to X, Valorant game designer Dan Hardison confirmed big nerfs coming for Iso.
Iso finally nerfed after terrorizing Valorant players
Patch 8.11 significantly overpowered Iso’s Double Tap, a shield that was originally activated upon getting one kill and shooting the orb. But patch 8.11 allowed him to pull out the shield directly upon pressing E. This means Iso no longer needed to rush into danger to earn his Double Tap.
But that wasn’t even the worst part. The shield would stay up for 20 seconds, and he could regain it by headshotting two enemies. This made him insanely powerful in ranked play, an effect that can be seen in his win rate, which skyrocketed to 50% as more and more players picked him.
Hardison has now confirmed that the developer is taking away the two-kill reset. The ability will still activate without getting the first kill, but it will stay up for only 12 seconds. Double Tap charges would stay the same, but the nerfs mean Iso can no longer gain the ability back after tanking into an enemy. Whatever Iso wishes to do, he must do it within the given 12 seconds.
These nerfs will force Iso players to adopt a less aggressive playstyle and consider the consequences of aggressing forward before making fearless rushes. Previously, players with cracked aim could confidently push snipers, as Iso’s shield would absorb the first instance of their damage. This meant that, with the right skill, the shield could be maintained for the majority of a round. But these upcoming changes mean that this strategy will no longer be quite so viable.
These nerfs will become effective in Valorant patch 9.00, but console players will have to deal with Iso in his OP state until 9.01.