ISO and Deadlock are the two newest Agents that have come out in Valorant and the community response for both has been underwhelming. The game is saturated with good and playable Agents. However, these two have been tossed aside and marked as mediocre. How did it happen? Why does everyone think that ISO and Deadlock are unplayable in Riot’s FPS? Let us find out why.
Contents
- Why ISO and Deadlock Won’t Ever Be Meta in Valorant
- How The Imbalance Started (Chamber’s Introduction)
- The Problem with ISO’s Abilities
- The Problem with Deadlock’s Abilities
- The Takeaway and Potential Fix
Why ISO and Deadlock Won’t Ever Be Meta in Valorant
ISO and Deadlock came out to almost “meh” responses from the community. That is saying something because the Agents before them were almost considered overpowered and had to be nerfed. Case in point, Gekko, Neon, and most importantly, Chamber. Chamber broke the game to such an extent that Riot and the community were frustrated about the influence he had on pro play and the meta.
However, Chamber’s influence had major aftereffects on the characters Riot created. They realized that if all of the characters had the level of pro play potential like Chamber, the game’s meta wouldn’t be the same. However, Chamber did much more than that, let us find out how.
How The Imbalance Started (Chamber’s Introduction)
Chamber did not just acquire a healthy place in the meta. He was a must-have in any composition. Professional teams like OpTic had tremendous success playing with Chamber in their compositions. All of it ended when Chamber got sent through the wringer. Riot nerfed Chamber’s abilities but he isn’t obsolete. He still has potential in some compositions.
However, Chamber’s influence changed competitive Valorant and the game creation process forever. After Chamber, Gekko and Neon received nerfs because they were so overpowered. Because all of the characters they released since Chamber felt overpowered, Riot purposely underpowered characters so that they would not have the same effects Chamber did in the meta.
That brings us to ISO and Deadlock. Both of these Agents do not have a place in the meta right now and for their reasons. Riot’s game creation process takes into account a need a certain Agent has. Duelists create space while Sentinels hold flanks and reinforce afterplants. Initiators can help Duelists get set and gather info while Controllers can provide safe passage and halt enemy movement.
ISO and Deadlock do not live up to the standards that are demanded of them in their character class which is why they are so underused.
The Problem with ISO’s Abilities
ISO‘s abilities only benefit him at the end of the day. Even Reyna helps create space using her Leer ability and the more kills she gets the stronger she becomes. However, ISO’s signature ability is not that good considering the fast pace of Valorant. He feels too constricted and the only good ability he has is the Undercut ability which can combine well with another Duelist.
However, the biggest thing that separates him from other Duelists is the ability to retreat. Reyna has the dismiss, Jett has the Tailwind, Yoru has his Teleports and Raze has satchels, ISO has nothing. Even though he can get a kill on the enemy, he cannot avoid being traded. In addition, his Ultimate can easily be countered by a single Yoru clone, which does not make sense given that you need 7 Orbs to charge this ability.
In addition, it is just a glorified 1v1, it does not do anything for the team nor does it create space.
The Problem with Deadlock’s Abilities
Deadlock on release was criticized by most of the Valorant community. Her abilities do not do anything special and that is also the reason why Cypher, Killjoy, and even Sage have a better pick rate than her. When players initially saw the Agent, everyone was excited but when she was released, the hype backfired.
Her abilities included a trap that triggered only upon sound, a grenade that makes enemies crouch and hold them there, and a blockade that prevents enemies from getting past it. The Ultimate, Annihilation was decent but players could not see its uses in professional play. Deadlock officially became the worst Agent in the game by a mile. In fact, in Riot’s professional Champions tournament this year, she had a 0% pick rate which tells the entire story.
The Takeaway and Potential Fix
It is simple. The takeaway is that due to community response and the stranglehold Chamber had on the meta, Riot became concerned about the next batch of Agents they were releasing. That is why, they purposely underpowered them so that the community does not pick them in every composition. However, that backfired with the release of ISO and Deadlock. That does not mean these Agents cannot be fixed.
Deadlock can be fixed by improving her trips. The Sonic Sensors only detect enemies that make sound and they can easily be broken. Riot could make them detect all Agents despite sound, even if they are walking, and make the Sensor, not easy to shoot. How they would do it, we don’t know. In addition, the GravNet can use some work because it can easily be dodged and does not do much.
ISO on the other hand needs a major rework because his Double Tap ability is going to be underused when you consider that you can easily be hit by a stray bullet here and there. His Undercut ability is quite useful but Contingency could use a rework because it only works if you are pushing in a specific direction. You cannot effectively create space with it because there are too many angles you could get shot from.
Every Agent in the game has a certain role in compositions. Riot’s last two Agents do not, if they do not fix this in the coming months, they will stockpile the Agents who do not have use and the majority of the Agents in the game won’t be useful in compositions. ISO and Deadlock have the potential to be good Agents in Valorant but only if Riot gives them a niche use.
