Is the Operator balanced?

We’ve all been there: you go to peek an angle, you’re not playing an agent with smokes or flashes, you die to the OP, and you seethe about it for the round. The discussion around the balance of the OP has permeated the VALORANT scene in recent weeks, especially with the strengths that the rifle has when partnered with Jett. But the question remains - is the OP… op?

The Operator has been in VALORANT since the very beginning and is nothing new in the world of tactical shooters, with the most direct comparison being the similarly pronounced AWP from Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. Both boast similar prices, 4500 for the OP, 4750 for the AWP, and the two guns function nearly identically. The issue arises from two separate issues that VALORANT faces in balancing it’s most prominent sniper rifle. Those two issues are quite simple problems, and yet some of the most difficult to come up with solutions for - how do you get the OP off an angle, and how do you balance it with the mobility of Jett.

The first issue is one that is a core part of VALORANT, and yet one of the hardest to deal with issues, how do you get the OP off of an angle? In CS:GO, utility is limited only by economy, everyone can have the flashes and molotovs required to push the AWPer into a poor fight. In VALORANT, with the agent system it is far from being that simple, with the variety of agents limiting the utility that each player brings to a confrontation. If you’re playing a character that lacks smokes or flashes it can feel nearly impossible to force an OP’er off of an established angle. So the question becomes, what can you do to the OP to allow more agents the ability to take a fight against the sniper rifle?

Some of the suggestions that have been thrown around are an increase to the cost, with some people suggesting 4750, or even 5000 as reasonable cost for the sniper rifle, to more economically punish those who buy it. Others have suggested that it is simply a result of maps designed with numerous angles and a movement system that makes properly jiggle peeking (slightly peeking the corner multiple times to attempt to bait out a shot) much more difficult. An interesting suggestion is a Counter-Strike: Source styled nerf, only allowing one Operator per team, limiting the strength of double or triple OP setups. Whatever the solution may be, the question is nuanced, and heavily influenced by one Agent: Jett.

Jett has quickly become synonymous with the Operator, the highly-mobile agent synergizes incredibly well with the rifle and has quickly become one of the most used Agents across both professional and casual play. Jett’s kit works very well with the Operator in that it provides everything an OP’er would want: the ability to reposition after shooting. With her dashes and updraft Jett can take a shot and move to the other side of the bombsite in no time, as well as provide cover for herself with her smokes. Even Jett’s ultimate remains as one of the strongest close to medium range abilities, ranges where the Operator may struggle, while also providing Jett with a potent option during rounds where her team is buying but she lacks the money to comfortably afford the Operator.

The second issue is by far the hardest of the two to fix, any changes that would make Jett worse with Operator in her hands would fundamentally change how the Agent plays. While it’s hard to say whether the Operator, Jett, or a combination of both and many other factors leads to the strength of the sniper, it is possible that some combination of changes could be made to bring the power of the Operator down. Whether those are nerfs to the rifle itself, to Jett, or subtle changes in the design of the map, it will be interesting to see how long the Operator persists at the very peak of the meta in VALORANT.

Do you think the Operator is overpowered? Do you think that Jett, or the maps should be changed to balance better around the sniper rifle? How would you change VALORANT around the Operator? Let us know down below in the comments on your ideas to change or balance VALORANT!