Valorant: Will Vandal Dominate The Assault Rifle Meta?

The 1.07 update patch in Valorant brought a substantial amount of changes to the game. In fact, this was perhaps the greatest update of Act 2 yet. Devs made a bunch of weapon changes, including giving the Vandal a minor buff. However, with the new buff added to the previous changes made to the weapon, this might just change the assault meta which is currently mostly dominated by the Phantom.

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The previous change in Vandal got it closer to the classification of a long-range, or marksman rifle with a decrease in recoil. With the 1.07 update patch, the Vandal now has an increase in the firing rate from 9.25 to 9.75. In addition to this, devs have also increased the damage count for the weapon. Vandal now deals a 40 damage, instead of the earlier damage count, 39.

Devs explained why they made such changes: “Goal is to bring the Vandal in closer competition with the Phantom. We believe these weapons aren’t that far off in competition and hope these changes will do that.“

Valorant devs add tweaks to Vandal, making it an even more efficient headhunter

Now, what exactly is the upside currently to using Vandal? Well, this AR has the potential to deal ranged damage by default. Owing to the 0.50 update patch, Vandal got a 15% reduced recoil when firing while crouched, reduced gun recovery time, and increased tap efficiency. With increased damage and firing rate, this one might end up being one of the most powerful rifles in the game.

While Phantom has been a reliable AR, thanks to its first shot accuracy and low gun recovery time, Vandal just became highly efficient in mid to long-range fights and might surpass Guardian as a marksman rifle. Having a low gun recovery time and increased tap efficiency along with an increased firing rate means that Vandal will ensure faster kills in a long-range. In the right hands, the Vandal will prove to be extremely handy for all agent classes.

Vandal can now fire short quick bursts one after the other and will allow enemies no chance to escape. Looks like devs did manage to tweak it in order to give the Phantom a tough competition. Devs at Valorant constantly make it a point to avoid saturation in the ongoing meta, making it an impressive competitive title.