The sentinel saw a 100% pick rate on day one of VCT LOCK//IN in both matches. The agent will also see a nerf in the upcoming patch.
In 2022, most maps only saw one Sentinel being played across tournaments: Chamber. The agent's get-out-of-jail-free card in the form of his Rendezvous teleport ability made him a favorite across the world. This, combined with his accurate Headhunter heavy pistol and his Tour de Force ultimate which was basically a free improved version of the Operator made him a must-pick.
At VCT Champions 2022 Istanbul, the agent had the highest pick rate among not just other Sentinel agents but also overall. He was chosen a whopping 66.86% across the tournament, compared to 21.51% for Sage and 16.28% for Killjoy.
Right after the tournament though, Chamber saw some nerfs kicking in across his ability pool. LOCK//IN is the first official VCT event after this and the entire community was curious to see how exactly the nerf would affect his pick rate. And affect him it did.
Killjoy dethrones Chamber on day one of VCT LOCK//IN
Day one of VCT LOCK//IN saw four teams across all three of the VCT-partnered leagues face off. Match one was NRG vs KOI and match two saw Giants Gaming go up against DetonatioN FocusMe. Both games were 2-0 performances from NRG and Giants Gaming. The one thing that was common across all four maps: Killjoy was chosen by every single team on every single map. A 100% score.
Let's break it down statistically:
Agent/Map | VCT Champions Istanbul 2022 | VCT LOCK//IN 2023 Day One |
|---|---|---|
| Chamber Pick Rate on Haven | 78.13% | 0% |
| Killjoy Pick Rate on Haven | 0% | 100% |
| Chamber Pick Rate on Icebox | 90% | 0% |
| Killjoy Pick Rate on Icebox | 20% | 100% |
Whether she will continue to maintain her 100% pick rate across the event remains to be seen but she's certainly off to a strong start.
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Killjoy nerfs announced in the upcoming patch
Riot announced in the upcoming patch 6.03 that Killjoy would be seeing some nerfs. In their words, "With Chamber's recent balance and the increased reliability of Killjoy's Lockdown ult, she has recently sprung up as the premier Sentinel Agent in the game. When we took on systemic damage and health interactions in Patch 5.12, we decided not to reduce Killjoy's Turret health given her place in the ecosystem at the time. Given her place today, we are making the changes below."
There are the changes that will be hitting the agent in the upcoming patch and the rationale behind it:
- Turret (E) health decreased 125 >>> 100
- Reducing the total health of the Turret will allow for opponents to have an easier time destroying it, particularly with weaker weapons.
- Reducing the total health of the Turret will allow for opponents to have an easier time destroying it, particularly with weaker weapons.
- Lockdown (X) point cost increased 7 >>> 8
- We're happy with Killjoy's Ult being powerful when opponents don't have a plan to push or contest it, but feel the frequency is too high for the reliability it now offers.
This patch will not affect VCT LOCK//IN so it is likely we will continue seeing Killjoy dominate the sentinel role on most maps.
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