The “well-dressed and well-armed” French weapon designer brings wider focus on locking down opposing teams’ economies. Chamber reinvents the sentinel agent, bringing a unique kit to the table through the ability to hold down bomb sites. With his abilities built around unlocking guns without the need to spend credits, he’s sure to add a new dynamic to the gameplay.
The biggest update on VALORANT patch 3.10 introduces players to the new agent Chamber, the sentinel that plays closer to a duelist with an emphasis on gunplay.
The “well-dressed and well-armed” French weapon designer brings wider focus on locking down opposing teams' economies. Chamber reinvents the sentinel agent, bringing a unique kit to the table through the ability to hold down bomb sites. With his abilities built around unlocking guns without the need to spend credits, he’s sure to add a new dynamic to the gameplay.
“We started by thinking about different ways to approach the Sentinel role,” Valorant producer John Goscicki said in a press release. “Early on, our thought process wrapped around the idea of ‘someone that bunkers down, and holds a location by getting frags.’ As we worked on Chamber, the evolution of someone who can hold down a site with an array of weapons emerged. Between your loadout, his pistol and ultimate, and gadgets, a player should be able to hold down a location—but it’s up to you to use the tools correctly and creatively.”
The Chamber Kit Breakdown
His trademark ability places a trap that scans an area, and activates with a countdown once a player comes in range. The sprung trap destabilizes the area around them, allowing Chamber to identify which agents were caught inside. Combine Trademark with his Rendezvous — an ability that places two teleport anchors on a site, allowing him to teleport, and we see his value as a site anchor.
In addition, his other two gun-focused abilities could change how teams approach pistols and save rounds. The Headhunter is a pistol with four-rounds that one-shots enemies at range, proving more valuable than the 800 credits Sheriff. To help with headshots, the Headhunter is equipped with a scope, allowing players to aim down sight.
Chamber receives a shield penetrating pistol with ADS, the classic, and shields in round one. If picked, Chamber can change how teams and players approach the game.
Furthermore, The Tour de force, or Chambers’ ultimate, will change the game’s economy if pick rate is high. He essentially gets a more efficient Operator every seven rounds. It allows for big economical swings, and if combined with another efficient agent like Jett, it could mean major dividends.
Is Chamber going to be viable in the professional meta?
However, the sentiment of him being a must-pick agent is still in question. His abilities, albeit labeled as a sentinel, are closer aligned with a duelist by nature. The general consensus around professional Valorant players is he’d take the Jett OP spot if he’s meta viable.
Conversely, Chamber being picked over Jett feels like a long shot. Jett brings a similar economical advantage to the table with her gun saving ultimate. The Jett comparison goes awry when considering Jett is still needed for attacking executes. As G2 Lothar tweeted, the two agents could used together.
Only time will tell if he fits into the current meta. Regardless, his kit looks like a mountain of fun in your ranked games.
The Five-stack returns to combat smurfing
As for the reintroduction of the five-stack, it’s a welcomed change that grants players more options to play with friends. The drawback being the rank rating reductions to balance the reward after Valorant patch 3.10.
In turn, the decision to allow players of all ranks to play together will reduce the need for smurfing, according to Riot.
“In an effort to reduce smurfing, we’re removing all ranked restrictions from 5-stack parties in Competitive Queue. Our data has shown that the most common reason that players smurf, is because they want to play with their friends outside the bounds of our current ranked restrictions. Removing these boundaries for 5-stacks specifically, means that you can play with your friends regardless of the restrictions that exist for smaller party sizes in Competitive Queue.”
The last minor change is the removal of four-stacks from competitive que. The change will eliminate the solo que player matched with a full-stack. The solo player being less inclined to work as a team. It will improve quality of life for both the solo player and the group of four players.
“We believe that removing this option will result in a significant reduction of overall toxicity reports,” according to competitive producer at Riot, Matthew Le.
Stay tuned to esports.gg for the latest Valorant news and updates.