Valorant 5.06: How will the Stinger buff change the meta?

Valorant patch 5.06 has just gone live across the servers and it’s bringing with it a surprising Stinger buff along with a few changes to the game. Riot was kind enough not to make any more adjustments to the Agents, but they are giving the Stinger an interesting buff. Does this mean the Stinger buff will change the meta in Valorant?

The Stinger gun is slowly being bought more and more, especially during Eco rounds. Previously, the Stinger wasn’t at all popular. Obviously, some Valorant players found it to be a bit wonky to use. But thanks to streamers like Tenz, the Stinger is slowly gaining popularity in Valorant.

Is the Stinger buff going to affect the meta starting in Valorant 5.06?

Image Courtesy of Riot

Beginning in Valorant’s 5.06 patch update, the Stinger’s performance is getting a big adjustment. Riot is giving the Stinger a few buffs which would greatly improve its performance in close-range gunfights. Here is what the official patch notes from Riot detailed about the Stinger buffs:

• Primary Fire error adjusted from 1.6 error after 7 bullets >>> 1.3 error after 6 bullets
  • Our goal for the Stinger is to feel controllable and appropriately lethal at short ranges, but currently, even in close-quarters, it can feel out-of-control. Lowering the top spread should make it feel more reliable at the appropriate range once you’ve overcome the learning curve of the recoil.
• Alt Fire first shot error adjusted from .5 >>> .35
  • For an option that’s about being more accurate, it felt like the first shot had more variance than we’d like, especially at the ranges you’d want to use the burst fire mode.

The question we have now is this: how will the Stinger buff affect the meta in Valorant from now on?

It’s going to be the best choice for Eco rounds

The most obvious one is that more and more players will be buying the Stinger in the early moments of the game or if their team is saving. The Stinger will also be a great alternative if your team is going for an Eco round.

• Because Riot introduced fixes to its large spread and high recoil, it won’t come as a surprise if more players try it out.
• Instead of going for just a small shield and either a Ghost or a Frenzy, players now have the option to use the Stinger.

Personally, I’ve always avoided using the Stinger. It was either a Ghost or a Spectre since they feel more stable to control. But I might give the Stinger a shot with this buff. It will also be a more solid choice for players who choose to lurk. Catching your opponents off-guard is one thing, but being able to quickly fire at them is another.

The Stinger will be a great choice for players wanting to try their hand at another one of the guns in Valorant. In the meantime, check out this video Tenz trying out the Stinger after the latest update.

Other changes in Valorant 5.06

Pearl

Riot revamped the newest map in Valorant, Pearl. In the new update, they’ve remodeled most of the corners on the map to make it easier for both the Attackers and Defenders to counter each other.

Screengrabs Courtesy of REVEN VALORANT via YouTube

Although Pearl wasn’t really met with positive reviews after its release in Valorant, it may become a better map because of these changes. Below are the areas which have changed starting in Valorant 5.06:

• B Main
• Mid Shops
• Mid Shops to Mid Plaza
• Mid Top
• A Art
• B Link
• A Main
• A Main to A Site

Most of the changes either took away a corner or added a platform or some boxes on which players can position themselves.

Social Update

The next big change in Valorant’s latest patch is the addition of a new feature. Riot calls it the “Disruptive Gameplay-based Behavior Indicator” which, from the name itself, detects whether or not a player performed disruptively during a match.

It will only show up at the end of the game and players who have been detected by this system will have an icon displayed beside their name. At the moment, this feature has been added to Unrated, Competitive, Spike Rush, and Replication. Other game modes are expected to have this feature in succeeding updates.

Those are all the changes that arrived in Valorant after the 5.06 patch update. Do you think the Stinger will become the new meta following its buffs? Let us know what you think.

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If you have other questions about Valorant, feel free to drop them in the comments below. Until then, stay with us here at Spiel Times for more content.

SOURCE: Riot Games, Tenz Twitch, YouTube