Valorant players are swapping to “broken” Ares after insane Episode 4 buffs

The Valorant weapon tier list has undergone a massive shakeup in Episode 4 after some insane buffs to the Ares. The 1,550 Cred Heavy gun is now the strongest in the game, with pros and casuals alike swapping to the broken weapon.

If you had Ares being the most broken gun in Valorant on your bingo card for Episode 4, you’d have to be a clairvoyant. However it’s true ⁠— the Heavy weapon, baby brother to the Odin, is decimating Valorant since patch 4.00.

Riot gave the Ares a substantial buff, removing the wind-up ramp to its max fire rate, while also buffing it entirely from 10 bullets per second to 13 per second. The buffs have had such a huge impact that players are comparing it to the Stinger and Bucky metas of old, and are swapping to the gun in droves.

“Ranked games right now looks like this ⁠— 5 Ares vs 5 Ares and doesn’t matter [if] it’s eco or buy,” Gambit pro Ayaz ‘nAts’ Akhmetshin said on Twitter.

“So you’re telling me even if I win the pistol round, 10 people in the server have an Ares on Round 2,” TSM pro Yassine ‘Subroza’ Taoufik added.

Tournament play is being rocked by Ares, with screenshots of every player in the server having an Ares in Round 2 ⁠— and yes, armor is optional if you can’t afford the 1,550 Cred gun and shields in the same buy.

It’s led to a chorus of complaints from players who are asking Riot to hotfix the broken gun ⁠— so much so the term “Ares” is trending on Twitter in the aftermath of the patch.

“Yo Valorant devs, I will never tweet about changes unless they are 100% needed. Nerf the Ares. This is too much,” Liquid coach Connor ‘Sliggy’ Blomfield said.

“Day 1 of Ares [meta] revert back please I’m winning pistol just to lose to 5 Ares next,” NRG pro Sam ‘s0m’ Oh added.

this ares shit is the most dumb thing i've seen in valorant pic.twitter.com/LKoK1C9t2H

— TSM FTX Payen (@pay3n) January 12, 2022

Thought I'd load up some Valorant to see what's going on. It's round 2 and I just hear some fat ass gun shooting faster than a stinger. Bullets flying through walls I didn't know were possible and a blue, space bun girl sliding knee electrocuted me. Swoosh swoosh swoosh and GG

— FNATIC Boaster (@OfficialBoaster) January 13, 2022

For now, Riot is yet to address the community’s issues surrounding the Ares buffs. However, with Valorant patch 4.01 around the corner, it’s likely the Heavy weapon will find its way back into the changelist again given its total dominance.

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