Massive Neon nerfs revealed for Valorant update 9.11 plus ping changes and Vyse buff

Valorant devs have dropped a surprise reveal of the Neon nerfs coming in patch 9.11, alongside a major change to how pings interact with smoke, and a Vyse upgrade.

Valorant’s 9.11 update isn’t due until December 10, but ahead of the changes going live, developers at Riot have given an early warning about what Neon players can expect.

We knew a nerf was coming, as the developer Dan ‘Penguin’ Hardison posted on X/Twitter: “We agree that Neon is too strong as well. We’re working on some adjustments to balance out the parts that feel overpowered while maintaining her grounded movement combat fantasy.”

What exactly those adjustments would be, we didn’t know – until now. Dropping an unexpected dev video on Instagram, Hardison explained more.

Neon nerfs in 9.11 update

So, how exactly is Neon being nerfed? Hardison explains, “First up, her slides. They’re a bit too powerful right now. We want ability usage to feel intentional, but we found that Neon having two slides allows her to engage in combat, and have a get out of jail free card.”

As a result, Neon will only have one slide charge, which is visible in the video.

Next, they explain, “We’ll be removing the full accuracy buff during the slide, now it will be more similar to the accuracy you have when crouching and moving. We’ll also be making the timing tighter on the Ultimate, so that it’s more important that you have a plan for how you would use it. And also, so that opponents have more counter-play opportunities to bait it out or wait it out.”

“We’re also increasing the ultimate cost to 8 points.”

So, in summary, these are the Neon nerfs:

• 1 slide charge (was 2)
• Reduced accuracy when sliding (now similar to crouch walking)
• Tighter ultimate timing
• Increased ultimate cost to 8 points

Smoke Ping changes

Another big change in the update will be how pings interact with smoke. Now, instead of passing through the smoke, the smoke will act as a barrier, like a wall, against the ping, stopping it at its edge.

The devs explain that in its current state, the ping was being used to create gameplay advantages by “smoking yourself off, and using the pings to spam the enemies.” This isn’t how they were intended.

Additionally, pings placed by using the map won’t show up “in world”, and will have a slightly different sound.

Vyse buff

The devs were less specific about the Vyse changes, describing them only as a “quality of life pass”, but we know he’s getting at least one buff – to his Razorvine.

“And some improvements to Razorvine, as we feel like it hasn’t quite been hitting the mark,” Hardison said.

How exactly this ability will be improved, we’ll find out in the patch notes. Those should drop soon, closer to the update itself going live. Stay tuned to our Valorant coverage here and on X to stay updated.