Although Valorant has a diverse cast of agents, each with their own highly influential abilities that can change the tides of a round, Sage has remained since beta the most popular agent due to the sheer power her kit provides. Developer Riot Games has acknowledged Sage’s popularity and strength and will reserve some space in the next patch to nerf the Chinese Sentinel.
In a thread on the r/VALORANT subreddit, Gameplay Researcher Coleman “Altombre” Palm responded to concerns surrounding the agent and noted that despite multiple nerfs, Sage will be “a prime candidate for some target changes.” He highlighted how Sage was a must-pick across all levels of play in Valorant, albeit for different reasons; Palm pointed out how lower-ranked players valued her “healing and resurrect capabilities” whilst higher-ranked players valued her ability to segment the map.
Palm outlined that Sage’s ultimate will be one of the parts of her kit set for nerfs, stating: “Sage’s [ultimate] definitely comes out as the strongest.” The ultimate allows her to revive a fallen ally and is generally regarded as one of the most powerful ultimates in the game. Besides this ultimate, the Barrier Orb is also another powerful ability within Sage’s kit which creates a solid wall that can block pathways, allowing for Sage and her team to stall pushes in a highly effective manner.
Sage has already received nerfs in the past few patches, beginning with the launch patch which targeted her healing and her wall leading to the very next patch hitting the cast range of her wall. For the past two patches, Sage has escaped nerfs, but it appears that Riot Games will no longer tolerate her power.
Sage has proven to be one of the best agents to pick up for any player due to the immense utility her kit provides, yet it is also easy to learn how to best utilize her simple abilities. While Riot Games can always use compensation buffs if the nerfs hit her too hard, it should be careful to not remove the cores of her identity as an agent within the game’s diverse lineup.
Besides nerfs, Sage could also fall out of priority depending on the new agents released and how they may be able to operate as potential counters. Riot Games has stated that it will release new agents rather frequently, with a planned six new agents a year on a bimonthly basis. In the meantime before these agents are released, many changes will occur through the patches that can bring certain existing agents to the forefront of viability alongside what will most likely be very powerful new agents.
Valorant is available now on PC.
Source: Reddit
