NRG Crashies: VALORANT Meta in Need of a Shake-Up

The recently concluded VCT Masters Tokyo tournament saw NRG players complaining about the “boring” meta of the VALORANT game. The players of the North American team expressed their dissatisfaction with the current state of the game, calling for changes to make the game more exciting and competitive. In this post we’ll be taking a closer look at the NRG Austin “crashies” Roberts complaints, and explore what VALORANT needs to do to shake up its meta.

The current meta in VALORANT has been dominated by double-controller compositions since the start of VCT LOCK//IN. However, it seems that not everyone is a fan of this approach. Crashies recently spoke out against the current meta during an interview.

“It’s alright…I think this Harbor meta is a little boring, to be honest,” said crashies, referring to the current focus on the Harbor in competitive play. This sentiment was echoed by many fans who have grown tired of seeing the same compositions and strategies being used repeatedly.

Despite this criticism, the recent match between T1 and NRG on day two of VCT Masters Tokyo proved to be an intense showdown. The game went back and forth, with both teams showcasing impressive skills and strategies.

However, the double-controller meta remained prevalent throughout the match, which may have contributed to crashies’ comments about the lack of excitement in the current meta.

Interestingly, crashies’ playstyle as an initiator has not been significantly impacted by the Harbor-centric meta. While this approach has limited the flexibility of some other players, crashies’ style seems to have adapted well to the current meta.

It’s not uncommon for esports teams to fall into a repetitive meta where they overuse powerful strategies, and VALORANT is no exception. Before Patch 5.12, Chamber was a must-pick for every esports team on every map. While it was a strong strategy, it did require a more strategic approach to play. NRG Crashies agrees, saying “At least with Chamber meta, you had to push the OP back a lot. You had to be a lot more strategical, how you play the game.”

However, the current Harbor meta is being criticized as being even more boring than Chamber. This meta is characterized by spamming with Phantoms through smoke, leading to a very dull and repetitive gameplay experience. It’s not the kind of game that really allows for creativity or spontaneity. Crashies has commented on this, saying “Yeah, it’s kind of boring to play. But I feel like I can play anything, so it doesn’t really affect me.”

It’s clear that esports teams need to find a way to shake up the meta to keep it fresh and engaging for both players and spectators alike. In the next section, we’ll look at some suggestions for how the meta could be changed up, and the pros and cons of doing so.

Overall, the criticism from NRG’s crashies highlights a growing sentiment within the VALORANT community that the current meta has become stale and in need of a shake-up. However, any significant changes to the meta will come with both advantages and drawbacks, making it a challenging balancing act for developers and players alike.