“Precise gunplay? It’s f—ing Power Rangers:” TenZ on VALORANT’s utility dominated meta

VALORANT was launched with the goal of offering precise gunplay while integrating agent abilities to add an extra layer of strategic gameplay. However, over time, as new agents and abilities were introduced, the balance shifted, with utilities overpowering aiming skills.

Not only has this made the game more challenging for beginners, but it has also left players helpless in situations where they get overwhelmed by utility spam. This has contributed to the rise of the retake meta, especially with the introduction of agents like Tejo and Waylay.

Multiple players and streamers, including Tyson ‘TenZ‘ Ngo, widely referred to as the face of VALORANT, have expressed frustration over the utility-heavy nature of the game.

During a recent stream, TenZ reacted to clips showcasing the overwhelming utility dumps defenders were facing, including flashes, recon abilities, ultimates, and more, one after the other.

“Look at this f—ing shit, what’s going on? Red, green, blue, dead, dead,” he said in frustration.

“This is f—ing Power Rangers, bro. Do you see that? They used all their special moves on the same player!”

When a viewer asked about ways to counter utility-heavy rushes, TenZ responded: “If they want the site, they’re gonna take the site. There’s nothing you can do to stop them. So, you might as well fall back, play retake, and rely on numbers. That’s the only way to counter it.”

A few days ago, TenZ even mentioned on X (Twitter) sarcastically that he sometimes feels that his color blindness is momentarily cured because of all the colors on his screen.

“VALORANT wasn’t like this before. Obviously, moving shots, jump kills, and spam kills happen. But my issue is the sheer dominance of utilities. I feel like utilities should complement precise gunplay, rather than just giving you trauma,” he added.

Responding to TenZ’s concerns on X, Alex Wheeler, Principal UX Designer at Riot Games, stated that the team is actively monitoring the situation and working on making improvements. However, no timeline has been provided at the moment for potential changes.