Summary
Ben Affleck criticized the recentValorantnerfs during a surprise appearance at the game’s biggest esports event of the year, Valorant Champions. The famous actor briefly reflected on the competitive shooter’s 7.04 patch, which introduced a wide variety of changes to the game, including a significant nerf toValorantagent Jett.
Jett has been a mainstay across allValorantgame modesever since Riot’s free-to-play FPS entered open beta in April 2020. As an agile Duelist boasting a number of movement-boosting abilities, this hero is capable of running circles around her opponents and quickly setting up deadly ambushes, making her extremely useful for establishing map control and probing enemy defenses. And while her popularity endured throughout years of nerfs, Jett’s meta dominance may now be nearing its end, as theValorant7.04 update crippled her abilities to an unprecedented degree.
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Ben Affleck has now joined the growing list of players who expressed their disappointment with this turn of events, having criticized the nerf at the 2023 Valorant Champions. The filmmaker attended the Los Angeles tournament with his son, Samuel, where the two got a chance to meet Shannon Williams, the actress who voices Jett. During their brief interaction, the 11-year-old told Williams that his dad couldplay Jett inValorantas his main, prompting Affleck to clarify how that’s not going to happen. “Yeah, but then they nerfed Jett,” the actor said, as seen in the brief video of the encounter that Williams shared on social media.
Williams enthusiastically agreed with Affleck’s lighthearted criticism, later taking to Twitter to cheekily thank the actor for reminding her about Jett’s latest nerf that threatens her character’s viability. And if this jab at Riot wasn’t proof enough that Affleck is an avidValorantplayer, the filmmaker outright confirmed that during a casual interview he did at the game’s newly concluded tournament. Asked about his current main, Affleck said that he’s alternating between KAY/O and Raze, revealing that he’s a “little promiscuous” when it comes to choosing his favorite agent.
Affleck’s appearance at the esports event wasn’t the tournament’s only celebrity cameo, asElon Musk also attended the finale of the Valorant Champions Tour. However, the Tesla CEO received a much less friendly response from the attendees, who met him with boos and chants to “bring back Twitter,” referencing the social media platform’s recent rebranding to X. The tournament ended with Evil Geniuses defeating Paper Rex by a score of 3-1, thus becoming the first North American team to seize the title ofValorantworld champions three years into the shooter’s release.
