- VALORANT devs have temporarily withdrawn the game’s newest hero
- The reason for this is his ultimate sometimes causes immense lag spikes
- Many fans say Harbor should be buffed while he is disabled
Harbor’s ultimate sometimes causes game-breaking lag spikes, prompting Riot to temporarily disable him while they fix the issue.
Riot Disables Harbor
Part of the appeal of many hero-based games like VALORANT is the fact that they often have regular updates that bring in new characters who shake the meta in new and exciting ways. When Riot introduced Harbor with Patch 5.08, that was certainly the case. But a month after the character was released, Riot disabled him because of his broken ultimate.
It is not unheard of for a hero to be somewhat broken when they are first introduced into a game, as players often find ways to use said hero in ways the developers never intended. Other times, the devs simply make mistakes when balancing the character and subsequent patches are needed to fix this.
However, Harbor’s case is a bit different. The character isn’t overly powerful, or else players would have complained a lot during the one month Harbor has been a part of the game. Instead, the reason for his temporary withdrawal is a far more technical one – his ultimate causes massive lag spikes.
What Does the Player Base Think?
The disabling of Harbor came as somewhat of a surprise to many players as he is not the strongest character in the meta. However, the fact that his ultimate is sometimes creating huge lag spikes is in a way broken as it interferes with the gameplay of other players.
Harbor mains will have to wait and see when the VALORANT devs will once again enable the character, as they have currently not announced a return date for him. But at least this temporary withdrawal should not negatively impact too many players, as Harbor is not the strongest character in the meta.
In fact, many fans in the comments said Riot should buff him while working to fix the problem with his ultimate. “Buff it while you're at it,” one commenter said, while another joked “All 10 people who play him are devastated,” alluding to the fact that Harbor is not one of the most popular characters.
