“She’s really mid. That’s all”: Players share their thoughts on the New Agent, Waylay

As the matter of fact, Valorant has a new agent in its ever-increasing roster of agents in recent times, Waylay-the recently released agent of Riot Games- has, however, received mixed reactions from the community. Most often than not in any new addition of an agent into the game, Waylay has sparked the usual raging debates, making uproars from commenters, nested between aggrieved criticism and optimistic caution, on her performance impact concerning the competitive balance of the game.

The dangerous powers that Waylay has granted to the player's population are reminding them concerning the possible havoc she might cause in the matches. The players are afraid that her talents might lead them to have different frustration-inducing situations since she joins the ranks of other agents like Neon and Iso, whose really powerful abilities at times felt very counterintuitive. One player joked, "Can't wait to get dashed through a trip, blasted, and then watch Waylay incline all the way back to Brazil." This sentiment clearly expresses one of the common fears concerning Waylay, i.e., the exasperation on the other side.

Players feel her playstyle may be too overpowered for the competitive structure of the game, claiming that her mechanics might be too difficult to counter, especially in the early phase of learning her skills. The community strongly believes that Waylay’s kit might be too disruptive, adding to the mix of agents that, at times, have made the game seem chaotic.
However, the opinions on Waylay have not been all negative. Some players take a brighter view, suggesting that, given time and enough practice, the community will learn to work counter against her abilities. One player expressed hope for changes to the meta, commenting, “it’s a new-ish movement tech; people will get used to it, and everybody will be fine.” This would suggest that after some initial panic, Waylay could settle into her niche within the ever-changing strategy of the game.

So the talks are everywhere for now. While some players label her as “mid,” practically useless, others hold the belief that Waylay could become an important part of the game's meta if players start to learn how to deal with her. With the community still figuring out what Waylay might be able to do, it is apparent that much like every new agent, her true worth shall be seen in due course as players come to grips with her.