VALORANT: Why Riot Temporarily Removed Neon

Bad news for entry fraggers! If you logged into VALORANT on PC and noticed Neon removed from the agent select screen, you're not seeing things. Riot Games announced they have temporarily taken the speedy Filipino duelist out of competitive queues due to a game-breaking exploit ruining the tactical experience.

The core issue centers around her Fast Lane ability, the iconic double electric walls she uses to sprint into bombsites without being seen.

The Neon Visual Bug Explained

So, what exactly was going wrong with her walls? As highlighted by Terra Esports, the community quickly realized the flaw was tied to specific graphics settings on NVIDIA video cards. By tweaking a few parameters, players could easily see right through Neon's electric barriers.

Having accidental X-ray vision in a highly competitive tactical shooter completely ruins the integrity of the game. To prevent players from gaining an unfair advantage in ranked matches and official tournaments, the developers immediately disabled her on all PC servers.

When is Neon Coming Back to VALORANT?

The good news is that she won't be benched for too long. Neon is expected to make her highly anticipated return with Patch 12.09, which should drop somewhere between May 12 and 14. But heads up: she won't be exactly the same agent when she comes back.

Riot confirmed that alongside fixing the visual exploit, they are also rolling out some major balance adjustments for her. Her aggressive kit has been a hot topic in the community for a while now, meaning some needed nerfs to her high-speed mobility are likely on the way.

While we wait for our favorite speedster to return with her new tweaks, you'll have to rely on Jett or Raze for your entry fragging needs. What are your thoughts on this weird visual bug? See you all in the next patch!