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Riot Games Confirms Incoming Neon Nerf in Patch 12.09

Riot Games Confirms Incoming Neon Nerf in Patch 12.09

7 May, 2026, 16:13

There’s light at the end of the tunnel. Neon, the Filipino duelist agent in VALORANT, is finally slated for a long-awaited nerf. The nerf is scheduled to come with Patch 12.09 and she will be disabled for the period until the patch arrives. However, it is a current graphics exploit – related to her Fast Lane - that was the cause for the agent being disabled due to competitive integrity concerns.

Neon Finally Targeted for Nerfs

Oftentimes considered frustrating to play against, recently Neon has found herself catapulted once again into the spot of highest priority duelist following powerful nerfs to Yoru in Patch 12.05 and Waylay in 12.06. This is especially prevalent at the pro level where Neon has become virtually ubiquitous regardless of map choice.

Riot has assured that changes to the agent had been in the works for some part, acknowledging that certain aspects of her kit were currently over-tuned. As for word on what changes we can expect, that remains unknown, although we expect for news from the Riot developers tomorrow.

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Featured Image Credit: Riot Games

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