VALORANT Patch 8.03: Is the Chamber meta back?

VALORANT Patch 8.03 is live, and it has brought some big changes, including a major buff to Chamber. This comes after there has been a massive dip in the pick rate of this agent. In this article, let’s take a look at the buffs to Chamber as well as the other details of VALORANT Patch 8.03.

Is the Chamber meta finally returning to VALORANT following Patch 8.03?

Chamber is one of the agents that was broken when it was launched. It was the central focus of the meta for almost a year. Players like yay from his days in Optic were feared when they played with Chamber. Chamber became such a comfort pick that he had one of the highest pick rates in the game during the VCT Masters and Champions 2022. But all this changed after Riot Games introduced some major nerfs to the agent, reducing his pick rate drastically.

Now, the agent is being powered up a little. In VALORANT Patch 8.03. Chamber is receiving the following buffs:

Headhunter (Q): Price decreased from 150 to 100.
Tour De Force (X): Firing rate increased from 0.7 to 0.9.

One must note that no chances are made to the functioning of Chamber’s Rendezvous or Trademark. With the Tour De Force’s firing rate increasing, Chamber’s ultimate can now synchronize with the Operator’s power. However, with the introduction of the Outlaw in VALORANT, the Tour De Force’s potency has significantly diminished.

Furthermore, with the recent price adjustments to the Headhunter, players can now acquire eight bullets for a reduced cost of 800 credits, down from 1200. This will help players have a healthy and more flexible economic strategy when it comes to weapons selections. Ideally, the maps where Chamber will have a higher pick rate in VALORANT competitive play would be Lotus, Split, and Bind.

Chamber, in the past, has been synonymous with the Operator as well as the Marshal during full-buys and half-buys, respectively. With the launch of the Outlaw, this provides another weapon to the arsenal for Chamber to make a comeback into the competitive meta.