Unpopular VALORANT opinion: Veto isn’t as broken as you think

It’s that time of the year again—when I shudder every time I load into the agent select screen. Not because of nerves, but because I know what’s coming: At least one of my teammates will instalock the new VALORANT agent on the market, then proceed to struggle through the entire match with zero remorse. 

“But Veto is overpowered, no?” my mechanically gifted duo asked, noticing my dread. “For you, probably,” I sighed. “For everyone? Not really.”

I won’t lie—after his reveal during the VCT Champions grand finals, I was among the many VALORANT players convinced that Veto would need an immediate nerf after release. But after spending some time with him in ranked, I realized I haven’t been this wrong in a long, long time.

Before Veto fans bite my head off, hear my take: He isn’t a strong sentinel like Vyse or Cypher, and he’s not much of a pseudo-duelist like Chamber either. At best, he only appears powerful in the hands of a skilled aimer who can make the most of his “gunplay first” design. Let me explain why.

Starting with his signature ability nullifier, the Interceptor is easy to spot and destroy. It’s loud, obvious, and lacks any stealth. Even if he manages to place it in a tricky spot—like above a site entrance—you can just bait out its eight-second active window. Veto has to be impeccable with his timing and aim, while his enemies would have to be extremely tunnel-visioned for his Interceptor to ever find the kind of “broken” value players are worried about. 

Veto’s Chokehold trap can offer some good value with its “seizing” function, but in most cases, it’s easy to bait or destroy. I like his Crosscut ability, which lets him take risky gunfights or hold unexpected high ground. Thanks to the anchor’s range, he can also travel quite a bit in one go, making rotation easier at times. But it’s not game-breaking in any way. It’s slow and can’t replace Chamber’s Rendezvous, which isn’t just rechargeable but also instant. 

His ultimate, however, is his strongest feature. Evolution lets Veto forget about abilities and focus entirely on his aim, while backing him up with self-healing and combat stim boosts. It’s a bit ironic for a “precise gunplay” agent, but as a sentinel with minimal site-anchoring capabilities, we can give him that much for an ultimate.

Now that we’ve covered his kit, let’s put Veto in the hands of a defensive VALORANT player with an average gun game who thinks they know how the agent works. What do you think happens then?

Of course, the player struggles to understand Veto’s point. I’ve run into several newbie Veto “mains” who refuse to time their Interceptor, randomly throw their trap on the ground, set up the stupidest teleports, and last but not least, insist on saving their ultimate for “the right time.” To top it off, they’re genuinely some of the worst aimers I’ve seen in a while. It’s similar to the Chamber situation: Players need good mechanics to play gunplay-focused agents to their strengths. Not all of us can be duelists or pseudo-duelists.

I don’t believe Veto needs a nerf at all—especially after the dreaded Patch 11.08, which nerfed almost every ability in VALORANT. There just isn’t enough utility to counter anymore. What’s Veto good for unless in the hands of an aggressive, skilled aimer? I’d much rather have a Cypher or Vyse anchoring a site for me with traps and crowd control—even after their brutal nerfs. The only place Veto might feel overpowered is in low Elo, where players may not know how to break his abilities or take him down with a headshot.

“Oh, let them play whatever. We’ll fill,” my duo said—a player who dropped 25+ kills, two Aces, and match MVP’ed in his first game with Veto. Well… some minor nerfs to his ultimate’s healing power and teleport range may not hurt—but that’s about it.

In the right hands, Veto can shine. But in VALORANT ranked, “the right hands” are a rare commodity, especially in mid Elo, where most players think they know better than everyone else. Maybe the problem isn’t Veto at all; maybe it’s how quick we are to chase the next shiny thing before learning how to use it.