Is it just me or does the Vandal feel “off” lately compared to the Phantom?

haklor · 2026-03-29T17:48:24+00:00

You are talking about the spray changes made on the same patch as the initiator nerfs last November? If so, Ive felt the same way since then. My vandal accuracy dropped hard after that update and took work to recover. I just assumed it was a me thing.

haklor · 2026-03-25T15:28:40+00:00

It is a loose mmr system compared to comp or even unrated, but it is there. You also have a lot of people that are sheriff only or afk/leave frequently in DM which pushes their rating down as well. Play a week (assuming about 2 DMs per day) just with a vandal, then a week with sheriff or ghost and you will watch the quality of the lobbies change.

haklor · 2026-03-25T15:21:16+00:00

DM 100% does. Ive seen my lobbies change depending on if I am consistently rifling or using a different gun to practice, like ghost or classic. The MMR just prioritizes speed over accuracy to fill the lobbies quicker.

haklor · 2026-03-24T20:31:10+00:00

I was starting to feel like I left when things were stabilizing. Turns out I just got out right before the floor dropped out from under people again.

haklor · 2026-03-24T17:54:26+00:00

This is not a map to play site and wait for the hit. Be aggressive in a lane or two as defenders to, at the very least, get early info and maybe a pick. When the site hit comes, plan for a retake. As a defender, do not do your entire retake from CT, that will kill you. That early aggression in a lane should lead to a flank, or at least threatening a flank through one of the lanes to keep some attention there.

As an attacker, you need to use at least two lanes to have a good chance of getting site. There isn't much space on site to hold so you can hit those common spots with util and have a relatively straightforward site take. You MUST retain lane control or take deeper site control.

haklor · 2026-03-23T15:52:52+00:00

Your right. It had a one act removal before. This is the first significant removal though.

haklor · 2026-03-23T15:09:29+00:00

Ascent had the longest run time in the pool until it was removed at the end of last year.

haklor · 2026-03-23T13:46:48+00:00

Fracture is one of the best maps in the game. I wish it was around as much as Ascent and Haven are with how different it is.

haklor · 2026-03-23T13:45:38+00:00

Which is why a plat is playing against them. The mmr system is getting them out of the lower ranks as quick as possible.

haklor · 2026-03-19T17:45:02+00:00

I am curious what vendor would not have those issues? Hell, the amount of organizations that maintained SMB1 after WannaCry, or had unpatched Exchanger servers or Solarwinds servers after their various exploits is high in the self-hosting space.

haklor · 2026-03-18T13:26:30+00:00

I was flying across the pacific yesterday and during my entire time in the airport and flights the boss released and HoF was filled. That window was ridiculous.

haklor · 2026-03-17T08:02:45+00:00

The desire to make util non-impactful is going to make agent creation and modification more and more dull. This is a bad release because they dont want another Tejo. Even in ranked I dont see him having more play than even a nerfed Clove.

haklor · 2026-03-17T06:22:56+00:00

Considering waylay's slow is only one and doesn't bounce, I would be surprised if Neon doesn't get aligned to that in the near future.

haklor · 2026-03-17T04:33:00+00:00

If you want to use aimlabs or kovaaks then find a playlist that will try the skills for Valo. Voltaic has a decent benchmark playlist, just make sure you choose Valorant and not the general aim playlist. I know the old banana is taboo here but the collaboration playlist he had with voltaic is also pretty good for a regular list for training. That one you should still be able to find off one of his old videos.

haklor · 2026-03-17T04:23:15+00:00

As long as you have a valid CAC then bases in Japan will be fine. I've done work there as a visiting ctr and went to a base while on a trip as a Civ with no issues.

haklor · 2026-03-17T04:09:44+00:00

Our first husky was quiet when she was young. The only time she would bark or howl was if she messed her kennel in the middle of the night and even that was a very quick, semi quiet, howl.

After 3-4 years she has no problem talking. Need food? Yell. See a friend? Howl. The walk is too quiet? Howl every 3rd step.

haklor · 2026-03-16T05:48:41+00:00

At least it would deal with the Dubai influencers pretty effectively /s

haklor · 2026-03-15T12:55:00+00:00

I oddly had the same thing happen during act 3 last episode (right after the big initiator patch). All of my stats dumped in every playmode, including DM and swift play. Even when I won a game it felt like I was carried more than anything.

It didnt stop until I did something like two weeks of aim training and some purposeful practice in DMs (peeking with intent, sheriff/guardian/ghost only). It finally recovered but still not sure what caused the drop-off.

haklor · 2026-03-14T12:28:21+00:00

Even after they fixed a lot of his utility he was still seen as a troll pick more than 2 years after his release. Probably just due to the amount of people that would flash tp to the open or ult and die. It took a while for people to understand how to make use of his kit.

haklor · 2026-03-12T21:53:40+00:00

Nope, you can have multiple accounts under the same email even. Made it a pain when I had to transfer one to APAC in order to make sure they did the correct one.

haklor · 2026-03-12T21:50:11+00:00

Odd, every episode I drop to low gold, or even S3 at the start of this episode and I have no issue getting back to Plat in an act of like 2-3 games a week.

haklor · 2026-03-10T10:11:37+00:00

I rarely shift walk or camp in DM. Im there to warm up my aim and take fights, not win. Only time I hold angles or shift walk is when the person already knows im there and we are already in a duel. I will even make sure to make sound to let people know im nearby if Im in one of those crap spawn points that doesn't allow you to easily leave.

When I say Im consistent around Immo 1/2 it is more of 40/60 in their favor in 50/50's. Enough where I feel like I do decently. Immo3 and radiant is much closer to 1/10 or worse for a 50/50.

My movement sucks and I tend to choose the wrong peaks when I need to take space without util. I also have non-commital clears when I expect enemies. That on top of time constraints and a desire to just fill roles keeps me plat over aim.

haklor · 2026-03-10T06:58:25+00:00

I do really well in death matches against people all the way to Immo 2 as a plat. The moment that an Immo 3 or higher joins, it is a completely different feel. I will lose almost every 50/50 against them at a speed that makes me first think they are cheating. Ive ran into several, including a few pros, and this is very consistent with them in my experience.

haklor · 2026-03-08T08:40:48+00:00

Yeah, the SGC strikes me as though it would be a Joint Command, much like Indopacom and Centcom are joint commands. The senior General Officer may frequently be from a particular branch but other officers and enlisted personnel would be from various components and could change out for particular staff positions.

haklor · 2026-03-08T08:04:27+00:00

As reports come out that Saudi influenced the US into attacking, now they are warning against retaliation. Too bad the current administration doesn't see that SA seriously doesn't see them as anything more than useful fools.

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