For the first time since the game’s inception, VALORANT has finally seen the addition of a new weapon, the Outlaw. This new powerful sniper rifle has the potential to shake up the meta, and we’ll discuss when to use it, how to get the most value out of it, and how much it will change the game.
With a new episode, VALORANT introduces many changes to the game, including map changes, agent changes, and various tweaks to the game. This time around, Riot has decided to try something new: the addition of a new weapon, the Outlaw. Historically, VALORANT has seen many balance changes to existing weapons, but this is the first time we’ve seen a new weapon introduced into the game. Let’s start by taking a look at the details of the weapon.
The Outlaw is a sniper rifle, sitting between the Marshall and Operator. It costs 2400 credits, and is a high penetration weapon, meaning it can shoot through thicker walls, similar to guns such as the Odin or Sheriff.
The weapon has a magazine size of two bullets, each dealing 140 damage per body shot. The weapon will one-shot an enemy in the head. Additionally, the weapon has a fire rate of 2.75/second, meaning both bullets can be shot from the gun in less than half a second.
An interesting twist about the gun is that the reload speed differs depending on how many bullets are in the magazine. If you only need to reload 1 bullet, it takes 2.3 seconds. If you need to reload both bullets, it takes 3.8 seconds. For comparison, the reload speed of the Operator is 3.7 seconds.
Similar to the other scoped weapons, the gun is perfectly accurate when aiming down the sights. Unlike the Marshall, which has a surprisingly accurate hipfire (1 and 0.9 while standing and crouching respectively), the Outlaw is quite inaccurate (3.5 and 3.15).
Additionally, the weapon has different sound cues depending on how many bullets are in the weapon, which gives attentive players indication on what timing they have available to push an Outlaw user.
What do all these stats mean? The most obvious stat that everyone is paying attention to is the 140 damage body shot. The first realization is that players with light armor can be eliminated in a single bullet. Additionally, since the weapon can fire two bullets in a short period of time, it’s more than possible to eliminate a player with full armor, even if you don’t hit a headshot.
Additionally, the price point of 2400 makes the weapon purchasable on any gun round, and even many eco rounds. Thus, anyone who wants to buy and use the weapon will be using it as much as possible.
To understand how the Outlaw changes the meta, we need to go back to the fundamentals of a first-person shooter. The primary way to eliminate opponents is by shooting your opponent. Weapons all deal a certain amount of damage to the body, which is easier to hit, and more damage to the head, which is harder to hit. A player’s capability to hit shots is dependent on their personal skill.
When you fight a player, it’s never guaranteed what the outcome of a fight is. Most players don’t have 100% accuracy when it comes to headshots, let alone body shots. Thus, weapons like snipers that make landing a shot easier, and thus increasing your accuracy provide an advantage in fights. With the Marshall, the obvious drawback is that it only deals 100 damage to the body, which isn’t enough to eliminate a player with armor. The opposing player then has the opportunity to shoot back. The Operator solves this problem, one-shotting any enemy with any armor, with the obvious problem of its high price point, making it a risky investment.
The Outlaw bridges this gap, by providing a fairly priced weapon that can one-hit players with light armor, but not players with full armor. The first major aspect of the Outlaw is how it can deal against light armor. By guaranteeing a one-shot kill on enemies with 140 health, it disincentivizes players to purchase light armor. In the past year, Fnatic has popularized the light armor strategy, purchasing light armor to have some credits left over for abilities under a tighter budget. With the Outlaw’s capability to deal out two bullets in quick succession, a team’s round can end in an instant if they get caught out. This means that you can expect teams to be full saving more instead of forcing or light buying, with the looming threat of the Outlaw.
Next, we can expect this weapon to be purchased in the second round for the winning team. First, it’s obviously a fantastic eco weapon, functioning similarly to a Marshall. However, it remains more viable for a bonus, whereas Marshall often falls short in this third round. When comparing it to other options such as the Guardian and Bulldog, it heavily depends on the player’s skill and preference. The Outlaw is suited for long-range eliminations, whereas the rifles provide more traditional options, allowing you to be more mobile and have potential for multi-kills.
If we go back to the concept of the Operator and Marshall, the main principle is that these guns make landing shots easier for the player compared to trying to hit headshots with rifles. This means that the Outlaw will have significantly more impact in lower ranks, compared to the highest level.
In low ranks, there are a few factors to consider. First, most players are not the most capable of one-tapping with a rifle. Thus, scoped weapons will be much more consistent for these players. Next, lower ranked players typically deal with Operators poorly, lacking the proper protocols with smokes, drones and flashes to avoid the threat. Thus, the Outlaw will be even more lethal in these situations.
At higher ranks, the Outlaw loses some value. It will still be a great option for skilled players, but those players might opt for the budget rifles instead. Additionally, players should know how to deal with an Operator, which makes using the Outlaw difficult against a team with proper protocols. Unless teams have specific ideas on how to finish off those players on 10 health using certain utility combos, many players will likely opt to purchase a rifle, a Marshall, or save for an Operator.
Overall, the Outlaw will be a great choice against players with low economy, forcing them to purchase heavy armor, or full save for the following round. Additionally, if you enjoy using scoped weapons, the Outlaw will definitely be a good choice as well. Let’s look at some tips and tricks that can maximize the value you get out of the Outlaw.
Since you save 500 credits purchasing an Outlaw over a rifle, you can afford a better sidearm such as the Shorty. Since you only need to deal 10 points of damage to finish off an enemy, doing a jump shot with the Shorty may be enough to finish the job. You can also try to use the Classic, which may be less reliable.
Following the same logic, you can also opt to finish an enemy using damaging utility. Straightforward options are Raze’s grenade and Sova’s darts, but you could possibly get away with a molly ability as well.
Instead of following up yourself, you can get a teammate to finish the job. This can be good on ecos, where your teammate just needs to use a ghost or SMG, or it can be gimmicky, finishing the enemy off with a wallbang using a rifle or Odin.
A quirk about Iso is that his Double Tap ability grants a 25% increase in reload speed while active. This can be a neat trick to reload faster and catch enemies off-guard who think they have a timing to push up while you reload.
