Gekko Buffed in Valorant 12.03 Patch Notes
Riot Games has given the character Gekko a helpful push forward in their game Valorant with the new Patch 12.03. This update fixes worries that Gekko, who is an ‘Initiator’ type of character, wasn’t as strong as others like him in recent months.
In this newest update, Riot admitted that players felt Gekko had become “much weaker” compared to other Initiator characters after some earlier changes to the game. Patch 12.03 aims to make his special tools work better and give him more options to use his ‘Reclaim’ ability, which lets him get back some of his powers.
All the Changes for Gekko in Patch 12.03
The main change is about Gekko’s ‘Globules’ and how he can pick them up again during a game.
- The time you have to pick up his abilities again (Reclaim timer) has gone from 15 seconds to 20 seconds.
- His ‘Mosh Pit’ ability can now be picked up again.
- The rules for all his abilities are now the same.
Even though having more time to pick up abilities might seem like a small change, the big news is that ‘Mosh Pit’ can now be reclaimed. Before, Gekko players didn’t have as many chances to reuse their special tools compared to other Initiators, who could use their main abilities many times in a round.
Now that ‘Mosh Pit’ is part of the Reclaim system, Gekko can be more flexible in the middle of a game and after planting the bomb. This change makes him better at what he’s supposed to do: managing his abilities carefully and choosing the right spots to get them back.
Why Riot Made Gekko Stronger in Patch 12.03
Riot’s notes for the Valorant 12.03 patch directly mention what players have been saying. They stated that the goal is to “give a bit more power overall” to Gekko and make the rules for all his abilities work the same way.
Since Gekko first came out, he’s had a specific role among the Initiator characters. While characters like Sova and Skye are good at finding enemies, and Breach is great at stopping them, Gekko’s usefulness often depended on whether he could safely get his ‘Globules’ back.
Making ‘Mosh Pit’ reclaimable allows for more clever ways to play, especially when teammates work together to help Gekko get his abilities back. It also makes him more useful later in a game, especially when trying to take back a bomb site or after the bomb has been planted.
How Gekko Getting Stronger Changes Valorant
It’s not likely that this update will suddenly make Gekko the best character in the game, but it does make him much closer to the others.
This change makes it less difficult to play Gekko in organized games and might encourage more players to try him out in regular and professional matches. With the big Masters Santiago tournament coming up, teams might look at whether being able to reclaim his abilities more often makes him a good choice instead of other well-known Initiators.
Patch 12.03 is mostly a small update otherwise. But for players who like Gekko, it’s a big deal. Riot has clearly shown that they are not forgetting about this character, and with his abilities being easier to use again, he might finally find a stronger place in the world of Valorant.
