- Valorant Pro players have been exploiting Gekko's Wingman in the VCT Master 2024, and I feel it is overpowered.
- Wingman gives you an unfair advantage in fighting and lets you forget about the game's goal of plant and defuse. Plus, it only requires 300 coins to have every round.
- Lowering the cooldown of Wingman reuse or removing the half-defuse mechanic for this Valorant ability can help balance it.
It has been a year since Gekko made its VCT debut. Since then, the game has gone through many meta shifts and now with the VCT Masters Madrid 2024 coming to a close, everyone has seen the true potential of Gekko’s ability Wingman (aka what everyone likes to call Lil’ Bro). After watching Wingman being used in almost every game, I am certain Gekko’s ability needs a hard nerf. So, let’s discuss why I think Wingman is overpowered in Valorant and Riot needs to nerf it ASAP.
Wingman Runs from Miles Away
Now, Valorant players already know that Gekko comes with strong abilities in his arsenal. Be it the blue gooey flashes or the ultimate ability to disarm enemies, his little homies can do it all. So, why are we only calling out the cute, squishy yellow gummy-like Wingman?
First of all, Lil’ bro can run to the site to plant the spike from a mile away. Yeah, unlike you or your fellow teammates entering the site, risking their lives just to plant the Spike in Valorant, Wingman does it for you from a long range. And he’s happy to do it.
This lets you stay outside the planting zone in a safe location while Wingman does your job for you. Wingman also predicts the path and climbs necessary spots to plant the Spike in a higher location. This gives players a massive advantage to plant in specific places without going there.
On top of the distance advantage, if the enemy shoots down Wingman, you can immediately grab it back (might have to put yourself in danger) and use it again after 10 seconds. This not only lets you restart the process but also allows you to use Wingman for different purposes.
Even if it planted the spike, you can grab it back and use it to stun or locate enemies in post-plant situations. This mechanic makes Wingman way more effective than other initiators such as Skye or Breach.
Fun fact, it’s not like Wingman is your ultimate or signature ability. It’s a common ability that you can purchase with 300 credits in-game. This means you can have the Lil’ Bro available to you in all rounds, be it during plant or defuse situations. So, you get an unlimited supply of Wingman every round for 300 credits if you consider using the passive. Sounds so fair right?
Fight as Wingman Plants or Defuses Spike
Moving on to the main point of using Wingman is how it lets you fight opponents instead of being worried about the Spike plant. Hand that tedious but important task to Wingman and use that time to keep enemies at bay. And voila, you’d have completed the Spike plant while engaging in a fight.
I get that Gekko’s selling point is his pals helping him out with tasks at hand. But imagine a game of plant and defuse where a team does not have to cover or worry about one of their players to plant or defuse. If Gekko is in the opponent team, you must always check fighting angles and not let the plant or defuse happen.
Well, Wingman does take damage from AOE abilities, but you can still pick it back up and reuse it again. If Wingman is defusing a spike, it also triggers half-defuse if it is not dealt with early. This makes your defuse task a little easier since you can always confuse enemies with fake defuse or half defuse without risking your life. Advantages like this make Wingman a solid helper in a 5v5 shooter like Valorant.
Wingman in VCT Masters 2024 in a Nutshell
As we already discussed the huge advantage that Wingman brings to the table, let us talk about how Pro players (see Valorant pros crosshairs list) have been using Gekko in VCT Masters Madrid 2024.
Studying every region during the VCT kickoff, I found that most teams at least play a Gekko once in two maps. This is not a coincidence or a player preference. If you notice the trend, the pick-to-win rate is high when Gekko is picked. And a lot of that credit goes to Wingman.
It occurred on multiple occasions when the enemy team got distracted by Wingman. Be it during plant or defuse, it assists you with an unfair advantage. In a match against T1, PRX ran Gekko on Ascent. While PRX something is known to be more of an aggressive player, he used Wingman to plant the spike that distracted the enemy Jett in a clutch situation. Gekko’s Wingman essentially serves as an extra player in every situation.
Gekko’s Wingman essentially serves as an extra player in every situation.
In a chaotic battle with Viper smokes, Harbor walls, or tons of other abilities going off all over the map, Wingman can easily run through and plant without you having to enter the site. This strategy has been used by several teams in the VCT, including by Sacy from Sentinels in the lower-bracket finals on March 23.
Wingman also allows you to pick fights without focusing on the spike. Even in situations where the enemy team can only focus on either delaying plants or fighting enemies, they end up confused. It also gives leverage to players in a reposition while the plant happens. Deployed by PRX something, see Wingman plant the spike in an intense 2v1 against Sentinels.
In a stressful game during the path to Masters Madrid, Sentinels also used Lil’ Bro against NRG on the Sunset map and took advantage of a site using the Wingman plant.
If you watch the video from the lower-bracket finals below, Wingman takes control of the defuse as Sentinels holds angles against the solo player from PRX standing in that round. This ended up with SEN getting a free defuse during the game.
It Is Now Time to Nerf Wingman in Valorant
The primary idea behind Gekko’s kit is how he utilizes his pals, and Wingman is one of them. The things that Wingman can do, be it plant or defuse the spike or stun enemies, is what the Lil’ Bro is known for.
However, balancing the time it takes to pick up a downed Wingman or lowering its health could be an easy solution. The half-defuse mechanic can also be scrapped from Wingman’s kit. This will keep the retakes balanced as the current Valorant meta fully revolves around it. Moreover, the developers could also increase the cost to make players choose between the Lil’ Bro and better weapons.
With VCT Madrid ending on March 24, the Finals match is set to take place between Gen-G and Sentinels. We can expect to see both teams run Gekko to utilize the overpowered plant and defuse mechanic. It will add to my point of all teams running Gekko as part of their comp, with an amazing showing from our Lil’ Bro. Well, unless we see some changes in the upcoming patch that adds Clove to the game, Wingman will continue to be overpowered.
What do you think about Wingman’s abilities in Valorant? Is it overpowered to be nerfed? Share your thoughts in the comments section.
