VALORANT nerfed Jett — but her pick rate tells another story

Before Episode 7 Act 2 dropped in August, VALORANT fans panicked. Jett, one of the most popular agents in Riot Games’ tactical first-person shooter, saw a set of nerfs that significantly changed her kit. Riot pulled one of her Updrafts, shortened the duration of her Cloudbursts, and even decreased her Tailwind’s deployment window.

Some fans feared Jett was nerfed into the ground. Others proclaimed the rise of the Raze meta, championing her as the most important Duelist to learn.

Now, a little more than a month out, Jett’s debuff feels like ancient history. Did Riot actually clip Jett’s wings? Maybe not. In fact, her pick rate stats tell a very important story about her place in the current VALORANT meta.

So, did Jett’s pick rate actually go down?

Jett is still insanely popular, especially at the highest levels of VALORANT. Radiant players adore her, perhaps more than any other agent. But yes, Jett’s pick rate dropped in Competitive across every single rank.

According to VALORANT stats tracker Blitz.gg, Jett’s pick rate saw a relatively sizable drop between Episode 7, Act 2 and Episode 7, Act 1. In Radiant, her Competitive pick rate went from 18.9% to 15.3%. This marked a change in the meta for Jett, given her pick rate throughout Episode 6 stayed a little over 18%.

Jett’s pick rate also dipped in Immortal 3 — 14.3%, down from 17.5% — and with Ascendant 3 players, who chose her 12.5% of the time over 15.9%. Generally across Silver to Radiant, Jett’s pick rate dropped around three to four percent per division.

So, was Jett dethroned? Not at all. Here are the highest picked agents in Competitive across all ranks and divisions, as of this article’s publication.

• Radiant: Jett (15.3%)
• Immortal 3: Jett (14.3%)
• Immortal 2: Jett (13.7%)
• Immortal 1: Jett (13.1%)
• Ascendant 3: Jett (12.5%)
• Ascendant 2: Jett (12.0%)
• Ascendant 1: Jett (11.4%)
• Diamond 3: Jett (10.8%)
• Diamond 2: Reyna (10.8%)
• Diamond 1: Reyna (10.9%)
• Platinum 3: Reyna (11.3%)
• Platinum 2: Reyna (11.4%)
• Platinum 1: Reyna (11.5%)
• Gold 3: Reyna (12%)
• Gold 2: Reyna (11.9%)
• Gold 1: Reyna (11.9%)
• Silver 3: Reyna (12.6%)
• Silver 2: Reyna (12.4%)
• Silver 1: Reyna (12.3%)
• Bronze 3: Reyna (12.3%)
• Bronze 2: Reyna (11.8%)
• Bronze 1: Reyna (11.3%)
• Iron 3: Sage (11.8%)
• Iron 2: Sage (11.9%)
• Iron 1: Sage (11.8%)

Jett is still the queen of the Competitive queue throughout high ELO, with pick rates generally dropping as skill level decreases. And while Reyna eventually dethrones her in mid ELO, Jett actually remains the second most popular pick across Diamond 2, Diamond 1, and Platinum 3. From there, she still claims a place in the top five through Silver 3.

In short, the higher your skill level, the more likely you are to play with a Jett (if you’re not already a Jett main yourself). Once mid ELO players are knocking on Ascendant, the meta shifts more toward Jett. That’s unsurprising, given Reyna’s one-dimensional, frag-oriented kit provides less value strategically speaking compared to a mechanically-dependent entry Duelist like Jett.

Something strange is happening with Jett’s pick rate

There’s another piece to the puzzle with Jett. While yes, Jett’s pick rate dropped between Act 1 and Act 2, her pick rate appears to be rising. According to global agent pick rates on VALORANT stats site VALORANT Tracker, Jett has an overall average agent pick rate of 7.7% across the past two weeks.

That’s not that impressive when you consider Reyna leads in global pick rates with 12%. However, Jett’s pick rate has gradually risen upward from Sept. 10. On that day, she was picked only 7.14% of the time. By Oct. 9, she was picked in 8.19% of matches. There haven’t been any major dips in Jett’s average pick rate, which means she may continue to see a resurgence among players as Act 2 wraps up.

This contrasts with Raze, who has seen a steady decline in her pick rate since Sept. 10 — dropping from 8.23% on the 10th to 7.84% on Oct. 6. A brief spike upward brought her back to a comfortable 7.92% on Oct. 9, but she’s still down compared to her 8.1% pick rate average.

VALORANT Tracker doesn’t specify how these statistics relate to the Competitive game mode, and whether Jett’s popularity is changing across individuals divisions and ranks. Nonetheless, Jett is still the most highly sought after agent among elite players, bar none. And her supremacy in mid and high ELO remains unchanged — even if instalock Reyna’s reign supreme across Bronze through Diamond.

So yes, Jett did see a bit of a dip after Episode 7 Act 2’s changes rolled out. But this isn’t the end of Jett’s story. If anything, her pick rate could increase again with Act 3. That is, unless the upcoming Duelist proves to be a solo queue menace.