Riot Games released Astra, the new Agent Controller, on March 2, 2021. She debuted in Episode 2, Act 2 and was an instant hit with gamers. Astra is a controller agent with a unique set of equipment. It rewards players who make the effort to plan out exactly how they want their games to go before they begin by controlling the map with the stars in their astral form.
Her talents allow her to enter astral form and place her stars anywhere on the map. It has more corner and angle clearing capabilities than any other controller in the game. However, to play effectively, a player must rely on excellent communication from their teammates. As a result, professional and high-level games have exceptionally high pick rates.
Omen, Viper, and Brimstone haven't been able to compete since she was boosted. Omen can place smoke anywhere on the map, but it takes 3 seconds. Brimstone also has good range, but only a few smokes, and his kit isn't really useful outside of his smokes. Queues take a long time to master Viper, and she takes a long time to master them.
One of the most popular streamers, Shroud, even made a YouTube video called "Proof Astra NEEDS to be Nerfed". He plays Astra on Haven in the video and is amazed at how easy it is to clear angles and corners.
Shroud isn't the only well-known player to have spoken about the current meta. ShahZam recently ranted about how completely affects game dynamics. He says it's overpowered because of its incredible ability to slow down pushes from anywhere on the map.
He compares CS:GO gameplay to that of Valorant, saying that smokes in CS:GO should be faster and entirely dependent on what the player observes. Astra, on the other hand, can rely on a single communication from a teammate when at a different site. "The Astra RUINS viewing experience," he continues, warning.
