If you’re a gamer, then you’re most likely used to bugs and glitches by now, especially if the kind of game you play still receives regular updates and additions from its developer. It’s an understandable occurrence, and doesn’t really cause that much annoyance and frustration unless it happens way too often.
Let’s take Riot Games’ tactical first-person hero shooter, Valorant, for example. It seems that with every new update, a new bug winds up in the game. In fact, the developer and publisher had to roll back a major update in the past because of extreme technical issues. This time around, fans have discovered a new game-breaking bug that can significantly (and negatively) impact the way players play as Astra.
Astra is Valorant’s most recent agent, who was introduced with the launch of Episode 2, Act 2. Astra is literally and metaphorically heavenly as a character, with her cosmic abilities that allow her to turn the tables. No matter which ability she uses though, they all require her to make use of her Astral Form, where she needs to situate her Stars in different areas of the map and later activate when needed.
The bug was first discovered by a Twitch streamer who goes by the handle Lexeratv. Specifically, it occurred when he entered Astra’s Astral Form. After being in this form for a brief moment, Lexeratv soon discovered that he couldn’t move, perform any of the agent’s abilities, and most importantly, he couldn’t seem to get out of the Astral Form.
The streamer had no choice except to remain useless and vulnerable for a period of time. The only way Lexeratv escaped the glitched out Astral Form was when he was shot and consequently eliminated by an enemy player. It appears that other Astra users also encountered this very same glitch when they attempted to leave the Astral Form.
This kind of game-breaking bug is definitely the last thing that Astra users want or need. From the get-go, using Astra’s Astral Form is already a risk for the agent. After all, the real form of Astra is left vulnerable to attacks if ever an enemy comes across her corporeal body.
It’s somewhat similar to the way Omen and Brimstone are left temporarily vulnerable every time they’re busy placing smokes. It appears that this bug happens randomly, which can greatly affect one’s gameplay. It could even cause players to lose a match if the glitch strikes at the worst time.
Another possibility is that the Ascent map could play a role in this glitch. This particular map has been ripe with bugs and glitches ever since its release, so it’s possible that Riot Games wasn’t able to optimize the map properly for the new agent just yet. It doesn’t look like the developer is aware of the issue yet, or at least Riot hasn’t acknowledged it for now.
At this point, all we can do is hope that Riot will release a resolution as soon as possible so that players will be able to enjoy Astra again.
