Character diversity in competitive games, while enriching gameplay, often introduces balance challenges that can negatively impact player experience and strategic depth. Traditional balance assessments rely on aggregate metrics like win rates and pick rates, which offer limited insight into the intricate dynamics of team-based games and nuanced character roles. This paper proposes a novel clustering-based methodology to analyze character balance, leveraging in-game data from Valorant to account for team composition influences and reveal latent character roles. By applying hierarchical agglomerative clustering with Jensen-Shannon Divergence to professional match data from the Valorant Champions Tour 2022, our approach identifies distinct clusters of agents exhibiting similar co-occurrence patterns within team compositions. This method not only complements existing quantitative metrics but also provides a more holistic and interpretable perspective on character synergies and potential imbalances, offering game developers a valuable tool for informed and context-aware balance adjustments.

If you've ever become "stuck" in a game, the new Microsoft Edge Game Assist for Windows offers a pretty convenient way to help yourself out: Simply look up a hint while playing. Microsoft debuted this new system as a beta during the holidays last year. Now, it's part of Microsoft Edge itself, provided that you have the current version, Edge 132 or higher. For those of you who want a "pure" gaming experience, don't worry. Edge Game Assist doesn't just launch itself, and it actually seems rather helpful when you invoke it.

For months, G2 Esports has sought a foothold in North America, contacting the region's top players and coaches about potentially working for the team. By Sept. 14, a week before developer Riot Games was scheduled to announce its slate of partnered teams for its "Valorant" esports league, the Berlin-based esports organization appeared certain it had locked down a coveted partnership slot, going so far as to offer The Washington Post an exclusive interview with its CEO, Carlos Rodriguez, on the occasion of G2's entry into the Americas league.

Needham: The thing that's really cool about "Valorant" in general -- and you see it come through in our shows -- is it's very stylish, it's very cool, right? And it's got this high-intensity action to it in ways that are different than "League of Legends." You know, the "League of Legends" show for esports is technical. Our players watch that show to really learn how to get better at the game. We want to lean into that.

Whiteaker: I think I've found a little bit of a balance. I'm not going to lie, though, it is a really rough balance to strike, because I play so much. One of the reasons I'm able to maintain this level of consistency is that I'm constantly able to play. I do agree with you, though. I think a lot of people go through [their professional careers] and realize'Hey, I should have done more content creation,' which is something I recognize.

That popularity was evident both within and outside the venue as well: Long lines of spectators led up to the entrance, and the seats were packed when the games began. Fans cheered as the final two teams arrived in white Mercedes vans and crowded around barricades to gawk at influencers, players, Riot executives and popular Twitch streamers like Michael "Shroud" Grzesiek and Tarik Celik on a makeshift red carpet. Many of the streamers later set up in skyboxes above the venue to co-stream the games, providing unique running commentary over the game footage and further boosting viewership numbers. The singer Ashnikko also made an appearance, performing their song "Fire Again" onstage before the match began.

"Valorant's" tier two system, called the Challenger circuit, will culminate in regional end-of-year tournaments granting winners access to the game's international leagues, according to an announcement by Riot Games. The rollout of new information Tuesday -- which includes a six-year calendar as well as details about broadcast windows, production and the 21 inaugural Challenger leagues -- comes after a spate of teams announced they would be suspending participation in the "Valorant" ecosystem following the teams' failure to secure a partnership slot in the esport's exclusive international leagues.

Evil Geniuses' first priority with the team will be getting to know them, which LaPointe Jameson said is essential to victory. "Valorant" players in both of Evil Geniuses' teams receive a personalized assessment to identify areas for growth. That could be anything from more in-depth training for a player's team role, improving intrapersonal communication or confidence building programs. Once that is done, Evil Geniuses has its sights set for the top.

Since the partnership system was first revealed, a handful of teams in North America have become finalists in the process -- while a greater number have let go of their rosters and suspended participation in the esport. In the American league, organizations hoping to participate at the highest level are reportedly competing for just eight to 10 slots. Evil Geniuses and Version1 have both advanced to the next phase of the application process, according to spokespeople for the two teams. XSET co-founder and COO Marco Mereu declined to specify what the organization had heard from Riot, citing a nondisclosure agreement, but said he was "not disappointed." Other organizations, including Sentinels, TSM, Cloud9, NRG, Gen.G and The Guard, have also moved ahead in the application process, according to a report by Dot Esports.

Abusive Valorant players could soon have their verbal tirades come back to haunt them. In a blog post published on Friday, Riot Games outlined a plan to begin monitoring in-game voice chat as part of a broader effort to combat disruptive behavior within its games. On July 13th, the studio will begin collecting voice data from Valorant games played in North America. According to Riot, it will use the data to get its AI model "in a good enough place for a beta launch later this year." During this initial stage, Riot says it won't use voice evaluation for disruptive behavior reports.