Why do professional Esports players choose characters and strategies even after developers make great effort to weaken it? : An analytical study about Jett in Valorant

The focus of this study is to get a deeper understanding about the intentions behind players of high skill choosing certain characters over others despite developers trying to limit the variability of said character. This study does this by analysing the presence of the VALORANT agent character Jett in the video games professional competitive tournaments called VALORANT Champions Tour (VCT). Utilizing a mixed-method data collection approach in order to analyze data trends in gameplay and get insight into professional players decision making and preferences, presented that Jett in the early days of the game did in fact provide players with great tools for aggressive gunfighting and easy escape options. Using the Game Theory (Osborne & Rubinstein, 1994) framework we could easily decipher the professional players intent behind their strategic decision making and gain greater understanding as to why Jett was so prevalent above other characters fulfilling the same role. These findings should provide great insight into the strategic decision making of professional VALORANT players, with everything from mechanical performances, use of most efficient tactics available (META) and player preferences. These insights bring a valuable understanding to developers to easier understand what design changes truly impact the players strategic decision making and play style preferences.