As of the 24th of March Valve has announced that the Negev and the R8 Revolver will be removed from competitive matchmaking in order for balancing changes to be made. While this tweak is further developed, both weapons will not be available for use within competitive matches.

The most noticeable of the changes has been the reduction of the Negev’s price from $5,700 to $4000 in game making it a more viable and affordable option. However a drawback from this is that the weapon is ‘heavier’ with the in-game max player speed being reduced from 195 units per second to 150.

Another point of note for the Negev is the reworking of it’s spray pattern:



As is seen above, the pattern has simply been changed to a straight line ensuring that the previously unpredictable nature of the gun is severely refined. This had previously been one of the major drawbacks for the weapon, however now with this issue out of the way the gun can hopefully see more usage (within casual for now).

Reddit’s SlothSquadron breaks down the exact details of the changes:

“Price reduced from $5700 to $4000

Reserve ammo increased from 200 to 300

Max player speed reduced from 195u/s to 150u/s

Fire rate reduced from 1000 RPM to 800 RPM

Recoil pattern simplified to a straight line

Accuracy model changed drastically Inaccuracy from firing greatly increased Recovery time (inaccuracy decay rate) significantly slowed Recovery time speeds up the more bullets that are fired (maxes out after 16 bullets fired at max fire rate) The changes to recovery time also makes landing inaccuracy decay very slowly if the player isn’t spraying. Spraying inaccuracy comparison

New mechanics implemented that alter the pitch of the Negev’s firing sound depending on how inaccurate it is.”These updates are trying to verify the Negev as a viable weapon within competitive play, rather than rushing your opponents and hoping that one of the many bullets within the spray hits, that you can shoot prior to moving around the corner – honing the reduced recoil (to the straight line) after the first 15 to 20 shots and then slowly cutting off the area through suppressive fire.In my opinion the unorthodox nature of the pre-corner spray ‘play’ will never pay off. This initial update is a step in the right direction for the Negev however more work is needed to ensure that the Negev is really worth the extra $900 over an M4 or the extra $1,300 over an AK – which is why this weapon has been drawn back from competitive play, in order to asses how the community feels and plays with the first iterations of the ‘new’ guns. The other gun that has received a rework is the complete opposite of the Negev, the R8 Revolver. The gun has previously been blasted for it’s long charge time leading to vulnerability whilst shooting which seemed useless in comparison to the Desert Eagle. Valve have noted this and have reworked accordingly, initially halving the time required to charge a shot for the R8 with a drawback in the time available to reset the shot recoil. The R8 still retains it’s core mechanics, very inaccurate while doing anything but standing still. This lends itself to a playstyle of shooting then moving, something which the recent longer shot charge time hindered. The halving of the shot time allows for a more free flowing playstyle with the R8. It will deal 94 damage to a player who has purchased Kevlar with a shot to the stomach whilst killing an opponent who does not in one bullet. It retains the one shot, headshot that it’s rival the Desert Eagle does also however allows for a more accurate variation – the drawback being the increased vulnerability with standing still albeit with the halved charge time. Although both weapons are still early in their redevelopment it’s clear to see that Valve value both guns somewhat and are interested in reshaping the competitive scene through the tweaking of already existing weapons. These guns still have a while to go and many tweaks in the future before they fully re-enter competitive play as viable. However it also puts the forward the question of if it will be long before we see other guns such as the PP Bizon or the M249 pulled from competitive play in order to reface them and ensure that there is a level of viability in their use.