VALORANT Patch 13.00

Overview

We’re back with a big one for the start of V26 Act 4. So let’s jump right into it!

There’s a lot more detail from the Devs below! So be sure to check out the full notes for more context on all the changes. Good luck on your Act 4 grind!

• Our Sentinel buffs are here! ( Cypher, Killjoy, Veto, Sage, and Deadlock )
• We’re reducing Signature Ability cooldowns for Initiators! ( Sova, Fade, Skye, Breach, and KAY/O )
• Our newest map Summit is now in the Competitive Map Rotation.
• We’re adjusting our Ranked Rating (RR) calculations!
• We’re making adjustments to improve consistency of player ranks in your Competitive lobbies.
• We’re tuning the Bandit to make it more viable outside of pistol rounds.
• Our newest limited-time mode Retake is now in the queue menu!
• Omen Shrouded Step audio is changing for gameplay clarity.
• Lots of small updates to Agent voice lines!
• We’ve added our first version of Inbox for cataloging some of your in-client notifications.
• Plus, a bunch of bug fixes.

AGENTS UPDATES

Sentinels serve an important role in the VALORANT tactical loop by punishing attackers who ignore macro strategy and instead opt for repeated, low information 5-player site hits. We believe VALORANT is best when strategy is mixed. These changes are aimed at improving overall Sentinel power so they can better serve their purpose in keeping disrespectful attackers honest, as well as improve their kill potential when anchoring sites alone.

While we’ve appreciated that gunplay is playing a bigger role in VALORANT rounds since Patch 11.08, we feel there is room to give Initiators more strategic agency by playing around their cooldowns in late-round scenarios. These changes aim to strike a balance between the old cooldowns and the changes from Patch 11.08 late last year.

• Cypher
• Killjoy
• Nanoswarm
• Alarmbot
• Veto
• Crosscut
• Arming time after placing was reduced from 1.5s to .75s.
• Sage
• Deadlock
• Initiator Cooldowns
• Gekko’s ability cooldowns after reclaiming his buddies has been reduced from 20s to 15s.
• Omen
• Agent VO Updates
• New Sage and Viper voice lines interactions for the new map, Summit.
• New conversation lines between Miks & Gekko , and Jett & Phoenix.
• We’re also using this opportunity to remove a handful of lines that no longer meet our quality standards as they relate to agent behavior. The affected Agents are Killjoy, Jett, Reyna, Skye, Astra, Clove, Chamber, Neon, Deadlock, Vyse, Breach, Viper, Omen, Sova, Yoru, Fade, Iso, Tejo and Harbor.

CLIENT UPDATES

• Inbox is now live in the VALORANT client, giving you one place to revisit curated, non-urgent notifications. You can see which messages are new or read, delete individual items to keep things tidy, and expect more notifications over time as we continue expanding Inbox.
• Premier updates for promotion, being up for promotion, and qualifying for playoffs.
• RR refund notifications.
• Reporter feedback notifications, including “thank you for the report” messages.
• And Act Introduction messages, so you can revisit the current Act’s high-level info in-client.

COMPETITIVE UPDATES

• RR/MMR Adjustments

MAP UPDATES

• NEW MAP: SUMMIT
• Summit features three lanes and two sites.
• Summit Launch Event
• RR losses on Summit will be 50% reduced for the first two weeks. You will still receive 100% of the RR for any wins on Summit.
• Map Pool Updates
• FRACTURE and PEARL are OUT of the COMPETITIVE and DEATHMATCH queues.

MODES UPDATES

• New Limited Time Mode
• Sides swap every round. Planters defend the planted Spike, Retakers push to defuse
• Rounds end on team elimination, defuse, or Spike detonation
• First team to 5 rounds wins
• Pre-Planted Spike
• Plant positions are randomized from a curated pool of spots per site
• Loadouts
• Each card offers two randomized options that escalate round over round
• Maps
• Each match is played on a single site selected at random
• NEW MAP QUEUE: SUMMIT
• Summit Only games will use the Swiftplay mode format.

WEAPONS UPDATES

Now that the Bandit has been out for a few months, we’re fairly happy with where it’s landed, but we see an opportunity to make the gun more reliable while still maintaining its position as a precision weapon to master. We want to keep the Bandit’s pricing and mechanical mastery in check relative to the Ghost and Sheriff and we think these changes put it in a more competitive spot.

• Bandit Tuning
• Tap efficiency from 3 >>> 4
• Pitch recoil at max down from 4 >>> 3

BUG FIXES

• General
• Fixed a bug where if a player was spectating an ally who got an Ace or Clutch in the previous round, the pre-round commend VO could become directional for the spectator.
• Fixed a bug where the bottom HUD color for Signature and Ultimate abilities would be an incorrect color after Side Swap or Overtime.
• Agents
• Killjoy
• Viper
• Fixed a bug where Viper’s Pit could incorrectly spread through certain placements of Sage’s Barrier Orb and Vyse’s Shear , creating a divider inside the pit.
• Fixed a bug where Viper’s Pit VFX could fail to appear in Replays after scrubbing the timeline and switching to Free Cam.
• Fixed a bug where Viper’s Pit smoke could appear with artifacts or form incorrectly on Ascent, Abyss, Haven, Icebox, and Split.

KNOWN ISSUES

• General

COMPETITIVE UPDATES

• We’ve made changes to our matchmaking to ensure the average rank of each team is within 1 sub-tier.

PREMIER UPDATES

• Welcome to Stage V26A4! Matches start on July 1.
• For Contender and Invite Division teams:
• Playoffs will be played across two days! The first round of Playoffs will be on August 15. Teams that advance from the first round return on August 16 for the finals.