Valorant
Riot Games is releasing Valorant patch 9.05, which will change agents, weapons, and some gameplay mechanics for PC and console players.
This update is mainly to improve the player experience as Riot Games has made minor changes to Astra and Chamber on both platforms; this patch note also introduced some additions and fixes to some maps to console players. So here is a breakdown of Valorant patch 9.05:
Agent Updates: All Platforms
Riot Games is coming with some changes to some agents across all platforms, buffing their abilities and hoping for some balance and smooth gameplay for players.
Omen
Riot Games has refreshed Omen's voice lines and introduced new interaction lines with Viper, Clove, Iso, and Vyse.
Chamber
Rendezvous: TP radius increased from 13m >>> 18m
These changes can allow Chamber to move around the map more freely and not worry about his Rendezvous radius catching enemies in some unexpected angles.
Astra
Stars: Increased from 4 >>> 5
This change was necessary for Astra to compete with other smoke agents. Before this patch, Astra had to sacrifice one of her utilities to smoke the site entirely, which was one of the reasons why she had a low pick rate in pro play. With the addition of another star, Astra will have a chance to compete with other smoke agents.
Stim Behavior
Riot Games has fixed a big issue with spray control. When using Reyna Empress, it is almost impossible to hit someone while spraying. Riot Games has updated all buffs that increase your rate of fire to have consistent recoil control that matches the default rate of fire. This should allow stimmed players to utilize the learned muscle memory they've built from un-stimmed weaponry. This change only affects how the stims modify recoil without affecting the applied spread reduction.
Weapons Updates
- Revert crouch benefits nerf from standard 25% back to 40%
- Headshot multiplier adjusted from 2.4 >>> 2.5
Riot Games thought of this modification to enhance the consistency of headshot damage and encourage holding down spots against multiple enemies.
PC
Performance Updates
- They optimized threading logic and the ordering of files on disk to improve load times. Please note that this will increase the patch's download and patch times.
Player Behavior Updates
- We've updated the Riot Voice Evaluation (RVE) experience in certain regions where voice recording is enabled to ensure you understand the behavioral expectations and technical implications of RVE and voice chat.
Premier Updates
- A button was added to view the maps available in Playoffs. To see the Playoff map pool, click Playoffs Event in the schedule on the Premier hub, and then click the "Show Map Pool" button in the center of the hub.
Console
Client Updates
- The progression screen's objectives panel has been updated to include Agent gear, provided slots are available. Previously, the panel displayed only Basic Training, Battlepass, and Event Pass, leaving a slot empty once completed.
Valorant Console Progression Screen
Maps Updates
- New map: "Breeze" enters Unrated & Swift Play queues.
Episode 9 Patch Schedule
These dates are estimated to be patch dates and can change for multiple reasons.
Patch 9.06: September 24, 2024
Patch 9.07: October 8, 2024
Patch 9.08: October 22, 2024
Patch 9.09: November 5, 2024
Patch 9.10: November 19, 2024
Patch 9.11: December 10, 2024
