The esports world is buzzing with anticipation as a fresh Valorant update is on the horizon, bringing with it a plethora of patch notes! Valorant has captivated gamers with its adrenaline-pumping, hero-based gameplay, reminiscent of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive’s mechanics and movement, while its heroes draw parallels to Overwatch’s unique character traits and ult-abilities. We’ve been granted a sneak peek at the Valorant patch update 2.03, which introduces a myriad of changes and bug fixes. From agent updates and weapon tweaks to bug fixes and an all-new game mode, let’s dive into the details of Valorant patch update 2.03 patch notes and see what it has in store for players. Are these updates worth the hype? And what about that intriguing new game mode? Let’s find out!
Agent Updates
Reyna
- Maximum Devour (Q) and Dismiss (E) charges reduced from 4 to 2
- Slain enemies that Reyna has damaged in the last 3 seconds now drop Soul Orbs, even if Reyna does not land the killing shot
- Cost of Devour and Dismiss charges increased from 100 to 200
Yoru
- Gatecrash (E)
- Gatecrash now displays the range at which the tether can be seen by enemies while moving on the minimap
- The range that enemies are able to hear the audio of a Gatecrash teleport is now displayed on the minimap
- Dimensional Drift (X)
- While in Dimensional Drift, Yoru’s minimap is now visible
- Enemies within Yoru’s vision range, while in Dimensional Drift, are now revealed to ally minimaps, as well
- Dimensional Drift can no longer body block enemies
Brimstone
- Incendiary (Q)
- The audio of the Incendiary’s lingering fire zone will be easier to hear when other actions and sounds occur nearby
Phoenix
- Hot Hands (E)
- The audio of the Hot Hands lingering fire zone will be easier to hear when other actions and sounds occur nearby
Weapon Updates
Marshal
- Movement speed when zoomed is now at 90% of unzoomed movement speed (previously, zoomed movement speed was 76% of unzoomed)
- Price decrease from 1100 to 1000
- Zoom magnification increased from 2.5x to 3.5x
Stinger (Full Auto Fire)
- Price increased from 1000 to 1100
- Full auto fire rate reduced from 18 to 16
- Full auto fire now reaches max spread at bullet 4, instead of bullet 6
- Adjusted pitch (vertical) recoil curve for full auto, recoil climbs more aggressively past the 3rd bullet
- Decreased yaw switch bullet protection at full auto count from 4 to 3 on Full-Auto
Stinger (Burst Fire)
- Adjusted pitch (vertical) recoil to be more aggressive after the first burst
- Added more error on bursts after the first one
- Improved recovery time on burst mode from .45 to .4
Frenzy
- Price increased from 400 to 500
Mode Updates
- Escalation goes live!
- This is a quick (approx. 7-9 min.) and fast-paced 5v5 game mode where you must race through progressively less lethal loadouts with your team. The loadout gamut varies from match to match, but always features a mix of both weapons and abilities. The same list of loadouts is always used by both teams throughout the match
Competitive Updates
- AFK-ing in Competitive games for a prolonged period (currently defined as 6 or more rounds) will now result in a penalty of 8 rank rating points
- Act Rank Badges will not be based on your highest rank win, instead of your ninth best win
Quality of Life
- All sprays will now be destroyed on round start
Death Sequence Improvements and Updates
- Timing
- Fade to black start time decreased from 1.75 seconds after death to 1.5 seconds after death
- Time spent on a full black screen increased from 0 seconds to 0.25 seconds
- The total time of the death sequence has not changed, it remains at 2.75 seconds
- Camera movement smoothed significantly, especially for those under poor network conditions
- Prior to patch 2.03, any of you (but especially those with high ping or packet loss) could experience camera jitter during the death sequence
Bugs
- Fixed issue where Yoru’s decoy had slightly different sounding footsteps than Yoru himself
- Fixed issue where the in-world indicator for Cypher’s Cyber Cage disappeared if it took damage
- Fixed issue where Sova’s Owl Drone could clip through specific map geo and view the other side
- Fixed issue where players already affected by nearsight would momentarily see inside smokes that should instead nearsight them
- Fixed issue where Skye’s Seekers would no longer work if she was killed at a very specific moment while casting them
- Fixed issue where Yoru was unable to equip a weapon or ability if he cancelled out of Dimensional Drift right as its buffs activated
- Killjoy’s Lockdown can no longer be placed inside Sage’s Barrier Orb in some instances
- If Barrier Orb is placed on top of Killjoy’s ult, the section of the wall covering the ult will now be destroyed.
- Fixed issue where teleporting to Yoru’s Gatecrash right as it expires caused him to fall through the map to his death (rip)
- Fixed issue where Yoru’s Bait could sometimes fall through the floor when the stationary version was placed
- Fixed issue where Sova could sometimes get the voice over for Hunter’s Fury to play, even though it isn’t used, by trying to equip the Owl Drone at the same time
- The End of Game screen will no longer display “Average Abilities Cast per Round” as 0
- Fixed a couple input bugs around possessing and unpossessing objects (Cypher camera, Sova drone, etc.) in the same frame which lead to locking all inputs or locking view direction
- Sorry Cypher mains—thanks for all the reports!
- Fixed an issue where certain settings would not display while in game
- Your player icon color on the minimap is now white if you turn on any color blind settings
- Fixed a few input issues that were causing players to get stuck using orbs or planting the Spike
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