Valorant’s next update, namely patch 1.08, was leaked and we get a good idea of the upcoming changes. Updates are coming to Raze, Guardian, and the map rotation.
If you were just casually looking for the latest Valorant patch notes on Google, there’s a high chance you actually stumbled upon them. The thing is the official patch was supposed to be released already but Riot delayed it.
Patch 1.08 changes up things for Raze, beefs up the Guardian, and makes map randomization even more random.Get the full info here: https://t.co/t7KDwLeB6Q pic.twitter.com/MLKjJJRiJ5
— VALORANT (@PlayVALORANT) September 16, 2020
If you take a look at the Tweet, it's from yesterday, but the actual blog post containing all the changes is from September 15. Nevermind. Let's take a look at all the changes:
Agent Updates
Raze
Blast Pack
- Initial damage reduced to 15 with a .2 meter inner radius, falling off to 5 minimum damage
- Once the satchel lands, it arms after .5 seconds, increasing it’s max damage to 50
- Shooting the blast pack causes it to detonate, dealing its current damage amount
- Satchel no longer does damage to allies
Raze’s Blast Pack has been dishing out damage without giving enemies much counterplay. This change should help make it very clear when Blast Pack’s damage poses a threat while maintaining the utility aspects of the Blast Pack that players have begun to master. The blast pack now does not ‘fizzle’ when shot and will still do damage, meaning it should still be approached carefully if in lethal range.
Weapon Updates
Guardian
- Price reduced from 2500 >>> 2400
- Improved Rate of fire from 4.75 >>> 5.25 RPS (rounds per second)
- Improved weapon recovery from .35 after 3 bullets to .2925 after 3 bullets
We don’t think the Guardian can (or should) compete directly with the Phantom or Vandal but we’d like it to have a place where players can feel good opting into the gun at the new price, is a competitive purchase in certain economic circumstances or map scenarios, and isn’t as punishing when an enemy gets close!
Map Rotation
- The time has come! The possible group of maps is now '' almost '' random, rather than entirely. That means, if you’ve just played Haven, matchmaking will de-prioritize that map in the next game.
Quality of life
- Observers will now see a timer rather than their screen being obscured when observing a player who is blinded
- Full screen blind for observers can be turned back on in the options, for all you masochists
- Minimap performance improvements
- The social panel will now pause sorting while you’re hovering or interacting with it
- Updated verbiage in the All Ranks modal in the Career page to be more consistent with Competitive overtime rules
Bug Fixes
- Prime Classic VFX fixed
- There was a bug in which upgrade Prime levels (2–4) were not playing the correct tracers, sound fx, and other VFX
- Fixed a bug where the End of Game screen would display a “Still processing” message, and then wouldn’t show that match in your Career tab
- Fixed a bug where “High Skill Disparity” would display in Custom Game Lobbies
Those are all the changes that came with patch 1.08 so what does it all mean for the meta? To be honest, not that much. Overall Raze gets a slight nerf as the Blast Pack’s damage goes down and it can’t be instantly used to deal damage. On the bright side, it’ll no longer damage allies and you can shoot it! Then we have the Guardian that’s finally receiving some needed buffs. Will everyone be playing the weapon now? We doubt it, but it's certainly better than before and some players might consider it. Last but not least map rotations will now be smarter, meaning you won't get the same map over and over until you go insane. Thanks, Riot!What do you think about patch 1.08? Share your opinion on our Facebook page!
- READ MORE: Valorant Teases the Upcoming Ego Skins
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