It all comes back to Riot Games’ first-person tactical shooter, Valorant. Today, Valorant’s patch 3.05 launched the second act as part of Episode 3, adding a couple of novelties to the game. Agent changes due to balancing, a new Spectrum skinline, a brand new map named Fracture, a new battle pass, and more. The patch is already live in the US, while the EU will get it tomorrow at 4 AM BST.
There are so many agent changes and updates regarding gameplay and more. Some of the agent abilities will now deal damage to gadgets placed around the map, which is going to contribute to a bit more realistic and fairer gameplay.
I would love to talk more about the game-changing map, Fracture. The rotations on that map will be slightly different than the traditional ones since it’s an “H” shaped map, imbuing a reciprocal look. Fracture will introduce different spawn points, with the defenders spawning in the middle of the map, while the attackers have more freedom on their hands.
There will be two bomb sites, placed on the left and right sides of the map, which puts the attackers in a favorable spot. Fracture is the first narrated map with decent lore. Being shaped like “H” actually means that the map features two mirror versions of reality which could grow to be the beginning of extensive game lore.
Unlike other maps, this map has its own underbelly, accessible through zip lines that lead underground, which should also fall in favor of the attackers and their transition.
Without further ado, check out the full patch notes below:
BREACH
Aftershock (C)
- Now deals damage to the following:
- Killjoy Alarm Bot
- Killjoy Nanoswarm
- Killjoy Lockdown
- Cypher Tripwire
- Reyna Leer
- Sage Barrier Orb
- Sova Recon Bolt
- KAY/O Zero/Point
BRIMSTONE
Orbital Strike (X)
- Now deals damage to the following:
- Killjoy Nanoswarm
- Cypher Trapwire
- Sage Barrier Orb
- Sova Recon Bolt
- KAY/O Zero/Point
SOVA
Hunter’s Fury (X)
- Now deals damage to the following:
- Killjoy Nanoswarm
- Cypher Trapwire
- Sage Barrier Orb
- Sova Recon Bolt
- KAY/O Zero/Point
KILLJOY
Killjoy’s Turret is a versatile ability that provides information, chip damage, and a powerful slow. While manageable during mid to later rounds, the Turret can be especially oppressive on pistol rounds down longer sightlines, where the tagging intensity combined with weapon spread makes it challenging to press forward. These changes aim to slightly tone down the Turret’s ability to impede rushes, and give opponents more counterplay options.
Turret (E)
- Bullet tagging reduced 72.5% slow >>> 29.5% slow
RAZE
The Boom Bots’ ability to clear space, spot, and track opponents, as well as one-shot enemies with Light Shields, left you with limited options on how to counterplay—especially during low economy rounds. So, we’re trading off reduced damage output for an ability cost reduction in order to introduce more Boom Bot counterplay options. This should also increase the frequency that Raze mains can use Boom Bot to create space.
Boom Bot (C)
- Max damage reduced 125 >>> 80
- Min damage reduced 50 >>> 30
- Cost reduced 400 >>> 300
MAP UPDATES
- NEW MAP: Fracture is live!
- See below for more info on the Fracture map rotation
COMPETITIVE UPDATES
- Immortal 1/2/3 rank tiers are back!
- The Leaderboard will update to distinguish between those of you in each Immortal tier.
- Updated Ranked grouping restrictions to accommodate return of Immortal 1/2/3:
- Diamond 1 → Immortal 1
- Diamond 2 → Immortal 2
- Diamond 3 → Immortal 3
- Adjusted Competitive ranked distribution as detailed in a previous article
- Fracture only queue!
- This queue is a standard, Unrated mode that will give players a chance to practice the new map before they see it in Competitive play.
- Fracture-only queue will be available for 2 weeks, afterwards, Fracture will enter other modes, including Competitive.
PROGRESSION UPDATES
PREMIUM BATTLEPASS BONUS XP
- Upgrading to the Premium Battlepass will grant a 3% XP boost toward Battlepass tier progression for all matchmade games until the end of Act II
- We believe the Battlepass experience is at its best when you’re able to earn hype rewards as you unlock tiers, hitting major milestones and feeling good about what you’ve earned.
- This is not retroactive, so upgrading early will give you access to the most amount of XP
- The XP boost does not apply toward Daily or Weekly Missions
SOCIAL UPDATES
- Updated AFK detection logic to deter players from farming Battlepass/Account Levels by AFKing in game modes like Deathmatch and Snowball Fight
PERFORMANCE UPDATES
- Updated the ping calculation to exclude the server frame time.
- Updated markers used by NVIDIA Reflex
- NVIDIA Reflex is used to reduce and measure rendering latency. This update should allow Reflex to better pace frames by adding present markers as well as fixes on some older markers.
BUGS
AGENTS
- Fixed a bug where concurrent, overlapping ally and enemy Viper smoke could cause the nearsight and decay to never remove
- Fixed a bug where Omen could become stuck in other objects if they were blocking the return location of From the Shadows
- Omen will no longer equip his weapon slower than intended after casting Dark Cover
- Astra will no longer equip her weapon slower than intended after exiting Astral Form
- Fixed KAY/O’s NULL/cmd waves from destroying the glass on Ascent
COMPETITIVE
- Fixed a bug that would cause the Leaderboard to infinitely load when searching for a specific player.
ESPORTS FEATURES
- For Coaches, the Loading screen should now properly display all of the Agent select information (Agent compositions of both teams, etc)
- Fixed an issue where Observer Moderators could not see the pause match timer option if they disconnected and then reconnected during a round
