The latest VALORANT patch has a secret agent buff – VALORANT patch 11.02

VALORANT patch 11.02 was mainly billed as a move from the Unreal Engine 4 to the Unreal Engine 5 game engine — a significant switch from a development perspective but one that should, ideally, see minimal impact for players. But missed in the patch notes was a significant Chamber buff.

VALORANT patch 11.02 sees the move to UE5

First revealed in a dev update back in May, the switch from UE4 to UE5 was said to be a move with “long term” benefits, as explained by Executive Producer Andy Ho.

“Over the long term, bringing VAL onto Unreal 5 will enable a whole host of new possibilities.

“The patch will, however, come with changes that will improve framerate performance, make patch downloads faster in the future, and there will also be a special gun buddy to commemorate the occasion for everyone that logs in while the 11.02 patch is still live.”

The patch notes have confirmed the engine change, specifically from Unreal Engine version 4.27 to 5.3, promising ‘no direct implication on how you experience the game, apart from small performance improvements’. Meanwhile, the new engine is said to add ‘a lot of value for the development team on improving the game in the future’.

Those who play the game while the patch is live will receive a commemorative gun budy titled Hot New Engine.

Patch 11.02 bug fixes

Aside from the introduction of UE5, the only other changes mentioned in the patch notes are a range of bug fixes. These include UI tweaks, fixes for Astra, Gekko, Killjoy, Yoru, Cypher, and Phoenix, as well as fixes for maps Corrode, Pearl, and Split.

Chamber buff

Not mentioned in the patch notes whatsoever were any balance changes, however one significant buff seems to have been omitted. Revealed in a post on X by Agents & Live Product Manager Tiffy Tsay, Chamber’s basic ability Trademark no longer has any range restriction, staying active no matter where the agent is on the map.

“This one slipped from the 11.02 patch notes but Chamber’s Trademark no longer has range restriction. This buff is to help him position more flexibly and help him solidify his role within the current state of Sentinels.”

Trademark allows Chamber to place a trap which will scan for nearby enemies. When enemies are discovered, the trap ‘destabilizes the terrain around them, creating a lingering field that Slows players caught inside of it’, per the ability’s description.

The move to allow Chamber to roam the map freely without deactivation has been seen as a clear, immediate buff for the agent. Evil Geniuses’ Jaccob “yay” Whiteaker, a player well known for his Chamber play during his time with Cloud9, was quick to react to the news, simply stating “we are so back”.