VALORANT Act II, Episode III is here, and with it comes the latest patch, 2.08. The biggest highlight of the latest update is the new tropical map, Breeze. However, 2.08 also adds a highly sought-over feature in coaching slots and some bug fixes and social updates.
A new map plus a couple new features have been added in VALORANT patch 2.08. Image via Riot Games.
Here’s everything you need to know about VALORANT Patch 2.08.
New Map – Breeze
Yes, it’s finally here, the bright and beautiful new VALORANT map Breeze. Breeze isn’t just known for its beauty and remote location. The defining features from a gameplay perspective are its “wide open” bomb sites and numerous spots for long-range encounters. This will be a map more favored by tappers than sprayers, and the open sites will be a tough challenge for any team taking or re-taking a site.
You don’t have to be worried about potentially jumping into Breeze in a ranked game. For the first two weeks, until May 11th, Breeze won’t be available in the standard Unrated or Competitive queues. Riot is adding a Breeze-only Unrated queue and making Breeze available in Deathmatch, Spike Rush, and Escalation as well as Custom Games. After the two-week mark, Breeze will be added to the normal Unrated and Competitive queues.
Coaching slots
The first of many future features designed to help coaches, the inclusion of the coaching slot gives the team’s leader a proper spot to watch his players. Now, coaches can spectate tournament mode games and are locked into viewing the players on their team. Coaches can use the chat features to communicate with tournament moderators if necessary. But they cannot use map pings, the team text chat, or voice chat. However, they can call for a pause.
The VALORANT devs said this is “just the beginning” of their work improving the capabilities of coaches. “We have plans to expand the capabilities available to coaches during a match,” they said in the patch notes. “We look forward to evolving the role of coaches and working on this feature in partnership with coaches from the VCT ecosystem.”
Social Updates and Bug Fixes
The little details of the latest VALORANT patch may not be the stars of the update, but they still matter. On the social side, the devs have added Reporter Feedback, meaning you’ll be notified and thanked for reporting a player who has action taken on them. Additionally, warnings will now be handed out to first-offenders of the code of conduct.
VALORANT players will receive a notice after accurately reporting a player. Image via Riot Games.
On the agent bug side, they’ve fixed Viper’s shortened Poison Cloud pickup distance, as well as her Toxic Screen going longer than intended when passing through Bind’s teleporter. They also fixed an issue with Killjoy’s Alarmbot and Turret icons disappearing when disabled. Lastly, they fixed Astra and Brimstone’s smokes from blocking flashes even when you are not fully inside them.
Apart from the agents, they fixed a bug in Spike Rush that removed your Operator if you picked up the weapon upgrade orb. Finally, they fixed a bug that was causing rank icons and badges to disappear and show up in the wrong places.
