VALORANT Patch 2.0 is finally here, introducing a new Agent and much-needed Brimstone buffs. The update also improves the competitive portion of VALORANT as it lets players clearly understand their progress and where they are compared to their friends.
Yoru is one of the newest Duelists in VALORANT. Image via Riot Games
Yoru is here
Yoru is a new Duelist with a unique kit that is perfect for players who want to outmaneuver enemies. He can also assist his team when taking sites with his Blindside flash ability. He can also quickly teleport behind enemies with his Gatecrash ability.
Players who want to confuse the enemy team can use the Fakeout ability, allowing players to send out fake footsteps to attract the enemy team or set off various traps. Players can also set the ability in place and activate it later for more strategic play.
Yoru’s Dimensional Drift ultimate ability allows him to become invisible to other players and move around safely. Other players will have to be extra careful when playing against Yoru to avoid becoming an easy kill.
Controller Updates
Riot Games has adjusted Omen and Brimstone to make each viable in certain situations without either dominating the meta. Omen has been the clear choice for months, but the new update should make Brimstone a better option.
Brimstone’s Sky Smokes range has been increased from 4200 to 5000, and their duration has increased from 14.25 to 19.25. This allows players to have more options when dropping his smokes, and teams can use them as cover for longer. There is no longer an audio queue when Brimstone activates his smokes. This will ensure enemy teams will not know where he is on the map.
Brimstone’s Stim Beacon is now auto equipped, which means teams can instantly enjoy the buff without the tedious deployment process. The Molotov ability was reduced from $300-200, meaning players can purchase it more often to help their team.
Omen’s Dark Cover projectile speed was decreased from 4000 to 2800, making it take longer to smoke far away targets. This is intended to maintain his effectiveness at covering the immediate area but prevent him from covering the entire map with ease.
The Paranoia ability’s cost has increased from $200-400, meaning players will have to be more cautious not to waste it. Paranoia is still a powerful ability that can blind multiple enemies, and players just need to be precise when using it.
Riot did not adjust Viper in VALORANT Patch 2.0, but they did confirm that changes to the character should be coming this year.
Weapon Updates
The Classic received a significant update in Patch 2.0. The update should make the weapon balanced and prevent players from abusing the burst fire option.
The Classic’s Jumping error has increased from .4 to 1.0, which means players can longer accurately fire shots in the air. The input queue on right-click increased from 0.065-.225 and firing consecutively now jumps in error. The Right-click now also has a recovery curve starting at .1s. These updates remove the strategy of jumping around and spamming the right-click button in pistol rounds. Players will now have to be more careful and precise when using the Classic.
Competitive Updates
The Rank system received a significant Patch in 2.0 that makes it easier to understand progress in ranked matches. A new rank progress bar will clearly show players how close they are to deranking or ranking up and how many points they need to move in either direction.
Riot also made distribution changes to the ranks that should make it easier for players to move out of lower ranks.
Players can enjoy new regional leaderboards and new ranked rewards for Episode 1, a pair of Gun Buddies based on your highest Act Rank achieved during Episode 1. Immortal and Radiant ranks are now capped at a premade size of two, which should lower the queue times.
VALORANT Patch 2.0 also fixed several bugs and issues, and a complete list of these changes can be found in the official patch notes.
