Valorant’s first patch since the release of Act II has arrived. Typically, follow up patches from major updates aren’t very substantial, but patch 3.06 is an exception to that rule. The changes are actually rather significant, spanning both much-anticipated Agent nerfs, and the reworking of bomb sites across several different maps.
First things first, though, let’s take a look at the changes coming with patch 3.06, which should go live later today and tomorrow. The big takeaways are a nerf to Jett and Skye, two Agents that are considered OP in the current meta — Jett for a long time, and Skye ever since her flashes were buffed several months ago.
Here’s the patch synopsis from Riot:
This round of balance changes targets two Initiators: Skye and KAY/O. Skye’s benefitted from some quick movement shortly after her flashes and frequent Seekers, so we’ve slowed her down a tad and bumped the cost of her ult. For KAY/O, he should be better at hiding his FLASH/drive pitches.
And then there’s Jett. Simply put, these changes are about getting the most out of Blade Storm’s primary fire and creating matching damage rules for the alternate fire. In the same vein, there is one less smoke to work with, so choose wisely.
Five of the maps now come with sturdier crates, offering more protection for attackers on some planting sites, or safer positioning for defenders.
Here’s what you need to know about the Agent changes, which includes a small buff for Kayo:
Skye
- Guiding Light (E)
- Unequip time after casting or bending Guiding Light’s projectile increased .5 >>> .75
- Windup time after activation before the flash goes off increased .25 >>> .3
- Seekers (X)
- Cost increased 6 >>> 7
Kayo
FLASH/drive
- Duration of windup telegraph reduced 0.5s >>> 0.3s
- Duration of windup telegraph reduced on Right Click 1s >>> 0.3s
- The audio attached to the in-flight projectile has been removed
- NULL/cmd
- Does not stop pulsing after being downed
Jett
- Cloudburst charges reduced 3 >>> 2
- Our feeling here is that Jett has one too many smokes, and it’s contributed to a sense that she could get away with using them at any time, have more to spare, or spam them without much thought.
- The reduced charges for her smoke should hopefully make the choice on whether to smoke a choke point, smoke a path for a dash, or make a one-way, a more tactical one.
- Bladestorm Right-click/Alternate Fire kills no longer recharge Jett’s kunai
- By removing the recharge, we hope Jett mains will optimize for the single kunai kills in order to keep the Bladestorm going and really play into the high precision fantasy Jett is all about.
- We want to incentivize the high skill primary fire kills while still allowing the low-risk-low-reward burst fire option.
- Bladestorm Right-click/Alt. Fire damage changes are reverted, damage and multipliers will mirror the left-click
- We’ve seen Jett’s right-click be very unpredictable and feel that it’s confusing to have different damage rules than the left-click. This change should unify how both modes of fire work and provide a little more predictability if Jett decides to go for the single kill as opposed to chaining.
Now here’s an overview of the map changes, which are small but should make a difference to attackers — especially on Icebox:
Fracture
- Tunnel to Generator/Canteen areas can no longer be bullet penned (a.k.a. wallbang)
- One crate on B site is no longer pennable
- This should create a safer planting option for attackers, while retaining a riskier, but more powerful option.
Icebox
The crate stack on B site is no longer pennable, this is to create a safer planting option for attackers.
Haven
One stack of crates on C site is no longer pennable, this is to create a safer planting option for attackers.
Ascent
One crate on A site is no longer pennable, this is to create a safer position on site for defenders.
Bind
Finally, there are some more general game system updates, bug fixes, and changes to social:
- For users of the Public Beta Environment (PBE), your settings for Live and PBE have been split, and your setting should no longer be wiped when going between the two environments
- Icebox minimap and vision cones will now correctly display near B Yellow callout.
- Deathmatch penalties will no longer prevent you from getting banned for AFK-ing
If you haven’t already, do check out Twinfinite’s wrap-up feature recapping the biggest takeaways from Valorant Masters 3 Berlin, the game’s biggest esports competition of the year so far.
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