The patch 9.08 was released on 22nd October 2024. This new update brings quite a lot of changes in the popular tactical shooter game. The changes revolve around agent adjustments to a brand-new map for team deathmatch.
Valorant gained a dedicated following thanks to Riot’s formidable performance with League of Legends. In 2020 Valorant gained its position despite the first-person shooting genre being saturated.
Agent Nerfs
Ah yes the word nerf always makes gamers squirm. This time the target falls on Gekko who is getting some adjustment to balance out the gameplay. The developers toned down some of his abilities to bring him more aligned with other agents.
The Dizzy ability will now have slightly longer cooldown and the area of the effect is also reduced. Moreover, the Wingman’s wingspan has also been decreased. According to patch the developers said this:
“Dizzy is in a healthy state in terms of how often you successfully engage in its shooting counterplay, but we feel that Dizzy holds space and angles for too long.”
According to the patch notes:
- Globules
- Reduced time in world 20s >>> 15s
- Reclaim time increased 1s >>> 1.5s
- Dizzy
- Time active after being thrown and forming is reduced 1.5s >>> 1s.
- Dizzy’s targeting algorithm has been updated to be more reliable.
- Dizzy’s goop flash now also blinds the minimap of affected players.
- Wingman
- Increased the angle of the cone concuss area 45 degrees >>> 65 degrees.
- When Wingman turns into a globule after planting the Spike there are unique visuals.
- Thrash
- Ultimate points increased 7 >>> 8
Agent Buffs
While our favorite agent from LA got nerfed but to compensate Yoru was buffed. Previously, his fakeout clone was easy to differentiate from the original clone. Hence, the developers decided to make the fakeout clone vulnerable to other agent’s abilities as well.
According to the patch notes:
- Blind abilities like Gekko’s Dizzy and Vyse’s Arc Rose will now display the blind effect on Yoru’s Fakeout clone as if he was a real Agent.
- Vyse will play her Successful Blind celebration lines when blinding Yoru’s Fakeout clone.
- Cypher’s Neural Theft will show the Yoru’s Fakeout clone.
- Clove’s Meddle will now show the decay effect on Yoru’s Fakeout clone.
Moreover, Skye Trailblazer and Jett’s Tailwind will no longer stop at the window in Ascent. Instead it will bust through and continue its movement.
Map Updates
Valorant 9.08 also introduces a new map which is known as the Glitch. This new map is only applicable for Team Deathmatch mode. Glitch is basically a futuristic cityscape that features a variety of vertical and horizontal gameplay elements.
Glitch is designed for a fast paced 5v5 team deathmatch. The map offers plenty of opportunities for players to showcase their skills.
Additionally, the Sunset map got a lot of changes to make everything more balanced. The developers feel like the update will address defensibility issues and will allow players more ways to play on site. According to the patch notes it says
“The B Main pivot box was adding a ton of pressure during post plant so we’ve opted to simplify the cover here. You can still play B Main during post plant, but it should now be easier to manage for retakers. A particular Cypher trip has also been removed with these changes.”
Competitive Pool Update
With every big update the competitive pool of maps also gets rotated. This update also refreshes the rotation. The goal of this change is to keep the competitive landscape fresh and exciting. Moreover, it also prevents players from being way too familiar with the map.
According to the patch notes:
- Pearl and Split are BACK in the COMPETITIVE QUEUE
- Icebox and Lotus are OUT of the COMPETITIVE QUEUE
Other Changes
In addition to the changes mentioned above Riot also did some bug fixes in the patch 9.08. One of the bug fixes is a life saver. From now the Spike will now spawn correctly at B Danger if it falls off the map in the Abyss map. Abyss map is already chaotic and imagine if someone falls off the spike just spawns somewhere else.
Apart from this, they also have bug fixes on Premier. They fixed an issue where you would see a Competitor Crest after playing a Practice match on a brand new team, despite not having earned any points.
Conclusion
Valorant 9.08 is a major year end update with agent adjustments and a new map. This update aims to shake up the competitive landscape and freshen up gameplay experiences for players. Moreover, the agent adjustments also balances out the experience further.
