Riot Games has released the first patch for Episode 9 in Valorant. There are several quality-of-life changes coming to the console, with Valorant currently in its limited beta stages on the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. Riot has also made some balance changes for a couple of agents.
For starters, Iso has been nerfed as their Double Tap ability’s duration has been reduced from 20 seconds to 12 seconds for PC players. Moreover, Riot has also removed Iso’s Double Tap ability getting refreshed after securing two kills. The only way to extend Double Tap now is to shoot the orbs that spawn while the ability is active.
Iso shield glitch fixed
Several bug fixes have arrived with Episode 9 Act 1, but the fix for Iso’s shield glitch was heavily requested. Before the patch, there was a mismatch of Iso’s shield hitbox as it was comparatively smaller when the ability was triggered when Iso was in the crouch position.
Other fixes include fixing a bug that was allowing players to get under the new Abyss map, and Omen can now get between the spawn barriers using its teleport ability. Over on console, Sova’s Owl Drone has had its HP increased to 100 (was 60).
Ranked updates
The map pool for Ranked mode on PC now features the latest map called Abyss. Speaking of Ranked, the competitive mode has now been introduced for consoles. Abyss will also be added to the map pool for Ranked on consoles, alongside Ascent, Bind, Haven, and Sunset. The likes of Lotus, Breeze, and Icebox are missing, but Riot says other maps will be slowly added in the “next few patches”.
Controls Preset added for consoles
Console players will now see a “Controls Preset” selection screen when they start Valorant for the first time. This will give players the option to choose the Riot-recommended control preset or the traditional console FPS preset to play Valorant. Players can change between control presets anytime by heading to the Settings menu and navigating to the Controls tab. There are other improvements made by Riot to provide better customization on consoles for crosshairs, and aim sensitivity.
Valorant players on PC who repeatedly use “zero tolerance terms” in text chat will now receive “increased penalties”, which may refer to longer suspensions and eventual banning. Valorant players on PC can now take part in the Premier mode, which has launched the Path to Pro road. You can find all the changes that are now live in Valorant on the official patch notes 9.0 webpage.
