Valorant Patch 2.03 Notes Reveal Unexpected Reyna Nerf

Ahead of today’s reveal, the big storyline leading up to Patch 2.03 was the community-requested nerf of both the Frenzy and Stinger. But now the official patch notes have been published, there’s a surprise few would have seen coming: Reyna has been nerfed.

It’s not a major change, with her maximum orbs having been reduced by two and increased in cost, but it is a rather baffling one when you consider how little Reyna was already being used in pro games. It seems the nerf is a result of Reyna dominating public servers, which is something Riot hasn’t typically used as a basis for making balancing changes (as opposed to basing it on pro games).

There’s at least some good news for Reyna mains given that she can now feed off orbs even if she hasn’t dealt the killing blow. Reyna needs only to have damaged an enemy within the last three seconds to trigger an orb. Here is the full list of changes:

• Maximum Devour(Q) and Dismiss(E) charges reduced 4 >>> 2
• Slain enemies that Reyna has damaged in the last 3 seconds now drop Soul Orbs, even if Reyna does not land the killing shot
• Cost of Devour and Dismiss charges increased 100 >>> 200

Elsewhere in Valorant Patch 2.03, Yoru has received some balancing changes after having only whimpered into the meta since his arrival a couple of months back. Here’s what’s new for Yoru:

• Gatecrash(E): Gatecrash now displays the range at which the tether can be seen by enemies while moving on the minimap. The range that enemies are able to hear the audio of a Gatecrash teleport is now displayed on the minimap
• Dimensional Drift(X): While in Dimensional Drift, Yoru’s minimap is now visible. Enemies within Yoru’s vision range, while in Dimensional Drift, are now revealed to ally minimaps, as well. Dimensional Drift can no longer body block enemies

Weapon Changes

Now, onto the weapon changes. The Frenzy and Stinger have, indeed, been nerfed as we expected, but there’s also a buff for the Marshal. Here’s the breakdown:

Marshal

• Movement speed when zoomed is now at 90% of unzoomed movement speed (previously, zoomed movement speed was 76% of unzoomed)
• Price decrease 1100 >>> 1000
• Zoom magnification increased 2.5x >>> 3.5x

Stinger

• Price increased from 1000 >>> 1100
• Full auto fire rate reduced from 18 >>> 16
• Full auto fire now reaches max spread at bullet 4, instead of bullet 6
• Adjusted pitch (vertical) recoil curve for full auto, recoil climbs more aggressively past the 3rd bullet

• Adjusted pitch (vertical) recoil to be more aggressive after the first burst
• Added more error on bursts after the first one
• Improved recovery time on burst mode from .45 >>> .4

Frenzy

• Price Increased from 400 >>> 500

Escalation

Escalation will go live with Patch 2.03, the new Valorant limited-time game mode that replicates CS:GO’s gun game with a unique twist; namely, that it mashes up Agent abilities along the way. This 5v5 experience takes place across 12 “levels” of weapons, with players receiving a random new weapon for every kill they make.

You’ll get 800 XP for a single game, with a + 200 XP bonus for winning.

If you haven’t yet checked out the recent Escalation trailer then you can do so here.

Quality of Life & Bug Fixes

Finally, there are a host of quality of life improvements and bug fixes along with Patch 2.03. Here’s a full overview:

• AFK-ing in Competitive games for a prolonged period (currently defined as 6 or more rounds) will now result in a penalty of 8 rank rating points
  • We understand that sometimes your computer, ISP, etc. may have some issues during a game, so we won’t punish you for missing some rounds—but we want to encourage players to come back from those AFKs and play through their Competitive matches.
• Act Rank Badges will now be based on your highest rank win, instead of your ninth best win

For more context around these changes, read our overall E2: A2 rank plans.

• All sprays will now be destroyed on round start.

Death Sequence Improvements

“Two changes have been made specific to the death sequence, that is, all the stuff that happens once you are killed and before you become a spectator from beyond. We hope these changes improve the experience and game feel by addressing the smoothness of camera movement and general timing of the sequence. We cannot, however, bring you back to life. That’s Jett’s job.“

• Timing
  • Fade to black start time decreased 1.75 seconds after death >>> 1.5 seconds after death
  • Time spent on a full black screen increased ~0 seconds >>> 0.25 seconds.
  • The total time of the death sequence has not changed, it remains at 2.75 seconds
• Camera movement smoothed significantly , especially for those under poor network conditions
  • Prior to patch 2.03, any of you (but especially those with high ping or packet loss) could experience camera jitter during the death sequence.
  • Based on our investigations of this issue, you can rest assured this camera jitter did not impact combat performance—anyone experiencing this issue was already dead during the unsmooth movement.
  • Now everyone, regardless of network conditions, will have smooth camera movement during the death sequence.

Bugs

• Fixed issue where Yoru’s decoy had slightly different sounding footsteps than Yoru himself
• Fixed issue where the in-world indicator for Cypher’s Cyber Cage disappeared if it took damage
• Fixed issue where Sova’s Owl Drone could clip through specific map geo and view the other side
• Fixed issue where players already affected by nearsight would momentarily see inside smokes that should instead nearsight them
• Fixed issue where Skye’s Seekers would no longer work if she was killed at a very specific moment while casting them
• Fixed issue where Yoru was unable to equip a weapon or ability if he cancelled out of Dimensional Drift right as its buffs activated
• Killjoy’s Lockdown can no longer be placed inside Sage’s Barrier Orb in some instances
  • If Barrier Orb is placed on top of Killjoy’s ult, the section of the wall covering the ult will now be destroyed.
• Fixed issue where teleporting to Yoru’s Gatecrash right as it expires caused him to fall through the map to his death (rip)
• Fixed issue where Yoru’s Bait could sometimes fall through the floor when the stationary version was placed
• Fixed issue where Sova could sometimes get the voice over for Hunter’s Fury to play, even though it isn’t used, by trying to equip the Owl Drone at the same time
• The End of Game screen will no longer display “Average Abilities Cast per Round” as 0

• Fixed a couple input bugs around possessing and unpossessing objects (Cypher camera, Sova drone, etc.) in the same frame which lead to locking all inputs or locking view direction
  • Sorry Cypher mains—thanks for all the reports!
• Fixed an issue where certain settings would not display while in game
• Your player icon color on the minimap is now white if you turn on any color blind settings
• Fixed a few input issues that were causing players to get stuck using orbs or planting the Spike