Valorant’s anticipated next Episode has arrived, and there are some big changes across the board coming with the new update. Beyond the Agent, battlepass, and new skinline, there are some fundamental changes to some of its maps and gameplay systems planned, and today’s patch notes reveal all.
The patch notes’ introduction highlights the areas of the game being given the most attention:
Alongside new Agent Neon, a fresh Battlepass and skinline, Patch 4.0 brings a few weapons from out of the shadows, tones down some others, and improves the melee. Bind, and especially Breeze, are reshaped in areas that should adjust the attacker/defender dynamic. We cap it off with a cap on the Account Level needed to play Competitive.
Here’s the full breakdown:
Weapon Updates
Melee
The melee’s been too tricky to aim with, making it tough to rely on. So we’ve updated both left and right click melee attacks for more reliable Agent-whacking action.
- Right click hitboxes are now 1.5x larger. Left click hitboxes are now larger than a right click and have a slightly longer range too.
- Targets closer to the center of your knife attacks will get hit first, so you still have precision if you need it.
- Bonus: Knifing walls now have instant feedback when slicing up walls (predicted on the client side)
Spectre
The Spectre’s versatility makes us happy, but it was over-performing in long range engagements and was too powerful even within its intended close range and mobile scenarios. By making the accuracy error come in a bit earlier and switching yaws more often, we hope it will make it more difficult to get kills when spraying over a long range. Likewise, the close range sprays will require more control to be effective.
- Firing error occurs at earlier bullet stages
- For example, instead of errors occurring at bullets 4, 7, 10 (in terms of firing order) they will instead happen at bullets 3, 6, 8
- Increased pitch and yaw (vertical and horizontal) recoil multipliers when running/jumping/on ascender from 1.25 >>> 1.5
- Protected bullet count from yaw (horizontal) switching while spraying, decreased 8 >>> 5 bullets
- Lowering time to switch yaw from .24 >>> .18 seconds
- While spraying, the time you have until you could switch yaws (horizontal movement) again is lower, meaning it can happen more often
Ares
Alongside changes to the Spectre, we hope to improve the feel and power of the Ares and take it out of the shadow of other weapons in its price tier.
- Removed spin up
- Firing rate increased from 10 >>> 13
Guardian
The Guardian didn’t need the fire rate penalty compared to its fully-automatic counterparts, so we’re removing it. Adding another bullet before it starts to get unstable should make the weapon feel much more proficient at tapping shots, and improve its overall effectiveness in a fight.
- Removed firing rate penalty on ADS (Aiming Down Sight)
- Added an extra bullet before it enters a recovery curve
Bulldog
We’re giving the Bulldog some love to help make it feel like a better buy-in those situations when you might need a cheaper but versatile rifle option.
- Hip fire rate increased 9.5 >>> 10
- Recovery on burst fire improved from .4 >>> .35
- Inaccuracy is accrued any time the weapon is re-fired prior to a complete duration of a weapon’s respective Gun Recovery Time. Lower recovery time should improve burst fire efficiency.
Map Changes
Below you can take a look at the changes to Bind, which are small but should make a big difference to Short A. Notice the different size/shape of the box, and the new ledge to offer attackers a new way to peek the angle.
And here are the changes to Breeze, some of which we included in a previous report that had seen images leaked. They’re now official, and you’ll get a better look at the extensive changes to B site.
For more on Valorant’s Episode 4, you can take a look at all the details on the latest Agent, Neon. You can also check out the latest weapon skin bundle, Protocol 781-A, and what’s coming in the new battle pass.
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