Valorant 7.04 Patch Notes: new agent and map updates, bug fixes, and more

Valorant 7.04 Patch is targeting 11 agents in preparation for Episode 7 Act 2 along with a few balance shifts, map refinements, quality-of-life enhancements, and bug fixes.

The VALORANT Champions 2023 tournament is nearing its conclusion, prompting Riot Games to usher in significant adjustments that will impact maps, Agents, and weapons. These transformative changes will coincide with the release of the Valorant 7.04 patch, marking the beginning of Episode 7 Act 2.

Thankfully, Riot Games has already offered us a preview of some of the Agent modifications that Episode 7 Act 2 is eagerly anticipated to bring. According to Riot Games, a total of 11 Agents are set to undergo alterations aimed at “enhancing game clarity.”

The detailed Valorant 7.04 patch notes will furnish more comprehensive insights into balance shifts, map refinements, quality-of-life enhancements, and bug fixes.

Valorant 7.04 Patch Notes

While most Agents will experience minor adjustments, a handful will witness substantial effects due to these forthcoming balance tweaks in Valorant 7.04 patch.

Skye, an immensely formidable Agent within VALORANT, stands out. She’s the sole initiator in the game, capable of executing flashes, healing, and reconnaissance concurrently. Her repertoire of utilities places her among the most sought-after Agents in the game. Recognizing the impact of her utilities, Riot has opted to implement some nerfs for Skye in Valorant 7.04 patch.

Conversely, Astra occupies a prominent role as one of the most utilized controller Agents in VALORANT. Her toolkit encompasses a rich array of abilities, enabling her to gain control over a map if wielded skillfully. However, Riot identified some imbalances within her abilities. They noticed a notable discrepancy among her various capabilities, leading to a decision to have a slight yet impactful buff to Astra in the Valorant 7.04 patch.

Valorant 7.04 Patch – Agent Changes

Breach

• Aftershock (C)
  • Ticks reduced from 3 to 2
  • Damage increased from 60 per tick to 80
• Rolling Thunder (X)
  • Ultimate points increased 8>>>9

Brimstone

• Orbital Strike (X)
  • Ultimate points increased 7>>>8

Fade

• Prowler (C)
  • Time to re-equip gun takes slightly longer after using the ability

Gekko

• Mosh Pit (C)
  • The impacted area does 10 damage per second before exploding
• Wingman (Q)
  • HP reduced 100>>>80
• Thrash (X)
  • Thrash’s explosion had a little makeover to make it easier to see and understand the area it has affected (on top of being beautiful)

Killjoy

• Lockdown (X)
  • Ultimate points increased 8>>>9

Omen

• Paranoia (Q)
  • No movement velocity imparted when casting

Skye

• Guiding Light (E)
  • Max duration while casting reduced 2.5s >>>2s
• Trailblazer (Q)
  • HP reduced 100>>>80
• Seekers (X)
  • Ultimate Points increased 7 >>>8
  • Seeker Health decreased 150>>>120

Sova

• Recon Bolt (E)
  • Total number of scans reduced 3>>>2

Viper

• Viper’s Pit (X)
  • Ultimate points increased 8>>>9

Astra

• Gravity Well (C)
  • Startup time increased .6>>>1.25
  • Gravity time duration decreased 2.75>>>2.0
• Nova Pulse (Q)
  • Startup time decreased from 1.25>>>1.0
• Cosmic Divide (X)
  • Audio now is blocked completely by the wall rather than muffled

Jett

• Tailwind (E)
  • Dash window decreased 12s>>>7.5s
    • At 12s, Jett could often find value in activating her dash without clear intention or making incorrect calls but still have time to find another use for the dash. Shortening this window pushes Jett to be more deliberate with her calls and reduces Tailwind’s power at defensively holding angles, while minimally impacting her ability to proactively use the dash to break onto a site.
  • Activation windup increased 0.75s>>>1s
    • Increasing Tailwind’s windup should promote proactive use by reducing Jett’s ability to activate it reactively when caught off guard or in the middle of a fight and successfully escape.
• Cloudburst (C)
  • Duration decreased 4.5s>>>2.5s
  • Time to re-equip a gun takes slightly longer after using the ability.
    • We want to reduce some of the persistent safety Jett gets dashing into or escaping with smokes, sharpening Cloudburst to be a fast but powerful tool that forces players to be quick and precise with their decisions.
• Updraft (Q)
  • Charges decreased 2>>>1
    • With two Updrafts, we’ve seen moments where Jett escapes situations where they’ve been tactically outplayed by throwing enemies off by relying on Updraft’s unpredictable movement. We hope to reduce some of the unhealthy movement extremes Updraft can produce and increase the importance of using it at the right time.
• Blade Storm (X)
  • Ultimate points increased by 7>>>8
    • Jett’s Ultimate has proven one of the most flexible, reliable, and economically powerful gun replacement Ultimates because of its lack of a timer, reset on kills, and harmony with Jett’s movement. This change should bring Blade Storm up to the same cost as comparable weapon ults, such as the Tour De Force and Showstopper.

Valorant 7.04 Patch – PLAYER BEHAVIOR UPDATES

Report UI Improvements

• We’ve increased readability by adding icons and showing detailed text descriptions when hovering over each of the newly added icons.
• We categorized the list of post-game reports into groups to help break down decision-making from high-level categories to subcategories.
• We’ve added report info in order to reduce false reporting.

Valorant 7.04 Patch – BUG FIXES

Agent

• Fixed an issue where Sage’s Barrier Orb (C) can break when being placed in between doors such as C Garage on Haven.

Gameplay Systems

• Fixed a bug where being killed on Fracture’s ziplines would make your Agent’s body appear in Spawn.

Player Behavior

• Fixed a bug where pushing the play button on your keyboard caused voice to transmit despite having different keybinds set or none at all.

Premier

• If a match goes into overtime and results in sudden death, the end-of-game timeline now displays the sudden death round correctly.

Valorant 7.04 Patch – BREEZE Changes

Breeze’s scale and size are core to the map’s design but we wanted to address rotation times by simplifying where threats could be to make retaking less dangerous. This set of changes aims to add more tradeoffs to A and B site slams that utilize post-plant utility to secure the round while adding more incentive for Attackers to control Mid to exert pressure throughout the map.

• Adjusted Mid Pillar
  • We closed off one side of Mid Pillar and tightened up Mid Cubby. As a result, Mid should be more comfortable to rotate through with more predictable threats.
• Adjusted B Site
  • We’ve adjusted B Site to make enemy positioning more predictable. This should make retake scenarios more manageable.
• Blocked off A Hall
  • Halls required a lot of attention from Defenders often forcing them to spread thin. By blocking it off we hope this allows Defenders to better focus on where threats will come from while allowing both teams to invest more resources across the rest of the map. Adjusted Mid Doors
  • We expect there to be more fights in Mid and around Doors so we’ve adjusted this area to be more spacious and added a new stack of boxes as additional cover.
• Closed A Cave and adjusted A Shop
  • Cave added a lot of pressure to post-plant situations and the split approach to A made it difficult for Defenders to contest the space. These changes aim to make the main approach to A feel more neutral and less strong for post-plant.
• Adjusted A Pyramids and added signage for callouts
  • We added a small platform at the bottom of each pyramid to make utility a bit easier to land around them. Also, we added signage to help differentiate callouts for the two pyramids.

In essence, the Valorant 7.04 patch introduces changes for over half of the roster, with a specific focus on elevating the clarity of the game’s state. This objective is achieved through the following measures:

• Decreasing the frequency of wide area-of-effect ultimates
• Reducing the duration of active utility in the game world
• Lowering the hit points of utility that can be shot at

Furthermore, the Ultimate cost adjustments outlined above seek to align expansive, high-impact ultimates with the pressure they exert on opponents. This aims to create a more balanced rhythm for abilities that define rounds and a clearer distinction between high and low-cost ultimates.

Though many of these modifications are subtle, the collective effect is expected to enhance the game’s clarity and provide more opportunities for player skill to shine. These improvements are part of our ongoing commitment to refining the gameplay experience said June Cuervo, Agent Designer.

And that is all that we know about Valorant 7.04 patch. Other info like balance shifts, map refinements, quality-of-life enhancements, and bug fixes are yet to be revealed, so we will have to wait a bit.

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