Valorant 7.08 Patch Notes: MAJOR smoke changes, Premier updates and more

The final patch of Valorant Episode 7 Act 2, Patch 7.08, has arrived, bringing a major adjustment to how smokes dissipate in the game. Alongside updates to Premier queue length and minor store updates, the main star of this patch is the huge visual and audio overhaul to smokes in VALORANT, making it easier for players to discern when a smoke is dissipating

While this smoke change was initially met with staunch disapproval, with many players believing that tracking smoke timers was a testament to a player's skill, the prevailing sentiment now is that this adjustment reduces the skill ceiling by eliminating the need for basic counting.

It is anticipated that this change should not disrupt higher-level play. On the contrary, it allows for increased focus on the true skill expression of how you utilise the windows that are created.

Valorant 7.08 patch notes highlights

Controllers play a pivotal role in matches as smokes serve as an indispensable tool for victory. However, weaving in and out of these smokes and keeping track of timers is a skill that requires time and practice. In this patch, rather than agent-specific updates, Riot has decided to introduce an ability update like no other.

This update aims to make it easier for players to discern when a smoke is dissipating. From now on, longer-lasting smokes such as Omen’s Dark Cover, Astra’s Nebula, and Brimstone’s Sky Smokes will sparkle and emit a distinct audio cue 1.5 seconds before they are about to disappear.

Valorant 7.08 full patch notes

Here’s a rundown of everything you need to know about Valorant patch 7.08.

Credit: Riot Games

General updates

• A slight adjustment was made to the rows of Agents you can select from at the bottom of the screen in order to make room for future Agents

Agent updates

Smoke Visual Update

• Some of the key smokes can manipulate the play space for a good chunk of time and we feel it is important to be able to make the right decisions in the moment. We’ve added audio and visual cues at the end of our longer-lasting smokes to give you a bit of a heads-up for when the smoke will disappear.
  • Smokes play an audio and visual cue 1.5 seconds before they are about to fade. The following Agents’ smokes have been affected:
    • Astra
    • Brimstone
    • Omen

Ability equipping sounds are no longer audible to your Allies.

• Previously, the sound of you equipping abilities as certain Agents could be heard by allies that were very close to you. Hearing this audio was inconsistent with equipping guns, which are silent to allies, and resulted in confusion around if enemies were able to hear these sounds. We hope this change will make the rules around equipping gun and ability audio more consistent and make what can be heard by enemies easier to learn and understand.

Premier updates

Premier Playoffs Tournament Queue Changes

• The Playoffs Tournament Queue is now only 15 minutes instead of 1 hour. If you don’t queue up and stay queued within the 15-minute window, your team will not be able to play in the Tournament.
• At the end of the waiting period, all teams that are still in the queue will be matched at one time into evenly distributed brackets seeded by Premier Score.
• This change ensures that having a better regular season record gives you a higher seeding in your tournament.

Store updates

Credit: Riot Games

• Your Level Borders and Player Card collection UI is getting an upgrade! You’ll now be able to search, navigate, and equip your Level Borders and Player Cards using our grid UI.

Bug Fixes

Agent

• Deadlock
  • Annihilation (X) can no longer open Bind’s automatic doors from outside the teleporter rooms.
  • Annihilation (X) can no longer open Breeze’s Mid Chute trapdoor from below.
• Neon
  • Fast Lane (C) now more reliably fully extends through Fracture’s A Door when cast from the outside, behaving the same as when used from inside A Hall.

General

• Fixed a bug where the music would hitch/skip while loading into a map or the Range.
• Fixed a bug where shooting range bots would not reset their hitbox position properly when respawning.

Player Behaviour

• Fixed a bug so that you’ll receive the correct Ranked Rating penalties for disruptive behaviour.

Weapons

• Fixed a bug where kill banner audio was playing too quietly.

That was everything you needed to know about Valorant Patch 7.08!

If you're interested in more Valorant content, we have a ton for you to enjoy. Check out our Agent tier list in case you're struggling to find a main, also we have our first official leaks regarding Agent 24 you don't want to miss out on.