New Valorant Update Alert! The 2.03 Patch Notes are here

A new Valorant update is here and we have a run-down on everything that's changing!

Riot Games are back at it again with another title update for their hero-based tactical shooter and it promises good things.

New-Agent Yoru is getting his first balancing tweaks, Escalation is live, and there's a whole load of bug fixes.

Check out everything below before you jump into your next game!

Update Highlights

Another day, another fantastic update from Riot. Check out the highlights below:

Riot Games are introducing changes to several weapons and Agents in the new Valorant Update.

" This is the patch where we humble the Stinger by adding a degree of mastery to the weapon, rather than leave it potent in one too many areas. The Marshal and Frenzy also get respective price adjustments."

Yoru, Reyna, Brimstone, and Phoenix are the four Agents who are getting balancing changes and you can find the details on this below.

READ MORE: When Does Valorant Episode 2 Act 2 Start?

Furthermore, the new game mode, Escalation, is going live today. This is a fast-paced 5v5 mode which relies on quick kills and success as a team.

Finally, a Rank Rating Penalty is being introduced and improved in an effort to stop AFK players in Competitive Games.

Patch Notes

Agent Reyna Updates

• 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

Agent Yoru Updates

• Gatecrash [E] 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
• While in Dimensional Drift [X], 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

Agent Brimstone Updates

• The audio of the Incendiary’s [Q] lingering fire zone will be easier to hear when other actions and sounds occur nearby.

Agent Phoenix Updates

• The audio of the Hot Hands [E] lingering fire zone will be easier to hear when other actions and sounds occur nearby.

READ MORE: Valorant Tips & Tricks For Beginners

Marshal Weapon Updates

• 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 ( Full Auto ) Weapon Updates

• 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
• Decreased yaw switch bullet protection at full auto count from 4 >>> 3 on Full-Auto

Stinger ( Burst Fire ) Weapon Updates

• 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 Weapon Updates

• Price Increased from 400 >>> 500

Mode Updates

• This is a quick (approx. 7–9 min.) and fast-paced 5v5 game mode where you must race through progressively less-lethal loadouts with your team. The loadout gamut varies from match to match, but always features a mix of both weapons and abilities. The same list of loadouts is always used by both teams throughout the match.
• TBD on exactly how long this will be live, but we’d like to keep this one out for as long as it makes sense, depending on your engagement

Competitive Updates

• 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
• Act Rank Badges will now be based on your highest rank win, instead of your ninth-best win

Quality Of Life

• All sprays will now be destroyed on round start.

Death Sequence Improvements

• 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.

Bug Fixes

• 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 near sight would momentarily see inside smokes that should instead near sight 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
• 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

For the official word on the new Valorant update, check out the 2.03 Patch Notes here.