Riot Games’ Valorant devs have outlined the roadmap for the immediate future of the esports title in their latest Dev Update video. The update promises changes to Competitive, new Game Modes, and outlines upcoming balance changes.
The upcoming 13.00 patch will have a marked effect on Valorant Masters London, as the international VCT scene converges on the UK to play, what will be, a vastly different game.
Competitive to see RR and matchmaking changes
The dev update provided an update on refinements to the matchmaking and Rank Rating (RR) systems, stating, “Your rank should be a clear reflection of your skill, and the journey to get there should feel fair. More proactive in testing and refining different approaches to matchmaking so we can land on a system that truly delivers on that promise.”
The dev update states that January’s update to its MMR system had successfully created more competitive matches, putting a greater emphasis on player performance for match-matching.
However, the devs acknowledged negative player feedback surrounding rank discrepancy in games, and unrewarding RR rewards for wins vs RR punishments for losing.
Design Director, Max Grossman, stated that, “In some cases, we’ve let some tuning exist in the game longer than we should have while we evaluated the results.”
Therefore, changes are coming to RR reward calculation, accounting more for player performance in wins and losses in the post-game calculation of RR.
New rank rewards for 2027
As far as Immortal and Radiant ranks are concerned, the devs reinforced their commitment to rooting out cheaters and wintraders.
The update also stated that they are working on rewards for reaching Valorant’s ranking summit, with Gun Buddies no longer acting as “your primary reward” after V26 Act III and Act VI.
In 2027, players will be given their ‘reward’ at the start of Act I and have the ability to ‘evolve’ the reward throughout 2027.
New game modes coming to Valorant
Valorant’s Product Manager, Armand Asdourian, shared that Riot devs are working on a new mode which “combines Replication with All Random One Site.” So get prepared for the same randomized Agents all contesting the same bombsite in a truly chaotic fashion.
Next up, the devs announced a 3v3 ‘Spike Mode’ with “shortened rounds and smaller teams.” The mode seems like it will quicken up one of Valorant’s faster genres of game modes, creating frenetic fun for players.
Finally, Asdourian teased a new mode which he described as “a KAY/O combat simulation gone haywire.” More details on the mode will come in September.
Riot devs give Valorant balance update
Last up, the devs gave an update on the future balancing and rebalancing of the game. The showcase reiterated a lot of what Valorant Agent Lead, Dan Hardison, shared in his recent update regarding Neon, shotguns, and cooldowns.
Chronologically, the first change will be the Neon and shotgun debuffs that were previously shared, now moved up to be part of the now-released 12.09 patch. Specifically, lowering Neon’s maneuverability and nerfing shotguns’ accuracy while moving.
The devs outlined that Initiator Cooldowns will move from 60s to 50s in Patch 13.00, to allow for more tactical and teamplay approaches after the seismic 11.08 patch drastically shifted the meta towards more individual Duelist play late last year.
Sentinels will also get some help in slowing down those Duelist aggro plays with strategic buffs to rebalance the gameplay and make sure players have to think more tactically.
The devs also announced upcoming buffs to the Bandit to increase the weapon’s competitive viability.
Valorant changes to shake up London Masters
Lastly, players will now be able to download their friends’ POVs in-game, allowing players to engage in more in-depth VOD reviewing.
Overall, the changes are a serious shake-up to Valorant at a time when teams are preparing for the Valorant Masters London. The gameplay which decided qualification to the event will be drastically different from the gameplay that will be needed to win it.
The change may be especially hard for the rosters that have relied on those big Duelist entries into bomb sites, with Sentinels and Initiators set to receive significant buffs.
Therefore, Masters London will be a race to adapt as it begins on June 6.
Do you think the upcoming changes will make the game more tactical? Let us know on our Discord server!
For other Valorant news, see how Fnatic missed out on Valorant Masters London.
Darragh is an Esports Journalist for Insider Gaming specialising in Counter-Strike. He loves to explore how esports teams work, or why they very often do not.
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