The latest patch in Valorant has dropped with the arrival of Agent 15, a fresh Battlepass, a brand new skin line, and several life changes. It’s safe to say that the game is in a good state for VALORANT Challengers moving forward. Here is everything you need to know about VALORANT Episode 2 Act 2.
You can also check out our article – VALORANT: EVERY AGENT EXPLAINED (PART-1)
Agent 15
Valorant’s fourth controller, Astra is for all those galaxy-brained players who like to control and adapt to every situation presented to them. With a massive ability kit, Astra has the potential to create plays globally across the map for her team while holding her designated angle of fire.
Here’s a breakdown of her kit:
Gravity Well (C): Place Stars in Astral Form (X) and activate a Star to form a Gravity Well. Players in the area are pulled toward the center before it explodes, making all players still trapped inside fragile.
Nova Pulse (Q): Place Stars in Astral Form (X) and activate a Star to detonate a Nova Pulse. The Nova Pulse charges briefly then strikes, concussing all players in its area.
Nebula (E): Place Stars in Astral Form (X) and activate a Star to transform it into a Nebula (smoke). Use (F) on a Star to dissipate it, returning the star to be placed in a new location after a delay. Dissipate briefly forms a fake Nebula at the Star’s location before returning.
Astral Form/Cosmic Divide (X): ACTIVATE (X) to enter Astral Form where you can place Stars with PRIMARY FIRE. Stars can be reactivated later, transforming them into a Nova Pulse, Nebula, or Gravity Well. When Cosmic Divide is charged, use SECONDARY FIRE in Astral Form to begin aiming at, then PRIMARY FIRE to select two locations. An infinite Cosmic Divide connects the two points you select. Cosmic Divide blocks bullets and heavily dampens audio.
We can say for sure that Astra will be a popular choice in team compositions in higher and pro levels of gameplay. A complete controller with smokes even with a stun and defensive C ability, she’s going to give Omen mains a run for their money.
The New Battle Pass
Like every other Act, the Battle Pass will cost 1000 Valorant Points to upgrade. It contains 3 brand new skin collections, 9 new gun buddies, 12 player cards, 16 spray paints, and 130 Radianite Points.
The Prime 2.0 Skin Bundle
Another fan favorite skin bundle makes a comeback. The original prime bundle is one of the elite-tier skin bundles ever released in the game. This new bundle introduces Frenzy, Phantom, Odin, Bucky, and another melee to the collection. It will cost 7100 VP.
Competitive Changes
Placements have changed:
If you have already received your Act Rank, you only have to play one placement match to receive your rank. If your last rank was Radiant or Immortal, you will keep your position on the leaderboard, but your Rank Rating (RR) will be reduced by 90%. And yes, Radiant players will be bumped down to Immortal because they need to again prove their skills to receive that prestigious rank. Speaking of which, getting to Radiant is now harder. You have to fulfill both of the following criteria:
- You need to be in the top 500 players in your region.
- You need to have achieved a certain level of RR.
(RR requirements are adjusted per region based on rank population size and RR distribution)
Regional requirements for Radiant cut off:
/ LATAM & KR: 100 RR
/ BR: 200 Rank Rating
/ NA & APAC: 300 RR
/ EU: 400 RR
Players who have not competed in Ranked games last Act will have to play 5 competitive placement games in order to get their ranks.
RR changes:
The average RR per win/loss is reduced by 5 and also, the demotion logic for players is changed to start at 70RR which was previously 80RR.
Rank changes:
Ranks will no longer be displayed in Agent select or in-game. Players will still be able to see ranks on the end of the game screen. Players at lower ranks will be able to queue with a wider group of friends and teammates. It is intended to combat smurfing by reducing the incentive to make a new account to play with lower rank friends. They have not changed matchmaking in higher ranks to maintain balanced matches and protect the competitive integrity of the higher ranks.
Quality of Life Changes:
Tactical VoiceOver is added to the game. In order to improve team coordination and information sharing, more contexts are added to some of the automated Agent VO lines that play during the round. Agent lines like “Enemy spotted” or “Spike spotted” are changed to “Enemy spotted at A” or “Spike spotted at mid”. This is intended to revamp information to allies but it’s not meant to be a full replacement for voice comms, so VO callouts are ducked in volume when a teammate is speaking over VOIP.
Also, an option to place Tactical VO messaging into the Chat window is added so that an automated Chat message will be sent relaying the information whenever VO callouts are triggered. It is available under Accessibility options. Client framerate is improved by 3% on average for medium to high spec machines in 10-player games, by optimizing inventory management. Apart from all these, they have fixed Sage-Omen wall-hack bug.
If you want a detailed guide about all the agents in Valorant then you can check out VALORANT: EVERY AGENT EXPLAINED (PART-1) & VALORANT: EVERY AGENT YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT! (PART 2).
For now, the game feels like to be in better shape than ever before. The devs have a great job to make VALORANT truly enjoyable for everyone and with new agents being released every Act, the hype-train keeps on rolling. Comment below and let us know your thoughts on this update.
