Valorant has seen a lot of excitement recently thanks to the addition of the game’s nineteenth agent, Fade. This powerful agent can track enemies down with ease, and keep them under control for other agents to take out quickly. Her addition has been well received by the community, and the only changes to her abilities in patch 4.09 are to the VFX.
Chamber wasn’t so lucky, as this patch rebalances his top-tier Trademark ability, nerfing it significantly. This ability lays a trap that slows opponents who get too close, but it was proving far too effective compared to other Sentinel tools. To keep it under control, the ability’s Cred cost has been increased, its uses have been reduced, and the range from which it can be heard has been increased, making it much easier to detect.
Agent updates
Fade
Nightfall (X) – You should now see a decreased amount of flickering textures on diagonal walls when casting Fade’s ultimate. Also added VFX for additional clarity and visual impact.
Seize (Q) – VFX change to the orb for a more dynamic presentation in 1p and Agent select.
Chamber: Trademark
Cost increased 150>>>200.
Charges reduced 2>>>1.
Audio range increased.
Competitive updates
Party Lead Transfer — You can now change the lead of your party.
The current party leaders can right-click the player name they want to transfer the responsibility to, and choose “Make Leader” in the drop-down menu.
A number of small tweaks and updates were made to the UI.
Esports features
Added Observer ability to toggle Scoreboard on/off.
Bugs
Agents
Fixed a bug where Jett’s Tailwind would sometimes fail to cast when used immediately after curving a Cloudburst smoke.
Fixed a bug where Jett’s ultimate indicator would sometimes stay active after firing all kunai.
Gameplay Systems
Fixed an issue where an unintended ‘use’ input could happen after abilities such as Skye’s Trailblazer or Sova’s Owl Drone is activated while using the ‘use’ key.
Along with the agent changes, some bugs were fixed in regards to Jett’s abilities that stopped her casting in quick succession. Small quality of life changes came in for competitive play too, as the Party Leader can now be changed without having to reassemble the party, saving a bit of time. You can see the full patch notes and developer comments on the official Valorant website.
Written by Ryan Woodrow on behalf of GLHF.