The year 2025 kicked off with Riot Games announcing major changes to Valorant. Along with a new agent, a fresh skin bundle, and the Flex mechanic, the game will see balance adjustments and bug fixes, which we'll cover below.

Official Patch Notes

Earlier today, the organization shared a list of changes in their official Twitter account that will be introduced with patch 10.0. These include both bug fixes, new features, and updates to the abilities of existing agents.

ALL PLATFORMS

• Gameplay logic around ability effects themed as explosions has been updated
• Raze, Sova, and Gekko’s explosions should behave more consistently in how they deal damage.
• Most notably, this should affect instances where Raze’s Showstopper (X) fails to deal damage in situations where it clips into level geometry.

AGENT UPDATES

Tejo is en route. Our newest Initiator from Colombia will be released in a staggered rollout to all regions starting at 9:00 AM PT on January 8th.

Tejo

Special Delivery

• EQUIP a sticky grenade. FIRE to launch. The grenade sticks to the first surface it hits and explodes, Concussing any targets caught in the blast. ALT FIRE to launch the grenade with a single bounce instead.

Stealth Drone

• EQUIP a stealth drone. FIRE to throw the drone forward, assuming direct control of its movement. FIRE again to trigger a pulse that Suppresses and Reveals enemies hit.

Guided Salvo

• EQUIP an AR targeting system. FIRE to select up to two target locations on the map. ALT FIRE to launch missiles that autonomously navigate to target locations, detonating on arrival.
• CONSOLE ONLY: EQUIP an AR targeting system. ALT FIRE to select up to two target locations on the map. FIRE to launch missiles that autonomously navigate to target locations, detonating on arrival.

Armageddon

• EQUIP a tactical strike targeting map. FIRE to select the origin point of the strike. FIRE again to set the end point and launch the attack, unleashing a wave of explosions along the strike path. ALT FIRE during map targeting to cancel the origin point.
• CONSOLE ONLY: EQUIP a tactical strike targeting map. ALT FIRE to select the origin point of the strike. FIRE to set the end point and launch the attack, unleashing a wave of explosions along the strike path. ALT FIRE during map targeting to cancel the origin point.

Brimstone

Stim Beacon

• Full equips are rare and usually reserved for abilities with higher counterplay needs. This is a light quality of life change for Brimstone.
• Equip time after casting adjusted from Normal >>> Fast

COSMETICS UPDATES

• You can now access the FLEX cosmetic customization menu in Collections. Everyone will have a default FLEX, STAT-COM, added to their inventory. You can equip a FLEX by assigning them to your Spray Wheel, which from now on will be referred to as the Expressions Wheel.

ESPORTS FEATURES

• The Esports Hub is back for VCT25!
• Check out our new overview page that provides a concise snapshot of where we are on the year long VCT journey!
• See where everyone landed after roster-mania and get familiar with our four new guest teams!
• Dive into the brackets for the International League Kickoff starting on January 11!

GAMEPLAY SYSTEMS UPDATES

Automatic Remake Voting

• When a player AFKs in the first round, a remake vote now automatically starts and requires only a majority vote of the remaining players to pass.
• Example: Previously if one player was AFK, this vote required all four players to vote yes. Now it only requires three out of the remaining four players to vote yes to be successful.

Ping System

• A “show map pings in world” cheat has been added to Custom game modes to support labbing lineups and practice.
• When enabled, this cheat reverts the map pinging behavior to pre-patch 9.11 behavior.

MAP UPDATES

Map Rotations

• Starting with patch 10.00, maps will rotate every Act. We'll provide updates about which maps are rotating on a per-Act basis, announcing the next Act's map pool shortly after the current Act starts.

10.00 Map Rotation:

• Fracture and Lotus are back IN the COMPETITIVE and DEATHMATCH queues.
• Ascent and Sunset are OUT of the COMPETITIVE and DEATHMATCH queues.

PREMIER UPDATES

Welcome to Stage V25A1!

• Matches start on January 15
• If your team was in the Invite Division in Stage E9A3 and did not finish the Stage in the top 16 teams, your team has been demoted. You’ll see your new Provisional Division in the Premier hub.
• Demoted teams seeded into the zone they originally promoted from. Your Team Owner can change your team’s zone in the Team Settings dropdown anytime before your team plays a match.
• If your team cannot be placed into a zone, your Team Owner will be prompted to select a zone.

BUG FIXES

ALL PLATFORMS

• Fixed a bug causing some abilities to display as the wrong team color for observers.

Clove

• Fixed an issue where Not Dead Yet could fail to cast when pressed in the last few frames of the activation window

Skye

• Fixed a bug where Guiding Light’s flash duration was not scaling properly
• Fixed a bug where Guiding Light’s hit confirm sound and VO would not play when hitting Yoru’s Fakeout Clone

Cypher and Viper

• Fixed an issue where shooting through Cypher’s Cyber Cage or Viper’s Poison Cloud could cheat wall penetration if they were placed too close to level geometry

Phoenix

• Fixed an issue where Blaze referenced a Harbor projectile asset for a few frames
• Fixed an issue where Blaze’s visual effects could be slightly offset
• Improved the performance around Brimstone’s Sky Smoke dissipation effect
• Fixed an issue where specific flashbang projectile visuals would stick around for Observers
• Fixed an issue where players taking damage with Regen Shields would play hit-confirm sounds regardless of player visibility

Weapons

ALL PLATFORMS

• Fixed a bug where if you were in Aim Down Sights (ADS), weapons would occasionally exit and re-enter ADS without any input.

KNOWN ISSUES

Cosmetics

ALL PLATFORMS

• When in a custom game with cheats enabled, if the player changes Agents after using the Restart Game cheat, the Expressions Wheel (where you find Sprays and Flex choices) may appear blank. We’re looking to fix this in coming patches.

Patch Release Date

Patch 10.0 is scheduled for release on January 8, 2025, in the Americas, and on January 9 in Europe and other regions. Stay tuned to our portal to learn more about all the upcoming changes in Valorant.