The latest VALORANT 5.12 Patch Notes are the last for the year and they bring along a new mode and many changes to agents.
As discussed in our previous Gamelevate article, agent Chamber has undergone quite a lot of nerfs. Additionally, there have been nerfs made to Viper along with nerfs to Sage’s ability to self-heal. There have also been increases in the point costs of some Agent Ultimates to allow for more counterplay.
However, all is not doom and gloom in the VALORANT 5.12 Patch. There have been significant buffs made to previously underpowered Agents. For example, Agent Killjoy has had her Ultimate ability buffed. Specifically, Killjoy’s Lockdown Health has been increased from 150 to 200. Omen is another agent that has received a buff. In this patch, the cost for Omen’s Paranoia ability has been reduced from 300 to 250.
New Swiftplay Mode for those in a Rush!
Finally, for those who want to get a quick game in, the VALORANT 5.12 Patch has added a new mode called Swiftplay. This mode is still in Beta testing and will only be available until January 10, 2023. The developers are trying to get feedback from the community to determine player enthusiasm for shorter VALORANT matches. Read more about this mode and all the other updates as we jump into the last VALORANT patch for 2022:
Agent Updates in VALORANT 5.12 Patch Notes
BREACH
- Rolling Thunder (X)
- Ultimate Points increased 7 >>> 8
CHAMBER
- Headhunter (Q)
- Updated Stability Curve
- Spread increased after 2nd bullet, when spamming. This is explicitly meant to reduce low-precision body-shot spam as an effective combat measure at range.
- Rendezvous (E)
- Chamber now places a single anchor that can be teleported to while inside its range
- Radius increased 7.5m >>> 13m
- Removed teleport activation height restriction
- You can teleport to the Anchor while on different verticality so long as you are within its radius.
- Increased weapon equip time after teleporting 0.4s >>> 0.7s
- Headhunter is unaffected by this change
- Destroying Rendezvous teleport anchor now disables it for the remainder of the round, instead of being placed on a cooldown.
- Chamber no longer incurs an additional cooldown when recalling his Anchor after teleporting.
- Health decreased 80 >>> 50
- Trademark (C)
- The trap is now range restricted
- Trademark will disable when Chamber moves out of range, and reactivate once he is inside.
- Can now be recalled mid-round without line of sight
- 30s cooldown on recall
- Destruction remains permanent
- Initial Arm Time increased 2s >>> 4s
- Health Increased 1 >>> 20
- Tour De Force (X)
- Fire rate decreased by 57.5%
- Slow
- This applies to both Trademark and Tour De Force
- Reduced duration 6s >>> 4s
CYPHER
- Trapwire (C)
- Health increased 1 >>> 20
FADE
- Prowler (C)
- Health decreased 100 >>> 60
HARBOR
It is hard to learn a new Controller smoke style. These changes make it easier for Harbor’s vision block to last long enough to finish executing with their team. Additionally, the change also provides wall smoke duration that’s on par with Viper.
- High Tide (E)
- Duration increased 12s >>> 15s
- Cascade (C)
- Duration increased 5s >>> 7s
KAY/O
Related: 100T steel on their VCT NA performance, using KAY/O as the main
- ZERO/POINT (E)
- Health increased 1 >>> 20
- NULL/cmd (C)
- Ultimate points increased 7 >>> 8
KILLJOY
- Lockdown (X)
- Health increased 150 >>> 200
- Nanoswarm (C)
- Health increased 1 >>> 20
OMEN
- Paranoia (Q)
- Cost decreased 300 >>> 250
PHOENIX
- Blaze (C)
- Cost decreased 200 >>> 150
RAZE
- Boom Bot (C)
- Health decreased 100 >>> 60
- Blast Pack (Q)
- Health increased 1 >>> 20
SAGE
This update will help to slightly refine Sage’s strengths to be more about fortifying areas she controls and helping allies. This is in contrast to the offense-focused use of her utility. The heal update should push her power and satisfaction when fully healing others. Additionally, it will create tradeoffs for playing Sage overly aggressive and relying on self-healing.
- Barrier Orb (C)
- Fortify delay increased 3.0s >>> 3.3s
- Healing Orb (E)
- Self heal total amount decreased 60HP >>> 30HP
- Ally heal total amount increased 60HP>>> 100HP
SOVA
- Recon Bolt (E)
- Health increased 1 >>> 20
SKYE
- Trailblazer (Q)
- Cost increased 250 >>> 300
- Regrowth (C)
- Cost decreased 200 >>> 150
VIPER
This update reels in Viper’s ability to play outside of her ultimate’s smoke area. These changes will anchor Viper more to her ultimate and allow coordinated retakes against Viper’s Pit to be more successful.
- Viper’s Pit (X)
- Smoke integrity regen time 5.0 >>> 25.0
- Max time out of smoke decreased 15.0 >>> 8.0
- Ultimate points required 7 >>> 8
YORU
- Gatecrash (E)
- Health decreased 100 >>> 60
- Cost decreased 200 >>> 150
Related Gamelevate articles about VALORANT Agents:
Gameplay Update in VALORANT 5.12 Patch Notes
Several gameplay changes will also take effect in patch 5.12.
Assist Tail Tuning
Assist tails are grace periods which award players who debuff a killed target an assist even after the debuff has expired.
- Concuss, Nearsight, Detained
- Assist tail increased 2s >>> 3s
- Exiting Smokes
- Assist tail increased 1s >>> 2s
- Slow
- Assist tail increased 1s >>> 2s
- Suppression
- Added new 3s assist tail
Damage Interaction Updates
- Abilities that output damage will now universally damage enemy objects that can be damaged. Exceptions are made for Skye Trailblazer & Cypher Trapwire that only deal damage to players.
BRIMSTONE
- Incendiary now damages:
- Killjoy Nanoswarm
- Killjoy Alarmbot
- Killjoy Lockdown
- Cypher Trapwire
- Raze Blast Pack
- Sova Recon Bolt
- Reyna Leer
- Sage Barrier Orb
- KAY/O Knife
- Chamber Trademark
- Chamber Rendezvous
- Fade Prowler
- Orbital Strike now damages:
- Chamber Rendezvous
PHOENIX
- Hothands now damages:
- Cypher Trapwire
- Killjoy Nanoswarm
- Killjoy Alarmbot
- Killjoy Lockdown
- Raze Blast Pack
- Reyna Leer
- Sage Barrier Orb
- Sova Recon Bolt
- Fade Prowler
- KAY/O Knife
- Chamber Trademark
- Chamber Rendezvous
- Blaze now damages:
- Cypher Trapwire
- Killjoy Nanoswarm
- Killjoy Alarmbot
- Killjoy Lockdown
- Raze Blast Pack
- Reyna Leer
- Sage Barrier Orb
- Sova Recon Bolt
- Fade Prowler
- KAY/O Knife
- Yoru Fakeout
- Chamber Trademark
- Chamber Rendezvouszero
KAY/O
- FRAG/MENT: KAY/O now has a voiceover that tells his allies the number of enemies suppressed when the knife hits.
- ZERO/POINT now damages:
- Fade Prowler
KILLJOY
- Nanoswarm now damages:
- Cypher Trapwire
- Killjoy Nanoswarm
- Killjoy Alarmbot
- Killjoy Lockdown
- Raze Blast Pack
- Reyna Leer
- Sage Barrier Orb
- Sova Recon Bolt
- Chamber Trademark
- Chamber Rendezvous
- Fade Prowler
- KAY/O Knife
RAZE
- Blast Pack now damages:
- Fade Prowler
- Paint Shells now damages:
- Fade Prowler
SOVA
Related: Soya Guide: How to play this VALORANT agent effectively
- Shock Bolt now damages:
- Fade Prowler
- Hunters Fury now damages:
- Raze Satchel
- Reyna Leer
- Fade Prowler
- Chamber Rendezvous
VIPER
- Snakebite now damages:
- Cypher Trapwire
- Killjoy Nanoswarm
- Killjoy Alarmbot
- Killjoy Lockdown
- Raze Blast Pack
- Reyna Leer
- Sage Barrier Orb
- Skye Seekers
- Sova Recon Bolt
- Chamber Trademark
- Chamber Rendezvous
- Fade Prowler
- KAY/O Knife
Damage Multiplier Updates
With damage-over-time area abilities now universally damaging utility, the developers took a pass on damage multipliers. These area damage abilities cover a wide space and deal large amounts of damage over their duration. This new update has reduced their non-player output to 50% of base damage to prevent instant destruction of enemy utility. Additionally, this change ensures abilities with higher health, such as Sage]s Barrier Orb, to retain their relevant impact.
BREACH
- Aftershock now deals 250% >>> 100% damage to non-players
BRIMSTONE
- Incendiary now deals 100% >>> 50% damage to non-players
KAY/O
- Fragment now deals 250% >>> 100% damage to non-players
KILLJOY
- Nanoswarm now deals 100% >>> 50% damage to non-players
PHOENIX
- Hot Hands now deals 100% >>> 50% damage to non-players
RAZE
- Blast Pack now deals 1200% >>> 250% damage to non-players
- Paint Shells now deals 100% >>> 250% damage to non-players
- Boom Bot now deals 100% >>> 250% damage to non-players
VIPER
- Snake Bite now deals 100% >>> 50% damage to non-players
Allied Ability Damage Immunity
The following abilities are now immune to allied damage.
CHAMBER
- Rendezvous
- Trademark
CYPHER
- Spycam
FADE
- Prowler
- Haunt
KAY/O
- ZERO/POINT
KILLJOY
- Alarmbot
- Lockdown
RAZE
- Blastpack
- Boom Bot
SKYE
- Seekers
- Trailblazer
SOVA
- Owl Drone
- Recon Bolt
YORU
- Gatecrash
- Fakeout
Weapons Updates in Valorant 5.12 Patch Notes
The only weapon that was changed in 5.12 is the Spectre, as the developers felt it was overperforming too much in mid to long ranges.
Spectre
- Added a third damage range to the Spectre and updated distances. New distances and body shot damage are:
- 0-15m, 26 damage.
- 15m-30m, 22 damage.
- 30m+, 20 damage.
- For reference, the old ranges and damages were:
- 0-20m, 26 damage.
- 20m+, 22 damage.
Game Mode Updates in VALORANT 5.12 Patch Notes
The developers announced that the beta period for a new game mode called Swiftplay will be available from December 6, 2022 through January 10, 2023. They are hoping that feedback from players will provide more information about the viability of this new game mode.
Swiftplay Beta
- Similar to the standard 5v5 Unrated mode, but condensed:
- First to 5 rounds, 4-round half
- Spike mode victory conditions
- Single Spike carrier
- Set Credit amounts granted at the start of the round
- 800
- 2400*
- Not including 600c bonus for winning pistol
- 4250
- 4250
- Weapon and Credit carryover supported
- +600 credit bonus for winning pistol round
- Standard Kill bonuses (+200c) and Spike Plant bonuses (+300c)
- 2 Ult points granted at the start of each half
- Sudden death overtime
- Match time is approx. 15 minutes
Bug Fixes in VALORANT 5.12 Patch Notes
- Fixed an issue where Phoenix would not be decayed by Viper for a short period after dying during Run It Back while decayed. (Thanks for the report Iyerfire)
- Fixed an issue where Cypher wasn’t able to place Trapwires on the glass panels by the yellow crate on Icebox.
- Fixed a bug where enemy Spycams or Turrets could trigger Cypher’s Trapwires.
- Fixed a bug where enemy knives could not damage Chamber’s Rendezvous teleport anchor.
- Fixed a bug where Boombot would explode on contact with Yoru’s Gatecrash beacons.
