VALORANT 6.0 Patch Notes: New Lotus Map and Competitive Update

The first VALORANT patch of the new year adds the brand new Lotus Map and introduces changes to Ranked Rating in the competitive update.

Fundamentally, VALORANT patch 6.0 introduces a whole lot of fresh content into the game. Aside from the new map, Lotus (which you should definitely check out), there is a new Battlepass. Also, in addition to the competitive update in VALORANT ranked games, there are other gameplay changes for all players.

Furthermore, Riot has dropped some pretty cool trailers to show off the new Lotus map, the Araxys Skinline, and more.

COMPETITIVE UPDATES

Overall, the changes below should make Ranked Rating gains and losses feel more consistent. Furthermore, these changes should reduce the effect stomps have on your RR.

• Episode reset reminder: A new Episode means a ranked reset! Expect your placement rank to be lower than at the end of Episode 5, and good luck on your climb!
  • Context: each episode resets to kick off the start of a new ranked ladder. This is a chance for players to show off their skills in the new season, as well as reset players in the ladder who may no longer be active.
• For all players: Ranked Rating gains/losses will depend slightly more on Win/Loss, and slightly less on the exact round differential of the match.
  • Context: Players experience too wide of RR gains/losses from match to match based on the round differential (one win could give 12RR, and the next win could give 20RR). This change will reduce that swing of RR in gains and losses.
  • Winning is still the most important way to climb!
• For players whose ranks are far away from their MMR: RR gains will depend more on individual performance, instead of round differential. You should also see your rank and MMR converge faster.
  • Context: Players reported feeling like a good game did not reward them adequately. Conversely, they felt that a bad game punished them too harshly during their ranked climb.
  • If a player’s rank is below their actual MMR, they will be rewarded more for a good game. If a player’s rank is above their MMR, they will not be harshly penalized if they lose, but perform well in that match.

GAMEPLAY SYSTEMS COMPETITIVE UPDATES

• Reworked the way guns process Zoom inputs for ADS and Scopes when using Toggle Zoom.
  • There should now be fewer cases that can lead to Zoom disagreements between the Client and Server under adverse network conditions like packet loss and ping jitter.
  • The Toggle Zoom feature can now buffer Zoom Inputs earlier than before. Additionally, Players can now buffer multiple zoom-level transitions at once.

MAP UPDATES

New Map: Lotus

• Lotus is a new 3-site map that offers a variety of rotation options. Unlock the secrets behind the doors of these ancient ruins.
• Please note that the Lotus only queue will only be playable in Swiftplay mode for one week and then goes into the competitive and Unrated map rotation in Patch 6.1.

Split

Split is returning with a few tweaks to make attacking a little easier.

• A Main
  • First engagement area for Attackers has been widened and a small ledge added for mixups.
• A Main Box
  • Boost box next to the orb has been reduced to give attackers a new position looking into A site
• A Rafters:
  • The under-over area has been removed, making this much easier to deal with as an Attacker.
• A Tower:
  • The back section of the Tower has been flattened to make the fight to Ramps easier for both teams.
• Mid Bottom:
  • Players can now silently drop down Mid platform.
  • The trick-jump up onto Mid box has also been removed for simplicity.
• B Tower:
  • Defender side jump up box has been removed to simplify the space.
• B Rope Pocket:
  • The hard corner here has been smoothed out to make clearing the spot easier.
• Map Rotation
  • Please note that Breeze and Bind have now been removed from competitive and Unrated map rotation, but are still playable in all other modes.
• Omen’s Dark Cover (E)
  • Dark Cover placed inside walls will now fall to the height of nearby ground.
    • One-way smokes are a part of VALORANT, but they are difficult to play against. Therefore, they will be limited to intentional and understandable areas.
• Agent Utility
  • Most Agent utility (except for molotovs which have not yet been implemented) will now damage the Lotus breakable door. In addition, the utilities will damage the wall plates on Ascent and Haven.

PROGRESSION UPDATES

• Variant Favorites are here!
  • The new patch added the ability to favorite specific variants of your gun skins (along with some UX/UI changes to better support that). Now, when you favorite a specific variant, only your favorited variants will enter the potential pool of weapons you can take into game if you’ve equipped the Random Favorite for that weapon type.
  • On release, your existing favorite weapon skins will now have all unlocked variants favorited to maintain consistency with current behavior.

BUG FIXES

Cosmetics

• Odin’s ammo belt will no longer visually pop into a vertical position when swapping gun buddies in the Model Viewer.

Maps

• Ascent
  • Fixed a bug when breaking the door at Market by using an ability on the wall to the side of it.

Agents

• Fixed a bug where Cypher’s Trapwire (C) could be placed through Sage’s Barrier Orb (C).
• Fixed objects like traps that were not being damaged if they are placed in molotov patches that are already active.
• Fixed bug where you could see Skye’s Seekers (X) on the minimap while they were still invisible if you had line of sight to their hidden location.
• Fixed a bug where suppression would not properly interrupt Fade’s Prowler (C) control.
• Fixed a bug where Viper was able to deactivate her ultimate, Viper’s Pit (X), while suppressed.
• Various gameplay damage interactions fixed:
  • Killjoy’s Lockdown (X) now properly takes damage from all abilities.
  • Fixed Skye’s Trailblazer (Q) dealing damage to enemy Skye’s Trailblazer (Q) and Sova’s Owl Drone (C).
  • Fixed Sova’s Hunter’s Fury (X) and Breach’s Aftershock (C) not damaging Raze’s Blast Pack (Q).
  • Fixed Phoenix’s Blaze (C) not dealing damage to Harbor’s Cove (Q), Raze’s Blast Pack (Q), Reyna’s Leer (C), Sova’s Recon Bolt (E), and KAY/O’s ZERO/POINT (E).
  • Fixed Brimstone’s Orbital Strike (X) not dealing damage to Harbor’s Cove (Q).
  • Fixed Breach’s Aftershock (C), Raze’s Showstopper (X) and Paint Shells (E), damaging allied Killjoy’s Nanoswarm (C).
  • Fixed Sova Hunter’s Fury (X) damaging allied Fade’s Haunt (E).
  • Fixed Killjoy’s Nanoswarm (C), Phoenix’s Hot Hands (E) and Blaze (C) not dealing damage to Chamber’s Rendezvous (E) and Trademark (C).

VALORANT Patch 6.0 Competitive Update Verdict

Along with the new map and all the bug fixes, the VALORANT Patch 6.0 competitive update should help reward players fairly based on their performance in each match. So, jump in, and enjoy the new Lotus map!