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VALORANT Patch Notes 2.03, New “Escalation” Gamemode Arrives

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VALORANT Weapons Guide

It’s been a long two weeks of being mowed down by a Frenzy or Stinger, now VALORANT Patch 2.03 has a solution as these overpowered weapons gets some respective adjustments.

Patch 2.03 also comes with a brand new fast-paced 5v5 game mode where you must race through progressively less-lethal loadouts with your team.

Agent Updates

VALORANT PATCH 2.03
Credit: Riot Games
  • Reyna
    • Maximum Devour and Dismiss charges reduced 4 >>> 2
    • Slain enemies that Reyna has damaged in the last 3 seconds now drop Soul Orbs, even if Reyna does not land the killing shot
    • Cost of Devour and Dismiss charges increased 100 >>> 200
  • Yoru
    • Gatecrash
      • Gatecrash now displays the range at which the tether can be seen by enemies while moving on the minimap
      • The range that enemies are able to hear the audio of a Gatecrash teleport is now displayed on the minimap
    • Dimensional Drift
      • While in Dimensional Drift, Yoru’s minimap is now visible
      • Enemies within Yoru’s vision range, while in Dimensional Drift, are now revealed to ally minimaps, as well
      • Dimensional Drift can no longer body block enemies
  • Brimstone
    • Incendiary(Q)
      • The audio of the Incendiary’s lingering fire zone will be easier to hear when other actions and sounds occur nearby.
  • Phoenix
    • Hot Hands(E)
      • The audio of the Hot Hands lingering fire zone will be easier to hear when other actions and sounds occur nearby.

Weapon Updates

Credit: Riot Games
  • Marshal
    • Movement speed when zoomed is now at 90% of unzoomed movement speed (previously, zoomed movement speed was 76% of unzoomed)
    • Price decrease 1100 >>> 1000
    • Zoom magnification increased 2.5x >>> 3.5x
  • Stinger (Full Auto Fire)
    • Price increased from 1000 >>> 1100
    • Full auto fire rate reduced from 18 >>> 16
    • Full auto fire now reaches max spread at bullet 4, instead of bullet 6
    • Adjusted pitch (vertical) recoil curve for full auto, recoil climbs more aggressively past the 3rd bullet
  • Stinger (Burst Fire)
    • Adjusted pitch (vertical) recoil to be more aggressive after the first burst
    • Added more error on bursts after the first one
    • Improved recovery time on burst mode from .45 >>> .4
  • Frenzy
    • Price Increased from 400 >>> 500

Mode Updates

VALORANT PATCH 2.03
Credit: Riot Games

Escalation arrives in VALORANT PATCH 2.03. This is a quick (approx. 7–9 min.) and fast-paced 5v5 game mode where you must race through progressively less-lethal loadouts with your team.

The loadout gamut varies from match to match, but always features a mix of both weapons and abilities. The same list of loadouts is always used by both teams throughout the match.

Competitive Updates

  • AFK-ing in Competitive games for a prolonged period (currently defined as 6 or more rounds) will now result in a penalty of 8 rank rating points
  • Act Rank Badges will now be based on your highest rank win, instead of your ninth-best win

Bug Fixes

  • Fixed issue where Yoru’s decoy had slightly different sounding footsteps than Yoru himself
  • Fixed issue where the in-world indicator for Cypher’s Cyber Cage disappeared if it took damage
  • Fixed issue where Sova’s Owl Drone could clip through specific map geo and view the other side
  • Fixed issue where players already affected by nearsight would momentarily see inside smokes that should instead nearsight them
  • Fixed issue where Skye’s Seekers would no longer work if she was killed at a very specific moment while casting them
  • Fixed issue where Yoru was unable to equip a weapon or ability if he cancelled out of Dimensional Drift right as its buffs activated
  • Killjoy’s Lockdown can no longer be placed inside Sage’s Barrier Orb in some instances
  • If Barrier Orb is placed on top of Killjoy’s ult, the section of the wall covering the ult will now be destroyed.
  • Fixed issue where teleporting to Yoru’s Gatecrash right as it expires caused him to fall through the map to his death (rip)
  • Fixed issue where Yoru’s Bait could sometimes fall through the floor when the stationary version was placed
  • Fixed issue where Sova could sometimes get the voice over for Hunter’s Fury to play, even though it isn’t used, by trying to equip the Owl Drone at the same time
  • The End of Game screen will no longer display “Average Abilities Cast per Round” as 0
  • Fixed a couple input bugs around possessing and unpossessing objects (Cypher camera, Sova drone, etc.) in the same frame which lead to locking all inputs or locking view direction
  • Sorry Cypher mains—thanks for all the reports!
  • Fixed an issue where certain settings would not display while in game
  • Your player icon color on the minimap is now white if you turn on any color blind settings
  • Fixed a few input issues that were causing players to get stuck using orbs or planting the Spike

That’s all the changes in VALORANT Patch 2.03. Take a look at the rest of our VALORANT content here.

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AUTHOR

Shay Robson is a Co-Founder of Gamezo. Based in Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK, he's also a Journalist for Dexerto covering news across all verticals including gaming, esports, and entertainment.