The first patch of 2024 has arrived, introducing Episode 8 Act 1. To kick off the new year, Riot have added a new gun, Outlaw, as well as announced a new map rotation, Icebox and Lotus updates, as well as Deadlock and Killjoy changes.

To debut Episode 8, Riot have also released two videos. Yesterday, the Episode 8 cinematic which shines some light on Omen lore. Today, the day of the patch, a gameplay video which showcases the new Outlaw weapon, as well as some of the Act 1 skins.

The full patch notes have been reproduced below. Images of the Icebox and Lotus changes are available on Riot's blog post.

GENERAL UPDATES

  • The Gun Buddy Carousel should now appear alphabetical by name. Hopefully, it is much easier to find what you want!

AGENT UPDATES

Deadlock

Continuing in the direction of the previous 7.10 GravNet (C) changes, we're looking to build upon the unique strengths of Deadlock's two other basic abilities: Sonic Sensor (Q) and Barrier Mesh (E).

For Sonic Sensor (Q), we're increasing the reliability of the concuss once triggered by shortening its windup time, while also increasing flexibility by allowing you to recall and redeploy it in round.

  • Sonic Sensor (Q)
    • Sonic Sensors are now recallable in round.
    • Sonic Sensor's pickup distance increased 12m >>> 27m
    • Decreased time to concuss once triggered 1.0s >>> 0.5s
    • Decreased time for enemies to destroy Sonic Sensor once triggered 0.65s >>> 0.5s
    • Deadlock and her allies can now hear Sonic Sensor's audio lightly when they are in its area of effect.

For Barrier Mesh (E), we increased the max length of the barrier walls to allow it to divide much larger spaces than is possible with comparable utility and make it more reliable at fully blocking chokes when deployed quickly.

  • Barrier Mesh (E)
    • Increased the max length Barrier Mesh walls 6m >>> 10m

Killjoy

The amount of coverage on Killjoy's Turret (E) outshines other defensive recon tools when paired with the Turret's other strengths, such as its autonomous detection and long range vision. Reducing its vision cone should push Killjoy to make clearer choices about what area of the map her Turret will cover, while the Turret's updated visuals should aid you in quickly understanding what areas it will protect.

  • Turret (E)
    • Vision radius reduced 180 degrees >>> 100 degrees
    • Added a representation of the Turret's vision cone on Killjoy's minimap when she is placing the Turret.
    • Added VFX and updated the Turret's animations to communicate the Turret's new vision radius.

MAP UPDATES

Doors Refactor

  • We have upgraded the tech behind our interactable doors in order to polish some of your interactions with others and with Agent abilities.

Icebox

Icebox is back with a few changes to shake up Mid, B Green and B Orange. Our goal with these changes is to add value and impact to Mid for either team controlling it and simplify pathing toward B Site through B Orange and B Green to make fights more predictable.

Attacker Side Spawn

  • Storage container has been added on the left side to block line of sight from Attacker Spawn to B Tube.

B Green

  • The hanging container in B Green was creating a lot of complexity for both fights on the ground and people boosting up top. Moving the container out of the way should make combat here more manageable.

B Tube Exterior

  • We felt that Mid could use more value for either team holding it. We've added a window toward the end of B Tube that overlooks Mid and can see towards A Site and Defender Spawn. It allows Attackers to assert a lot of pressure on rotators and Defenders should be able to hold more space when holding Mid from B Kitchen or Mid Boiler.

B Tube Interior

  • Added two boxes stacked flush to the wall

B Snow Pile

  • There were multiple parallel paths leading from Mid to B Site. To reduce timings and create more predictable fights we've removed the B Orange route closest to B Kitchen.
  • Adjusted the snowpile leading up to B Kitchen so you can now silently drop off the boxes.

Lotus

Attackers have felt fairly overwhelming to Defenders on Lotus. Because of this, we're adding more options by adjusting neutral spaces and making some quality of life updates across the map so that Defenders can better hold sites.

A Main

  • More room has been added to A Main along with a set of boxes to give Defenders some more options to fight for A Rubble control.
  • The double stack of boxes outside A Stairs has been changed to non-penetrable to reduce the likelihood of being spammed.

A Link

  • More room has been added near the breakable door. It was always a little awkward to fight out of the broken door, but now it should be easier to fight out from inside the connector room.

A Hut

  • A Hut has been closed to help give some more readability to the plant site, making it easier to retake. A cubby has also been added to the back of A Hut for more defender options to hold the site.

B Site

  • More room and boxes have been added to B Site to add some defensibility closer to the choke on site.

C Site

  • The Spike plant zone and the stairs in C Bend have been adjusted to allow for more diversity of Spike plant locations in C Site.
  • Boxes on the back of site have been adjusted.

C Bend

  • More room and boxes have been added in C Main to also add some defensibility closer to the front of Main.
  • Boxes have been added to C Bend along with some extra room to fight from.

Rotating Doors

  • Rotating doors now take 10 seconds to fully complete their spin, up from 8 previously. 8 seconds was not enough time to use utility through the doors or fight, and make it through the doors on the same rotation. The extra time should allow for more fights to happen through the doors, and most everyone to get through the door on time.
    • Increased the time it takes for rotating doors to complete their rotation 8s >>> 10s

MODES UPDATE

Team Deathmatch

We felt that the Sheriff is overperforming in the Stage 2 weapon ecosystem and, as a result, other loadouts have been pushed to the side. This change aims to allow other weapons to be more viable when in an engagement against a Sheriff.

  • Stage 2 - Sheriff Loadout
    • Heavy Shield >>> Light Shield

Map Rotation

  • All modes (except Team Deathmatch and Custom games) will use the Competitive map rotation.
  • Current rotation: Icebox, Lotus, Sunset, Breeze, Ascent, Bind, Split

Premier Updates

  • Team Captain Role
    • We've added a secondary management role to rosters called Team Captain. Team Captains can help with team management including inviting and removing team members. Captains cannot delete the team or kick the Team Owner out. Team Owners can promote and demote a Team Captain.
  • Standings
    • You can now view standings in other divisions and for previous Stages of Premier using the drop down menus on the top left of the Standings Tab.
  • Divisions
    • You can now see which division you are seeded into before you play your first match.
  • Playoff Qualification
    • The threshold to qualify for this Stage is back to the standard 675 Premier Score.
  • EMEA Zone Updates
    • We've updated our Zones to support the VCT Challengers League Path to Promotion in EMEA. To learn more about how to qualify for Challengers Open Qualifiers and how Premier integrates into esports in 2024, check out this article.~

WEAPONS UPDATES

  • The Outlaw goes live!

GAMEPLAY SYSTEMS UPDATES

Starting in Patch 8.0, VALORANT will support third party spatialization software for headphones.

Spatial Audio is virtual surround sound for headphones. This software processes sound to help you differentiate sounds that are in front, behind, or even above you, while listening on headphones. For example, figuring out if those footsteps were in front of you or behind you. We are excited to announce that Patch 8.0 will include official support for 3rd party spatial audio solutions! This gives you choices beyond the HRTF option which was already available in VALORANT's audio settings. In Patch 7.06, we made changes to the audio engine that caused issues for those of you who were already using third party spatialization software, which we did not support at the time. When 3rd party spatialization software was active in Windows settings in 7.06, sound levels went haywire and our only solution at the time was to guide those being affected to turn third party spatialization software off for the time being. We implemented a stereo-only fix in 7.07 that was compatible with Spatial Audio, but did not allow it to virtualize surround sound. In Patch 8.0, the Speaker Configuration in VALORANT's audio settings will default to stereo, but you can enjoy all of the features that these spatial audio solutions provide if you choose to opt in by setting the Speaker Configuration to Auto-Detect.

How can I experience Spatial Audio in VALORANT?

  • Step 1: Open VALORANT's audio settings and change the Speaker Configuration from Stereo to Auto-Detect.
  • Step 2: Turn on Spatial Audio in your Windows settings. Open the Sound control panel, right click your playback device, choose Properties, and go to the Spatial sound tab. This is where you can turn spatialization software on and select different spatial sound formats.

Riot have also left a FAQ in the patch notes regarding spatial audio support, which can be found here.

BUG FIXES

  • General
    • Fixed a bug with Raw Input Buffer where swapped primary/secondary mouse keys in Windows mouse settings was not being respected.

KNOWN ISSUES

  • Team Deathmatch
    • When the Outlaw is picked up from a weapon spawner, it does not have reserve ammunition. We are currently working on a fix.