New Valorant Patch Tweaks Shotguns

Valorant Patch 1.06 is out now, and while there are certainly other fixes and the like included, it's fair to say that this one is all about shotguns. More specifically, shotguns in the air. Essentially, Riot Games believes that shotguns are overall in a healthy position but it wants to curb certain behaviors where folks are relying on them and their accuracy while in the air. As such, the spread has been increased.

You can check out the full patch notes for Valorant Patch 1.06 below:

AGENT UPDATES

The audio and visuals for blinding effects (Phoenix Curveball and Breach Flashpoint) should better indicate when to turn away, and when it's safe to look again

WEAPON UPDATES

All shotguns updated to be less accurate when fired while in the air

• Spread penalty when in air increased .5 >>> 1.25
• While shotguns are doing well in situations they are supposed to, there's been overly frustrating moments where people are accurate with these weapons while in the air. We hope to curb some of those encounters while still making them possible if you catch an opponent at a short distance. We'll also be investigating more potential changes to shotguns now that we're rested.

QUALITY OF LIFE

In Collection menu screens, the "Show Owned Only" toggle now persists between screens and client restarts.

BUG FIXES

Potential fix for the bug where the player's HUD sometimes disappears.

Fixed a bug in deathmatch match history & match details where ties between 3 or more players were not displaying as a tie, instead showing the lowest rank as if they were not tied (so a 3 way tie for 2nd would show 4TH PLACE instead of 2ND PLACE (TIED)).

Fixed a bug that allowed progress towards competitive matchmaking for new players by forfeiting unrated games.

• Forfeited games will not count towards the Competitive requirement for the team who forfeited.

Fixed a bug where '' would appear in the chat log.

Fixed a bug where strange player names could appear in chat when managing party invites

Fixed a bug where some players were missing rewards after reaching the end of Agent Contracts or the Act Battlepass. Playing a game should grant the missing rewards, including missing rewards from Act 1.

Valorant is currently available, free to play, on PC. The game is currently in the midst of Act II. You can check out all of our previous coverage of Riot Games' free-to-play shooter right here.

What do you think about the new patch for Valorant? Are you bummed to see shotguns nerfed like this? Let us know in the comments, or hit me up directly on Twitter at @rollinbishop to talk about all things gaming!