VALORANT players are speaking up about the neverending issue of smurfing and throwing, with many agreeing Riot Games needs to make one simple change to combat the problem. If you play enough VALORANT, you’ve encountered smurfs who one-tap you before you have a chance to react or players who intentionally sabotage the team and throw rounds. Both types of players are frustrating to play with, and it’s an issue that never seems to go away. In a May 2 Reddit thread, players discussed why they believe smurfing and throwing continue to be such a huge issue and what Riot could do to minimize it ..read more

VALORANT players recently discovered that several of the game’s weapon skins, including the newest Mystbloom skin, allowed them to see the outline of enemy players through walls. In response, Riot temporarily disabled some of the upgrade levels for a handful of skins today. “Some levels” have currently been disabled for Mystbloom, Magepunk 3, Imperium, and Primordium skins, and a hotfix for the newest Mystbloom skin has been scheduled for deployment later today. Riot is currently working on fixes for the other VALORANT skin lines ..read more

VALORANT’s Episode Eight Act Three battle pass features plenty of neat goodies to work toward, with one in particular boasting a very interesting backstory. If you’ve already checked out the battle pass for the new act, you might’ve seen the “Radiant Reaction” player card as the free reward on the fifth page. The artwork features Reyna swinging her katana in epic fashion, and at first glance, you might think it just looks like a cool scene out of a comic. But as it turns out, this moment comes from an unbelievable clip where a Reyna player destroyed a flying KAY/O knife with their katana ..read more

Cypher received several ability nerfs alongside Viper in VALORANT’s latest update, but no one seems to be on board with the changes to his Spycam. Cypher and Viper mains took a big L to open Episode Eight Act Three, with VALORANT Patch 8.08 delivering a swathe of changes. While Viper’s nerfs impact all of her abilities (aside from her ultimate), Cypher’s nerfs weren’t nearly as lethal on the surface. First, his Trapwires now have a longer re-arm time, and the slow doesn’t last as long. This tweak is reasonable, considering how much stronger the sentinel became after those trips were buffed in ..read more

Eight months after Sunset’s launch, a new VALORANT map is all set to be revealed in the year’s next international VCT event, as Riot Games indicated with an Easter egg in Episode Eight, Act Three’s poster.  Flaunted at the end of Act Three’s announcement trailer which was released on April 30, the poster features Omen, Clove, and Iso in front of a mysterious background, and announces the upcoming map’s reveal window—VALORANT Masters Shanghai. Of course, it didn’t take too long for players to start weaving together possible features of the new map based on the poster ..read more

Fed up with VALORANT’s remake system, TenZ agrees AFK penalties need changes to tackle the rise of queue dodgers. TenZ returned to streaming on April 26 and in his first competitive match of the day, the enemy team’s Reyna immediately went AFK and abandoned the game, allowing his opponents to start a remake vote. While TenZ is usually composed, he said he was disappointed with constant queue dodgers in the North American region, agreeing with a viewer that AFK penalties should be increased ..read more

Riot has never been very empathetic toward the VALORANT community when nerfing agents, and it’s no different with the latest Patch 8.08, which nerfs one of the shooter’s best agents, Viper, to the ground. As expected, players can’t wrap their heads around the changes. After Riot announced the patch notes for VALORANT’s Episode Eight, Act Three on April 30, players wasted no time calling the developer out for targeting Viper so frequently and “unnecessarily.” From lamenting Viper’s supposed “death” in the meta to accusing Riot of “unfairness,” the fandom ..read more

As one of the most popular tactical shooters in the world, VALORANT is notoriously known for its unfair remake system. People leaving games will always happen, but the community is getting increasingly vocal about this broken feature. On April 29, a player on VALORANT’s subreddit proposed an interesting solution that could change the game for the better. By changing the remake system to act on its own, the game would automatically reset after the second round.  ..read more

VALORANT Patch 8.08 may not have a long list of new changes or exciting additions like a new weapon, agent, or map, but it is easily one of the most impactful updates in a long time. The focal point of Patch 8.08 is the collection of changes implemented to Viper, who has notably been the focal point of the competitive VALORANT meta for a long time. These changes will make Viper’s utility less powerful and overwhelming, and should drastically change how she’s used and how often she’s used in competitive, Premier, and pro play ..read more

If you, like most VALORANT players, are tired of being tormented by Cypher’s invincible trap setups, Patch 8.08 finally bears good news. With Episode Eight, Act Two, Riot Games has added some much-needed balancing changes to the sentinel’s kit, toning down his dominance for good.   Starting VALORANT Patch 8.08, Cypher’s Trapwires now take longer to rearm after trigger, as well as inflict its Slow effect for a shorter duration than before. In addition, his Spy Cam plays a noticeable audio cue when Cypher uses it to watch enemies. Well, Riot clearly heard what the community had to say ..read more