Valorant Update 4.09 Live, Patch Notes Released

Riot Games has released a new update for Valorant, bringing the game up to version 4.09. Unsurprisingly, the new update features a handful of bug fixes and improvements to the UI, but some big changes have also been made to the game's Agents. Fade has seen some minor alterations, but version 4.09 has taken Chamber in a drastic new direction. Riot Games has already stated that it plans to keep a close eye on how his changes impact the overall game, so they could conceivably change back at some point. Full patch notes from the game's official website can be found below:

AGENT UPDATES

FADE

• Nightfall (X) – You should now see a decreased amount of flickering textures on diagonal walls when casting Fade's ultimate. Also added VFX for additional clarity and visual impact.
• Seize (Q) – VFX change to the orb for a more dynamic presentation in 1p and Agent select

CHAMBER

Right now, Chamber's Trademark outperforms other Sentinel tools in both reliability and power, which feels inappropriate given the amount of defensive combat tools Chamber has spread across the rest of his kit. We believe Chamber's identity is defined by his unique weapons and defensive combat mobility, so we are decreasing his level of global flank protection/information and increasing counterplay on a single premium trap. This means Chamber will have to make a choice based on if he wants to play selfishly around his Trademark, or place it to help his teammates instead.

A quick note about Sentinels: When we think about the Sentinel role, we think about its overall ability to keep map control and defend space. We believe that Sentinels and Sentinel players should have many options and methods to control and defend, whether it's through the use of Sage's reactive slow abilities, Cypher's flank-watching gadgets, or defensively-oriented combat and guns like Chamber. Like all our Agents, it's important to carve out sharp strengths and weaknesses for Chamber in the roster. If you take him for his weapon arsenal and disengage, you should feel as if you're giving up a strength—like traps or stall—that his peers excel at. As usual, all eyes are now on Chamber changes, and we'll adjust if we see him suffer disproportionately on defense relative to attack. —Jay Watford, Lead Agent Designer, and Dan Hardison, Game Designer

Trademark

• Cost increased 150>>>200
• Charges reduced 2>>>1
• Audio range increase

COMPETITIVE UPDATES

• Party Lead Transfer — You can now change the lead of your party
  • Current party leader can right click the player name they want to transfer the responsibility to, and choose "Make Leader" in the drop down menu.
• A number of small tweaks and updates made to the UI

ESPORTS FEATURES

• Added Observer ability to toggle Scoreboard on/off

BUGS

AGENTS

• Fixed a bug where Jett's Tailwind would sometimes fail to cast when used immediately after curving a Cloudburst smoke
• Fixed a bug where Jett's ultimate indicator would sometimes stay active after firing all kunai

GAMEPLAY SYSTEMS

Fixed an issue where an unintended 'use' input could happen after abilities such as Skye's Trailblazer or Sova's Owl Drone is activated while using the 'use' key

It will be interesting to see how fans react to these changes! Already, many players are queastioning whether Chamber should still be designated a Sentinel, but the patch notes show how Riot views that role, and why it feels Chamber still qualifies. Hopefully, the changes in update 4.09 will be beneficial for all players!

Valorant is now available on PC. You can check out all of our previous coverage of the game right here.

What do you think of the latest changes in Valorant? Do you think the changes to Chamber will be beneficial? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp to talk all things gaming!