Valorant’s first patch since the release of Pearl bring buffs to several lesser-loved Agents in the roster. The Valorant 5.01 patch notes are detailed in full below, but we’ll run you through the highlights first.
It’s buff season for several agent in the 5.01 update, starting with poor old Phoenix. The hot-headed duelist has had a boost to the length of his Curveball flashes, as well as a reduction to the flash windup time. He’ll also ready his weapon faster when you release his Blaze wall and regain his original armor after using his ultimate. Phoenix mains rise up?
Yoru and Kay/O are next up, with the former getting a two-second increase to his Ult and a reduced exit time. The robot warrior, meanwhile, has had his FRAG/ment grenade adjusted to reduce its range but ensure it deals damage. He’s also had his Ult adjusted so enemies receive fewer audio cues.
Those are the highlights, so let’s get stuck in with the full Valorant 5.01 patch notes supplied by developer Riot Games.
Valorant 5.01 patch notes
© Riot Games
Phoenix
We believe Phoenix's Curveball is the cornerstone of his kit, and as we explored adjustment options it became clear that Curveball being more powerful unlocks his kit as a whole. So we wanted to assess Phoenix in a world where Curveball is more competitive with the rest of the ecosystem to get a sense for the impact of the changes. We view Phoenix as an aggressive entry Agent, so the additional Run It Back and Blaze changes are intended to support his proactive intentions when taking space or fights early on into rounds.
Curveball (Q)
- Flash Max duration increased 1.1s >>> 1.5s
- Flash Windup decreased .7s >>> .5s
Blaze (C)
- Phoenix will now equip his weapon earlier if he stops bending his wall
Run it Back (X)
- Phoenix will now spawn at the marker with the amount of shields he had when the ability was cast
Yoru
We’ve noticed you Yoru players having a bit of friction achieving the dream of setting up a master plan while in ultimate. We’re hoping these changes will reduce a bit of that problem, rewarding you for using your flash during ultimate, while still preventing unhealthy play patterns that leave enemies without counterplay.
Dimensional Drift (X)
- Increased duration of ultimate 10s >>> 12s
- Reduced unequip time 1.2s >>> 0.8s
Kay/O
KAY/O hasn’t had much of a quality of life pass since we’ve last had some changes so we wanted to reduce some pain and help you access more parts of the kit that haven’t felt as accessible.
FRAG/ment (C)
- Zone diameter reduced 10m >>> 8m
- Damage now applies without needing line of sight
- We’ve noticed a lot of inconsistencies with how the FRAG/ment is communicating the actual damage zone on the ability. We wanted to be consistent with how the visuals were showing the damage zone, so we’ve removed the line of sight requirement to apply damage.
NULL/cmd (X)
- Now, only allies will hear the full channel audio of reviving KAY/O, while downed
- Enemies will only hear a short audio cue when the revive has started, matching a similar gameplay pattern to playing around ultimate orbs or tapping the bomb
Gameplay systems
- New Smurf Detection functionality (North America)
- This addition to our smurf detection systems is designed to make sure that new players (that means all new accounts) are matched up with players of the correct skill level, much faster than before.
- We’re testing this change in North America first, to make sure everything is working correctly before a global rollout.
- Testing begins the week of July 11th, 2022
- Improved collision behavior when walking next to or behind another player.
- This should heavily reduce the amount of jitteriness experienced when moving close to your allies (rushing a site as a group or moving out of spawn should feel better!).
Game modes
Spike Rush
- Twin Hunters in Spike Rush will now damage destructible walls
Bugs
Performance
- Fixed an issue where having the Raw Input Buffer setting enabled caused scrolling in chat or friends list to go directly to the top or bottom
Yoru
- Fixed a bug with Dimensional Drift where the invulnerability kicked in later than intended after it was cast
Sova
- Fixed issue with Sova’s Shock Bolt not damaging enemy traps and other game objects (other than players)
Fade
- Fixed issue where Fade’s Haunt would sometimes reveal enemies that were on the other side of a thin wall
Those were the full Valorant 5.01 patch notes. Still getting used to the addition of Pearl? We have some Sova lineups you might find useful…