Riot recently took a break to address the issues players encountered in VALORANT Patch 1.11, and now they’re back with Patch 1.14. This patch brings changes to Sage’s Barrier Orb, updates to Icebox, a new Christmas-themed game mode called Snowball Fight, and more.
If you want to see the full list of patch notes, you can check them here.
Sage
Sage’s Barrier Orb has received a couple of updates. It can no longer be placed during the Buy Phase, and once fortified, the Barrier no longer loses health over time. It will start to deteriorate only a few seconds before it expires.
Icebox
Riot has made some changes to Icebox. The A Belt area’s height has been reduced and connected through a ramp to the platform below, making it more in line with the rest of the map’s verticality. They’ve also added a see-through gate and made pathing more predictable for attackers and defenders. The yellow container’s height has also been reduced for easier targeting.
The changes aim to simplify the A site and reduce the height of the most vertical areas on Icebox.
Snowball Fight
Snowball Fight is a limited-time Christmas game mode with a 5v5 Team Deathmatch format. The first team to reach 50 kills wins. You can respawn, and your weapon of choice is a snowball launcher. There are power-ups available in the form of gifts that spawn around the map. Skates power-up allows you to move faster and jump higher. Check it out on the holiday version of Icebox for the first week.
Competitive Updates
The Act Rank Badge display is back in-game player cards. Performance issues have been fixed, and optimizations have been made on death. The Career page has been updated to separate Match History and Act Ranks into their own sections.
Store Updates
The Night Market is now open, where players have a chance to get discounted Select, Deluxe, or Premium weapon skins.
Social Updates
Requirements to unlock Competitive play have changed. Instead of playing 20 Unrated matches, players now need to win 10 Unrated matches. In-game reports now have a text field for additional information. You can also add friends via the in-game escape menu, and the social panel sorting logic has been improved.
Game Systems Updates
Tournament organizers can now use a manual recovery tool to remake matches from a specific round. Cinematic cameras have been added to all maps for observers to use. Observers can follow projectiles fired by players and can switch between different observer perspectives. Minimal Broadcast HUD is available for broadcasting, and observers can now lock their view to match another observer.
Bug Fixes
Some bugs have been fixed, including Killjoy’s turret placement, Omen teleporting past the Buy phase barrier, push-to-talk key triggering voice chat, and queue restrictions resetting for some players.
That covers the highlights of Patch 1.14 for VALORANT. Be sure to check out the full patch notes for more details.