A New Day for VALORANT: Patch 5.12 Updates Now Live!
The long-awaited Patch 5.12 for VALORANT is finally here! All the balance updates and gameplay changes are now officially live in the game as of today.
These updates were initially released as part of the latest public beta environment (PBE) testing period over the past weekend. The scale of this patch is massive, with significant changes impacting the abilities of 15 different VALORANT agents, among other adjustments.
Chamber Changes Take Center Stage
One of the most notable changes in Patch 5.12 is the comprehensive update made to Chamber.
For those unfamiliar with these highly anticipated changes, here’s a brief summary. Rendezvous now requires only one anchor for teleportation, bringing Chamber back to the anchor itself as long as they are within the radius. This significantly reduces Chamber’s teleportation distance, making it easier for opponents to track him down and punish aggressive Chamber players.
Additionally, Chamber can now teleport at different heights from the anchor, as the previous height restrictions have been removed.
Other changes to Chamber include a range restriction on his Trademark ability, making it consistent with other sentinel utilities. Furthermore, Trademark can now be recalled mid-round and redeployed after a 30-second cooldown. His Tour De Force fire rate has been significantly reduced, while the effectiveness of his Headhunter spray and the Slow effect on Trademark and his ultimate have also been diminished.
But Chamber isn’t the only agent receiving adjustments in Patch 5.12.
Breach, KAY/O, and Viper’s ultimate costs have increased from seven to eight points. Several agents with deployable utility, like Chamber’s Trademark or Killjoy’s Nanoswarm, have received health boosts up to 20 points due to the universal damage that abilities now cause to enemy objects.
Harbor’s water walls have been buffed, Viper’s Viper’s Pit ultimate has been nerfed, and several other agents have experienced minor cost or health updates to their abilities.
Introducing Swiftplay: A New Game Mode
Patch 5.12 also brings the beta version of a new game mode called Swiftplay. This mode offers a shorter version of the unrated gameplay experience, with the first team to win five rounds in halves of four being declared the winner.
This new game mode will be available in VALORANT until early January.