Valorant Episode 3 launched earlier today with one of the largest game updates for Valorant released by Riot for some time. The major patch addresses all of the game’s existing Agents, as well as making some small changes to the way that Agents work in general. Astra, Breach, and Skye were singled out for the most attention this time around.
Valorant Episode 3: Existing Agent Updates
In the Valorant Episode 3 update, all Agents have received several general changes. The first of these is that all signature abilities will now provide one charge per round rather than accumulating charges each round. This prevents players from stockpiling charges from earlier rounds. Charges gained from cooldowns will now always be temporary. Finally, another general change is that all players should recover their visibility a bit faster after being blinded.
- Astra
- Astra’s Nova Pulse (Q) and Gravity Well (C) abilities have both had their cooldowns increased from 12 to 25 seconds.
- Her Stars/Astral Form (X) ability has also been changed. Her Stars will now be inactive when she places them during the buy phase. When barriers drop, these Stars will charge for 1.4 seconds before they become usable. On the Attack, Astra will now be able to see the location of the Spike in her Astral Form. The recall cooldown has gone up from 8 to 15 seconds. Furthermore, the signature charges granted by the ability have gone down from 2 to 1. The cost per Star has also gone down from 200 to 150.
- Breach
- Breach’s Flashpoint (Q) ability has had its total number of charges reduced from 3 to 2, and its cost increased from 200 to 250. The projectile spread has also gone down from 2500 to 2000.
- His Fault Line (E) ability has had its full charge time go down from 1.5 to 1 second, along with its telegrath windup time (1.3 down to 1 second), and unequip time after firing (1 to 0.7 seconds). Its width has also gone up from 600 to 750, while its concussion duration has gone up from 3 to 3.5 seconds. Finally, its cooldown time will now be 40 seconds, rather than 35.
- Breach’s After Shock (C) will now explode 3 times, each separated by 0.6 seconds. Each blast will deal 60 damage with no damage fall-off. The radius of the explosion has gone up from 260 to 300. The unequip time after firing has gone down from 1.1 to 0.9 seconds, and its cost has doubled to 200.
- Finally, the width of all explosions caused by Rolling Thunder (X) has gone up to 2300.
- Brimstone
- Brimstone’s Incendiary (Q) ability has had its cost go up from 200 to 250.
- Cypher
- Cypher’s Neural Theft (X) ultimate ability should now cost players 6 ultimate points instead of 7.
- Jett
- Jett’s Updraft (Q) ability has had a cost increase from 100 to 150.
- Her Tailwind (E) ability will no longer break Cypher’s Trapwire.
- Her Cloudburst (C) has also had a cost increase, with its cost rising from 100 to 200.
- Finally, her Bladestorm (X) ultimate will now cost 7 ultimate points rather than 6.
- Killjoy
- Killjoy’s Alarmbot (Q) has had a major cooldown increase after she picks it up, from 7 seconds to 20.
- Similarly, the cooldown after pickup for her Turret (E) has gone up from 10 seconds to 20.
- Omen
- Omen’s Paranoia (Q) ability has had a cost decrease from 400 to only 300.
- Her Shrouded Step (C) ability, however, has gotten a cost increase of 50% from 100 to 150.
- FInally, her Dark Cover (E) has had a cooldown increase from 35 to 40 seconds. The signature charges it grants have also gone down from 2 to 1, and Omen must now buy his second smoke for 100 cost.
- Phoenix
- Phoenix’s Curveball (Q) ability has has its cost go up from 200 to 250.
- Raze
- Raze’s Boombot (C) will now cost 400 instead of 200.
- Her Showstopper (X) will also now require 8 ultimate points rather than 7.
- According to Riot, Raze has also gotten a new model update with an overall polish pass.
- Reyna
- The only change for Reyna is that her Leer (C) ability has had a cost increase from 200 to 250.
- Sage
- Sage’s Slow Orb (Q) ability will now cost 200, rather than 100.
- Her Barrier Orb (C) also costs more now, at 400 instead of 300.
- Her Resurrection (X) ultimate ability will now require 8 ultimate points rather than 7.
- Skye
- Skye’s Trailblazer (Q) ability has had its vision radius go up from 1750 to 2250. Additionally, the maximum concussion duration has gone up from 3 to 4. However, its cost has also gone up from 200 to 250.
- Her Guiding Light (E) ability has also had a plethora of changes. The charges have gone down from 3 to 2, but they will now replenish on a 40-second cooldown. She will no longer need to re-equip Guiding Light in order to trigger a flash. Plus, the projectiles will now go round corners at a tighter angle and be easier to guide. The audio attenuation when using the ability has gone down sharply from 3250 to just 1250, but the cost of the charges has gone up from 100 to 250.
- Sova
- Sova’s Shock Dart (Q) ability has had a cost increase from 100 to 150.
- His Recon Bolt (E) meanwhile has had its cooldown time go up from 35 to 40.
- His Owl Drone (C) ability has also had its cost go up from 300 to 400.
- Finally, his Hunter’s Fury (X) ability will now require one additional ultimate point (8 instead of 7).
- Viper
- Viper’s Snakebite (C) ability has had several alterations in this update. Its duration has gone down from 8 to 6.5 seconds, but its cost has doubled from 100 to 200. Additionally, the outer edges of the acid patch will now form faster, making it more lethal to those who stay inside the area.
- Yoru
- Yoru’s Blindside (Q) ability has had its cost increased from 200 to 250.
- The cooldown time of his Gatecrash (E) ability has also gone up from 35 to 40.