With Act II now in full swing in Valorant, Riot Games has rolled out a significant new patch, Valorant Update 1.06. Rather than focusing on Agents this time, the new update brings changes to shotguns. In addition, the patch features several bug-fixes and quality-of-life improvements.
What’s New in Valorant Patch 1.06?
The first key feature of Valorant Patch 1.06 is an update for the game’s shotguns. As of the patch rollout, all of the Valorant shotguns will be less accurate when they’re fired while a player is in the air. Essentially, the shotgun spread penalty while midair has gone up from 0.5 to 1.25. “While shotguns are doing well in situations they are supposed to, there’s been overly frustrating moments where people are accurate with these weapons while in the air,” explains Riot; “We hope to curb some of those encounters while still making them possible if you catch an opponent at a short distance. We’ll also be investigating more potential changes to shotguns now that we’re rested.”
Alongside this shotgun update, Patch 1.06 includes several bug-fixes. A bug which sometimes causes the HUD to disappear has been fixed, for example. One notable bug which has now been patched is one which allowed players to exploit competitive matchmaking progress. Because of this bug, players who forfeited unrated games could gain competitive progress. Now, forfeited games will no longer count towards the Competitive requirement for the forfeiters.
Another major bug which has now been fixed is one which concerns missing rewards. Some players were missing rewards following the end of the Act I Battlepass and certain Agent Contracts. Now, once players play any match, those missing rewards should unlock. Finally, Patch 1.06 includes a single quality of life improvement. From now on, in the Collection menu screens, the “Show Owned Only” toggle will now persist between screens, as well as when the client restarts.