Riot’s ever-popular FPS game VALORANT has released its Episode 6, Act 1 last January 10 and aside from a brand-new Battle Pass, Premium Skinline, and a new map in the roster, VALORANT patch 6.0 is targeted at altering the game as a whole rather than targeting any specific Agents or weapons for balance.
Updates
Battle Pass
Episode 6 Act 1 Battle Pass is here, bringing a new set of cosmetics players can obtain while playing (and raging on) VALORANT. The BP features skins with themes ranging from cyberpunk to kittens, three new skin lines, and additional cosmetic items. These items include sprays, gun pals, cards, and titles. Players may acquire these cosmetics and add them to their collection by completing the battle pass.
Act One Weapon Skins
The BP for this Act features new cosmetics and accessories that aim to celebrate the start of the new year and a new episode.
The design team includes the 9 Lives skinline, which lets players assemble a team of cat-themed agents. They also included the Gridcrash skinline, a retro cyberpunk-styled basic cosmetics, and the Venturi skinline, a rather sleek and gorgeous speed-themed cosmetics.
Act One Sprays
The Episode 6 Act 1 battle pass comes with 15 new and distinctive in-game sprays, most of which were created with an emphasis on unity and collaboration. But of course, in true Riot fashion, there are some pretty hilarious ones in the mix.
Some of these sprays include:
- A Perfectly Roasted Spray
- Shock Heart Spray
- Last Person Standing Spray
- Definitely Not It Spray
- Drop Skin Please Spray
The premium battle pass, as usual, will cost you 1,000 VP to unlock. Even if you don’t unlock the premium battle pass, you may still claim a selection of cosmetics. The free track includes a lot of cosmetics to claim, and here’s a rundown of everything in Episode 6 Act 1 BP:
- 9 Lives Classic Gun Skin
- Big Announcement Gun Buddy
- PlayZilla Dan Card
- Shock Heart Spray
New Map Lotus
With the new Act comes the ninth map, Lotus, located in the Western Ghats of Omega Earth’s India. However, it won’t be available to the Unrated and Competitive rotations until patch 6.1.
The new map is a three-site map similar to Haven. Lotus introduces unique elements, including revolving doors, destructible walls, and a quiet drop as players explore the ancient metropolis inspired by Indian stepwells.
Lotus has a lot of greenery and gorgeous surroundings comparable to Breeze. However, the magnificent map appears relatively straightforward, similar to Haven’s design approach.
The Return of Split
Split has undergone considerable improvements since being removed from the Unrated and Competitive queues in Episode 5 Act I. The modifications include big and small map changes that will affect how players struggle for map dominance and seize space.
It also removed some advantages that defenders had in certain regions, providing attackers greater options for approaching different portions of the game. These changes will require attackers and defenses to react appropriately.
Some changes include:
- The area around Crown Coffee has seen considerable transformations. Riot built an elevated walkway, giving attackers a new method to seize control of A main.
- The box between A Ramp and the entrance to A Site has been cut in half, providing attackers a fresh perspective on the A site.
- The wall parallel to the B site entry from the B garage has been re-aligned. Because of the broader angle, it is now inclined, making it more straightforward for attackers to clear B hell.
- The trash can next to the metal box at B Tower has been removed. This allows players to hide in that tiny corner and catch Attackers by surprise.
Goodbye, Bind and Breeze
With Split and Lotus being introduced into the map roster, Riot also removed Bind and Breeze in the Unrated and Competitive queues. They will, however, remain accessible in other game modes. This implies that for the whole duration of Episode 6, the usual map rotation will include seven maps.
Agents Nerf
Although Omen is the only Agent who has been nerfed for this patch, his changes significantly impact his smoke lineups.
Omen
- Dark Cover placed inside walls will now fall to the height of nearby ground.
Image credit: VALORANT
This may seem like a bit of change on the surface, but it poses a significant issue in high-level plays. Omen’s ability to deploy one-way smokes gave him an advantage against other Controller Agents like Brimstone. Still, this change may cost him significantly less power at higher levels of play.
Changes to Rank Rating Calculation
As per every update, ranks will be reset with an expectation that your rank is lower than it was at the end of Episode 5. However, a few changes have been made to how RR is computed.
- Ranked Rating gains and losses will be determined more by wins or losses. It will depend less on the actual round difference of the match.
- Individual performance will be more critical than round differential in determining RR increases. You will also notice that your rank and MMR converge faster.
Essentially, these improvements were meant to make one-sided stomps less important than they were previously. Players who continue to perform well despite their team losing should have their RR lowered considerably less than if they are consistently at the bottom of the list.
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