VALORANT Patch 11.08 Update: All Weapons and Map Changes

VALORANT will see one of the biggest overhauls since its release with the upcoming Patch 11.08 scheduled for Wednesday, October 15th. The patch will introduce a plethora of agent changes, along with changes to two maps: Abyss and Pearl and major changes to SMGs and Rifles.

We have covered the Agent changes in a different article. You can read it here.

Map Changes

The VALORANT Patch 11.08 map changes aim to “encourage more on-site play” on Abyss and Pearl. These changes rework covers within the site itself allowing for more active defense on both sides.

Abyss

Changes mainly focus on defensibility of the B site and Mid pathing.

B Site Changes - Currently both teams are having a tough time playing on-site—Defenders struggle with the initial site hold, while Attackers have difficulty holding the spike during post-plant and feel forced to plant for main. We want to take a pass at improving on-site play for both teams while also making post-plants for main more risky.

Mid Hallway Changes - We want to help open up quicker macro pathing options for both teams. We’re adjusting the hallway in Mid that leads towards B Main to allow for improved flow through the map for both teams.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Pearl 

Reworked covers to give defenders better opportunities while retaking. After these changes, there is no direct LOS post plant position to defend from B long.

Removed the deep sightline from B Long - This angle provided too much control over the site from a safe distance.

Adjusted cover positioning on and around the site - These changes will encourage more direct engagements on the site itself.

 

Weapon Changes

The weapon changes shipping with Patch 11.08 aren’t necessarily overhauls but minor tweaks to improve viability of bursting and spraying, especially at close and mid range. The update also includes changes to the SMGs viz. Spectre and Stinger.

Rifles

The overall theme with the changes to the rifle is improving the viability of bursting and spraying. Moving forward, Bulldogs, Phantom and Vandal all have better bursting and spraying ability.

The yaw switch time and %chance of yaw switch are important to understand these changes.

• % chance of yaw switch: % chance the gun will swap horizontal recoil from one side to the other (left vs right from your crosshair) [Essentially how random the spray is]
• Yaw switch time: how quickly the gun swaps horizontal recoil from one side to the other. When yaw switch time increases, this means you have more time to counteract the recoil [Time interval for the randomization to kick in]
• Protected bullet counts: how many bullets in a spray you can use before your gun has a chance of yaw switch [Number of bullets before randomization kicks]

For all three mentioned rifles, the chances of horizontal recoil switching (from left to right or vice versa) is higher but the time between switching is more.

Furthermore, Vandal and Phantom now get 6 and 8 bullets that are unaffected by the yaw switch so the first few bullets will directly follow the recoil (i.e. just pull down) 

Bulldog

• Horizontal (Yaw) switch time increased from 0.37s →  0.6s
• Chance for horizontal (Yaw) to switch increased from 6% → 10%

Phantom

• Horizontal (Yaw) switch time increased from 0.37s →  0.6s
• Chance for horizontal (Yaw) to switch increased from 6% →  10%
• Protected bullet count increased from 6 → 8 bullets

Vandal

• Horizontal (Yaw) switch time increased from 0.37s → 0.6s
• Chance for horizontal (Yaw) to switch increased from 6% → 10%
• Protected bullet count increased from 4 → 6 bullets

SMGs

With the patch we finally see a minor stinger nerf alongside a Spectre buff to make it an attractive purchase in the SMG category.

Spectre

• Total spread reduced from 1.5 → 1.4
• Tap Efficiency increased from 2 → 3
• Tap Efficiency determines the rate that inaccuracy is accrued when re-firing prior to waiting for the complete duration of a weapon’s respective Gun Recovery Time. The higher the Tap Efficiency, the lower the rate of inaccuracy accrual
• Horizontal (Yaw) switch time increased from 0.18s → 0.28s
• Protected bullet count increased from 4 → 5 bullets

Stinger

• Total spread reduced from 1.5 → 1.4
• Total spread accrued faster from 7 bullets → 6 bullets
• Vertical (Pitch) recoil curve increases more aggressively
• Total recoil is unchanged

All these changes will go live on October 15th with VALORANT S25 Act 6. The patch also includes a brand new battlepass and the new Dolmir’s Revenge bundle.

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Featured Image Credits: VALORANT