The Valorant patch 4.04 update has arrived, bringing with it the brand-new Yoru rework, Agent balance changes and an Icebox map update, as well as bug fixes, know all the notes
Riot Games is following through on its promise to reevaluate the state of Valorant in Episode 4 Act 2 by making significant changes to the FPS title. As a result, expect long-awaited changes to arrive in Valorant, beginning with the 4.04 update.
Among the changes are a makeover for many parts of Icebox and a slight revert to Omen’s kit, which should make his utility feel a lot better to use.
This comes alongside even more significant changes for meta Agents like Astra and Viper, as well as a new buff for Brimstone’s teammates.
Valorant Update 4.04 Patch Notes: Yoru Rework
Riot has finally released the Yoru rework, which aims to give the Agent more options for confusing and disrupting his opponents.
Everything from his Fakeout decoy to his Dimensional Drift ultimate ability has been altered in order to provide Yoru with more tools to impact a round.
Overall, this version of Yoru should give players more opportunities to actively distort information around the map while also making him a lot more fun to play.
Astra Nerfed In Valorant Update Patch 4.04 Notes
Riot is tinkering with Astra, who has cemented her place at the top of the Valorant meta. While the developers are improving her abilities, they are also reducing cooldowns and reducing the number of stars she has.
Her Nebula ability will create a larger smoke bubble than before, but its cooldown has been increased from 14 seconds to 25 seconds.
The developers appear to be attempting to strike a balance between how much influence Astra can wield and how quickly she can provide much-needed assistance to her teammates.
Omen And Brimstone Update In Valorant Patch Notes
Brimstone and Omen will both see a few good changes that should give players a reason to pick them up.
Omen’s kit is getting a minor makeover, with his Dark Cover smokes seeing a massive projectile speed boost from 2800 to 6400, among other changes.
Meanwhile, Brimstone’s smokes will bet wider to match other Controller Agents, and his Stim Beacon now gives mates a speed boost in addition to the usual rapid-fire buff.
Full Valorant Update Patch 4.04 Notes
Read the full updates below, courtesy of Riot Games, for all the details on the Valorant 4.04 update.
General
Improved the system for placing abilities at specific ground locations. This update should make it easier to find viable placement locations in constrained areas. These are the abilities that are impacted:
- Omen’s Shrouded Step
- Viper’s pit
- Chamber’s Trademark and Rendez-vous
- Every Killjoy ability
- Yoru’s Gatecrash
- Sage’s Barrier Orb
Omen
Dark Cover
- Cooldown decreased 40s >>> 30s
- Cost increased 100 >>> 150
- Projectile Speed increased 2800 >>> 6400
Shrouded Step
- Cost decreased 150 >>> 100
- Pre teleport delay decreased 1s >>> 0.7s
Paranoia
- Added forward spawn offset, so players adjacent to Omen are not hit
Brimstone
Sky Smoke
- Deploy time decreased 2 >>> 1 second
- Deploy radius increased 5000 >>> 5500
- Smoke height increased to match other Controllers
Stim Beacon
- Now also applies a 15% speed boost in addition to RapidFire.
Astra
Stars
- The maximum number of stars has been reduced to 5 >>> 4
- The cooldown for retrieving a Star has been increased by 14 >>> 25.
- Astra can now pick up placed Stars during the Buy Phase to immediately refund their charge.
- The maximum distance for Star Placement has been increased from 10000 to 30000, allowing her to place Stars in the most remote corners of maps.
Gravity Well
- Cooldown Increased 25 >>> 45
- Gravity Well Size Decreased 525 >>> 475
- Gravity Well no longer affects anyone fully underneath the Gravity Well.
Nova Pulse
- Cooldown Increased 25 >>> 45
- Nova Pulse no longer affects anyone fully underneath the Nova Pulse.
Nebula
- Cooldown Increased 14 >>> 25
- Nebula cooldowns are now sequential instead of simultaneous
- Nebula size increased 410 >>> 475
Astral Form
- Pings are no longer obstructed by level geometry that Astra cannot see while in Astral form.
- In Astral form, Astra’s targeting ring is reduced to a single ring that reflects the now-unified size of all her utility.
- When aiming across some map locations, Astra’s targeting ring no longer disappears at random.
- Increased the speed of the overlay that covers Astra’s screen when she enters and exits Astral form. Fixed an issue in which Stars were placed a little above the location Astra was targeting.
Viper
Fuel
- When both Toxic Screen and Poison Cloud are active, fuel consumption increases by 50%.
- When Viper doesn’t have enough fuel to activate her abilities, her fuel bar turns red.
Toxic Screen
- The amount of time it takes to cool down after deactivating has been increased to 6 >>> 8
- The cooldown timer now begins when her smoke begins to dissipate, rather than when the deactivation telegraph plays.
- The deactivation delay has been reduced by one >>>.8
- Toxic Screen now has yellow lights that show when it is cooling down.
- When Viper is suppressed, there is no longer a delay in disabling Toxic Screen.
- When her smoke is disabled by suppress, a unique VO line plays.
Poison Cloud
- The cooldown time after deactivation has been increased to 6 >>> 8.
- The cooldown timer now begins when her smoke begins to dissipate, rather than when the deactivation telegraph plays.
- The deactivation delay has been reduced by one >>>.8
- Poison Orb now has a yellow light that blinks when it is cooldown.
- When Viper is suppressed, there is no longer a delay in Poison Orb disabling.
- Added a one-of-a-kind VO line that plays when her smoke is disbaled by the suppressor.
Snake Bite
- Duration decreased 6.5 >>> 5.5
Yoru
Fakeout
- Charges have been reduced from two to one >>> 1 Decoy HP: 150
- Decoy is now a fully functional version of Yoru and can only be sent forward running.
- Place a stationary marker for the decoy by right-clicking.
- Reactivate the decoy in the same way that footsteps do to create the decoy that runs forward.
- When hit by an enemy gun, the decoy winds up, turns towards the enemy who shot it, and explodes after a brief delay.
- Enemies within the cone are highlighted in red.
Gatecrash
- Charges have risen from 1 >>> 2
- The cost is 200 credits.
- Cooldown charge refresh has been removed, and the 2-kill reset has been restored.
- By pressing F while hovering over the beacon, you can simulate a gatecrash.
- Fake teleport will play audio and portal visuals to simulate Yoru attempting to teleport.
- The time it takes for a teleport beacon to appear has been reduced by 1.5 >>> 0.5 seconds.
- The in-game audio of the teleport beacon while travelling was reduced by 22.5m>>12.5m.
- The speed of the teleport beacon has been increased to 675 >>> 800.
- When a fake teleport is activated, the beacon places a small decal on the floor for 30 seconds to indicate the location of the fake teleport.
Dimensional Drift
- The duration has been increased by 8 >>> 10 seconds.
- Yoru’s identity is not revealed to enemies.
- The unequip delay time has been increased by 0.6 >>> 1.2 seconds.
- Yoru can now expel all utility from his ultimate.
- Yoru’s footsteps can now be heard within 15 metres of where he is.
- Cast delay was added when Dimensional Drift was cast, preventing the invulnerability frame from being cast.
Map Updates
Ascent
B orb is now available from the lower box
Icebox
B Site
- B “Green” lane changes are aimed at improving attacker options and making the area more comfortable to play in.
- The doorway from the Attacker spawn building near Green lane has been relocated to the first cubby. This is to provide attackers with a new approach to B Green rather than forcing them to enter from two similar positions.
- Green lane has been slightly widened. This is done to make moving around this area more comfortable.
- The B Site rework focuses on emphasising site control when attacking and making interactions around the site more workable.
- The yellow container has been adjusted, and a new stack of crates has been added. We’ve noticed that a lot of rounds in Icebox revolve around anchoring down behind yellow during post-plant situations. This change should allow Yellow to keep some of its power while also increasing the value of holding space on the actual site.
- Lower container was removed, and the geometry was adjusted to create a cubby facing Green. The upper container’s doorway has been widened and repositioned. This should allow players to better isolate fights throughout the site, making utility use more meaningful.
- The outer wall on B site and the crane structure were brought in toward the site. Narrowing the site allows more controllers to use their utility without being concerned about gaps.
- Building in Back B is now closed. We want to encourage attackers to push harder and take up more ground. Players should be able to better anchor themselves in Snowman after closing this building. It should also emphasise the use of the B Fence to cut off rotations.
- Plant zone on B site has been changed. This change is intended to encourage more spike plant diversity while keeping some safer defaults in place. You can now plant on the bridge that connects the kitchen to the upper container.
- Plant zone on B site has been changed. This change is intended to encourage more spike plant diversity while keeping some safer defaults in place. You can now plant on the bridge that connects the kitchen to the upper container.
- The changes to mid are intended to improve sight lines and make these areas more comfortable to play in.
- The back wall of the kitchen has been adjusted. This change should make moving through this space more comfortable and allow players to clear it more quickly.
Crates were added to the Orange lane to block the line of sight from the under tube to the danger. - Geometry of the boiler ramp has been simplified and slightly narrowed. Smokes will now completely cover Boiler, making head peaks from the ramp more predictable.