The Valorant patch 5.12 notes for the PBE have been laid out by Riot, with sweeping changes across the board making for some of the most dramatic balancing the FPS game has seen in a while. Among the major changes made by Riot Games are previously teased Chamber nerfs courtesy of skill reworks, tweaks to Omen, and a rebalancing of Sage’s Healing Orb that will encourage more team play in the multiplayer game.
Likely the two biggest changes in the Valorant 5.12 patch notes are the Chamber nerfs and Sage healing rework. As Riot previously detailed, Chamber’s Rendezvous teleport will now place just a single anchor, which he can teleport to while inside its radius. That radius has been increased, and can be used at any height as long as you’re close enough, but the removal of the second anchor essentially eliminates his ability to teleport to safety. Rendezvous will also be disabled for the round if the anchor is destroyed.
There’s also a range limit on Chamber’s Trademark trap, meaning he’ll have to stay close to it for it to remain active. This combines with the previous change to make Chamber a much less dominant force, preventing him from controlling multiple sections of the map with ease. Chamber’s Headhunter spread has also been increased to reduce spam fire effectiveness, while his ultimate has also seen a heavy nerf to its fire rate, and his slow is reduced from six seconds to four.
Meanwhile, Sage’s Healing Orb now only heals her for 30 HP, but will heal allies for 100 HP (as opposed to a consistent 60 HP value for both previously). This will make her a more effective team player, but less capable of using her heal to take duels by herself. This focus on team play is emphasised with an increase in ‘assist tail’ timings, allowing assists to be awarded for longer after a debuff has expired if the affected enemy is killed.
Another key change is that utility items, such as Cypher’s Trapwire, Killjoy’s Nanoswarm, Raze’s Blast Pack, and so on will now take damage from enemy area-of-effect abilities. Their health has been increased slightly from the default of one HP, so they won’t be immediately destroyed – but Riot says they should still all be low enough health to be destroyed by a single shot in most situations. In addition, AoE damage abilities now deal reduced damage to non-players, making them less effective against higher health abilities such as Sage’s Barrier Orb.
These changes will also nerf certain interactions – for example, Breach’s Aftershock no longer destroys Killjoy’s Lockdown ult, which has seen its health buffed from 150 to 200. Among the other changes listed in the full PBE patch notes are a decrease in the cost of Omen’s Paranoia, allowing him to have more utility with buys such as armour, flash, and smoke while still picking up Paranoia. It’s good news for newcomer Harbor, though, who sees buffs to the duration of his High Tide and Cascade abilities.
So far, the community seems excited about the potential for this latest update. Among the top upvoted comments responding to the patch notes, one remarks, “these changes reward more coordination and team play compared to solo play, it’s an extremely healthy and positive change.” Another calls it “the biggest patch to hit Valorant since launch,” saying, “Peak Valo is on the way friends, it’s time to get excited.”
Long absent Valorant map Split returns in 6.0, so get ready to return to its familiar streets once again. The next Valorant Night Market dates are now out, so get ready if you’re looking for discounts on some of its unique skin offers. Be sure to check in with our Valorant tier list as these major shakeups land to know who the best agents to play are.