Riot Games has released the official notes for Valorant patch 2.02, and it breaks down the changes to the tactical shooter's competitive mode and weapon accuracy along with bug fixes.
Valorant's running accuracy has been an issue for quite some time, and Riot developers will be increasing aim deviation significantly while walking, running, and crouch-moving. They've significantly increased the amount of error that all rifles get when moving and shooting to help fight the sensation of running kills with rifles. According to Riot, while it will still possible to kill while moving with rifles up close, these changes will make them more rare at longer ranges.
The latest update also comes with significant tweaks to competitive matchmaking. With the new changes, Valorant players will get a better experience climbing up the rank ladder as it requires less games to prove their rank. Players from Iron to Diamond who perform exceptionally well in a match will get bonus Rank Rating, and Diamond 3 has a premade size cap at 2 players.
You can check out the detailed description in Valorant's full patch notes 2.02 below:
VALORANT PATCH NOTES 2.02
WEAPON UPDATES
Rifle Movement Accuracy update (Bulldog/Guardian/Phantom/Vandal)
We've significantly increased the amount of error that all Rifles get when moving and shooting to help combat the sensation of running kills with rifles. These changes will make kills while moving with rifles rarer, especially at longer ranges—but still possible up close. We'll be monitoring this closely and will continue to fine-tune as necessary.
- Running Error across rifles increased 3.75 >>> 5.0
- Walking Error across rifles increased .8 >>> 1.1
- Crouch-moving Error across rifles increased .3 >>> .8
COMPETITIVE UPDATES
Increased the effectiveness or Rank Rating convergence: players will now converge to their match making rating (MMR) faster, requiring less games to prove their rank
This will make it so players get to the rank they deserve in fewer matches.
This will help everyone get to a rank/Leaderboard Rank that best illustrates their skill more quickly. We wanted to be a little conservative launching the new ranked system, but believe in some cases you were having to play too many games to reach your intended rank. By doubling the effectiveness of convergence, players on the extreme ends might see 40+ Ranked Rating gains, pushing them to their proper rank faster.
Players Iron through Diamond who perform exceptionally well in a match (weighed against their own average performance) will gain bonus Rank Rating
We want to reward players that "pop-off" in a match, performing above expectations.
This will help highlight those matches where you "outclassed" your average performance. In turn, you will rank up just a little faster, and be rewarded for games where you kill it.Remember, this is you doing better than your average, not you doing better than your teammates or opponents.
Consider this another system that helps combat the smurfs who do real well in a game. They will now more quickly rank up so that their rank better reflects their skill (along with getting put into higher skilled matches).
Changed Diamond 3 to a premade size capped at 2 players
We needed "proving grounds" before getting into Immortal, and this should prepare players for the leaderboard and create a 5-stack buffer before Immortal.
While we value and want to support those of you able to play and compete with your friends as much as possible, we also want to ensure there is a high degree of trust and competitive integrity for players who make it onto the Leaderboard.
We want to maintain the prestige of Immortal+, and believe we need a small buffer to ensure players are proving their skill before getting into Immortal. This will prevent 5-stacking just before Immortal, and prepare Diamond 3 players for what they are about to get into. Diamond 3 will essentially become the final proving grounds for Immortal+.
Your current leaderboard rank will now display on your Career: Act Rank tab. At the end of an Act, your final leaderboard rank will be preserved and displayed on the Act Rank Badge you earned.
MODE UPDATES
Added a rate limiter to the in-game weapon store to keep players from spamming purchases in quick succession, which caused a potential performance issue
The rate limiting is lenient in most modes, but more strict in deathmatch.
BUG FIXES
Fixed a bug where players could silently plant the spike (credit here)
Fixed issues where players couldn't move after exiting a Sova Drone or a Cypher camera (thanks to you, you, and you)
Fixed an issue where players couldn't leave Cypher's camera view or couldn't move their mouse (shout out to you and you)
Fixed an issue where picking up weapons stacked on top of each other, resulting in attempts to pick up both
Fixed a bug where the Chat Box would remain open in-game
Fixed a bug where enemy messages would still appear in Deathmatch while the Mute All Enemies setting was enabled
Fixed a bug where the queue restriction penalty did not always scale properly for players who queue dodged repeatedly
Fixed a bug that was causing the Promotion screen to show for a shorter amount of time than intended
Fixed a bug that was showing the wrong Immortal icon in some places
Fixed various localization issues that made it hard to read the text in End of the Game screen, Lobby, and Match History for some languages
Fixed issue where various abilities did not work inside Brimstone and Jett's smoke, even when they were visible to their target
Fixed issue with Omen's Shrouded Step targeting that caused it to get stuck on corners at a much greater distance
Fixed issue where throwing Yoru's Fakeout through a teleporter caused another projectile thrown afterward to play the Agent audio instead of the object audio
Fixed Skye's Seeker's not being able to find enemies on the zipline platform on B-site of Split
Fixed Yoru getting stuck in various spots on maps when using Gatecrash
Fixed Sova not playing a proper walk animation right after his Owl Drone ends
Fixed issue where Omen could swap equipable right after selecting a map location for From the Shadows
Fixed issue where Omen's camera could become detached when using Dark Cover in poor networking conditions
Fixed issue where the Spike could be planted on Sage's wall on the sites on Icebox
Reduced brightness on initial visuals when blinded from flashes
Related:Valorant Glitchpop Collection: New Weapon Skins, Melee & Variants Revealed
What do you think about the changes they made in the latest update? Let us know what you think in the comments section below, and be sure to check out our Valorant Facebook fan page.