The Valorant 7.01 Patch Notes Reveal Agent, Player Behavior Updates, And More

The latest Valorant 7.01 patch released for the game has brought an interesting array of changes to Riot Games’ free-to-play first-person shooter. According to the full patch notes released on the official Valorant website, the title will now sport more consistent icons for in-game agents and abilities with a mutual output. Moreover, the devs have added more of these icons which were previously found to be missing from their respective places. 

Jo-Ellen of Valorant writes in the blog post detailing the Valorant 7.01 patch notes,

We’ve updated the ability action icons to be more consistent across all Agents and abilities that have a common cast paradigm or output. We’ve also added new ones to where it was necessary. These icons appear above your equipped ability. We’ve [also] added voiceover line interactions between Gekko and Deadlock.” 

That wraps up the agent updates in the new patch. As for player behavior changes, the following two bullet points should sum up the gist of it. Apparently, the devs are looking to create a more comfortable environment for players, where users can enjoy the fast-paced action of Valorant at their own discretion, and that those intending to violate the rights of others will find themselves under the shadow of the ban-hammer.

• We added in-game bans for repeated AFK, Friendly Fire, and Queue Dodge in Competitive and Unrated modes.
• People who are text-muted in real time will now also be voice-muted for the entire match.

With that said, one of the most important parts of the Valorant patch notes at hand is the update on the Competitive front. If you’ve been following the first-person shooter for a while now, then you already know that the game’s Premier mode has had its open beta kicked off in March, introducing a brand-new way to play Valorant competitively. 

The Premier mode has arrived at its next phase now though, called Ignition, and this particular stage has now gone live as well. This is where you’ll need to create your team from scratch, but worry not, your progression and other stats, including the Premier Valorant rewards will carry over to the official launch of the playable mode in August. 

You can enroll in the Ignition stage of the Premier mode until July 20. From there on out, highly competitive matches will start off, encompassing top-tier talent from around the world. You’ll have time until 12 August to gather as much Premier score as possible. The devs have stated that a score of at least 375 will be required to qualify. 

Once the Ignition stage matches are wrapped up by August 12, the very next day will belong to the playoffs, marking the end of the sequence and pitting the best of the bests against each other. It’ll be then that the Premier rewards will go over to the winners of the playoff tournament. As per Valorant, these will include a distinct Gun Buddy—a small aesthetic item that hangs from your weapon—Title, and Player Card.

Are you looking forward to playing Valorant’s Ignition series? Let us know in the comments section ahead.