Valorant 8.08 update: Release date, patch notes, nerfs, and more

Update 8.08 for Valorant is finally rolling out to kick off a new season, which is also the last act of Episode 8. Because of that, this update is more significant than the previous ones as it introduces a completely new battle pass and other additions such as a new skinline for the store.

If you're curious about the changes and other additions this update brings, we have gathered all the information you need.

Release date

Update 8.08 for Valorant is set to arrive on Tuesday, April 30 to coincide with the new season's release. Before its launch, a four-hour maintenance period will take place and the game's servers will be unavailable during this time.

North America, LATAM, and Brazil servers will go down at 6:00 am PT and come back up at around 10:00 am PT, barring any issues.

On the other hand, European players will have to wait a bit longer as their maintenance period usually takes place the next day. In this case, servers will go down at 4:00 am BST on Wednesday, May 1, and should return at 8:00 am BST on that same day.

Patch notes

Here are the complete patch notes for this new update that were posted on the game's official website:

Agent Updates

Chamber

• We’ve updated Chamber’s voice lines and added interaction lines with Reyna, Astra, and Omen.

Cypher

• Updates to Cypher’s Trapwire (C) gives enemies more time to deal with it after it has been triggered while the reduction in slow duration provides those caught a slightly better chance to use movement to avoid death.
  • Trapwire (C)
    • Re-arm time increased 1 >>> 2s
    • Slow on Trapwire reduced 2 >>> 1.25s
• We’ve seen it become common for Cyphers’ to hide Spycams (E) in the playspace and continually watch enemies without them knowing. We’ve added an audio telegraph for enemies who are being watched to provide those who are quietly moving a cue that they are being watched.
  • Spycam (E)
    • Enemies now hear looping audio when they are actively being watched by Cypher from within the Spycam (E).

Viper

• Reduction in total smoke uptime coupled with reduction in the cooldown of reactivating aim to reduce her total stalling uptime and push you to better manage your fuel. Increasing the minimum fuel to activate her smokes creates a larger window for enemies to attack when her fuel is fully drained.
• Poison Cloud (Q) only being retrievable in the Buy Phase pushes you to make sharper calls of where you’ll place the ability each round and sharpen her identity of high influence in a highly committed area.
• Reducing Snake Bite (C) to a single charge reduces how often Viper can use the ability to fill the gaps while her smokes are down and increases the importance of fuel management. The increase in duration ensures that a single Snake Bite (C) charge is lethal to all enemies that are in the acid for its full duration.
• Toxic Screen (E) and Poison Cloud (Q)
  • Max uptime on each individual smoke source reduced 15 >>> 13.5 >>> 12s
  • Minimum fuel needed to activate smoke increased 20% >>> 30%
  • Cooldown on re-activating smokes after putting them down reduced 8 >>> 5.5 >>> 5s
• Poison Cloud (Q)
  • Can now only be picked up during the Buy Phase
• Snake Bite (C)
  • Charges reduced 2 >>> 1
  • Price increased 200 >>> 300
  • Duration increased 5.5 >>> 6.5s

Premier Updates

A new Stage of Premier starts! With this one, we’re adding promotion.

• See your division's promotion requirements on the standings page.
• Meet those requirements to be placed at least one division higher in Stage E9A1.
• The Premier Score playoff qualification threshold is 600 for all divisions.

Bug Fixes

•  Agent
  • Fixed issues related to inaccurate line-of-sight checks near certain abilities (e.g., Phoenix’s Blaze (C)). This could manifest in flashes not working appropriately when the detonation was on the other side of a wall that was in the process of raising or lowering.
    • This fix applies to Phoenix’s Blaze (C), Neon’s Fast Lane (C), Harbor’s High Tide (E), and Viper’s Toxic Screen (E) and Viper’s Pit (X).
  • Fixed an issue where AI-controlled abilities (e.g., Killjoy’s Turret (E)) could detect you through Harbor’s High Tide (E).
  • Fixed Clove’s icons being incorrect when Ruse (E) was equipped.
  • Fixed a bug where Cypher’s Trapwire (C) showed on the map even when disabled.

•  Maps
  • Fixed an exploit on Split that allowed Agents to stand on a sign on A Site.

•  Gameplay Systems
  • Fixed an issue where footsteps were not produced when in ADS and when running while slowed by Sage’s Slow Orb (Q) ability.

•  Premier
  • Fixed a bug where practice matches did not lock your division in.

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