Valorant 9.03 Update Introduces New Map and Gameplay Improvements (2024)

The Valorant9.03 Patch update brings some incredible updates that will make life easier for veterans and rookies alike.

The company addressed a few ridiculous bugs that temporarily ruined gamers' experiences. Riot also fixed ground-spreading and map-targeted abilities, making the results much more predictable.

Since Valorant burst onto the scene in 2020, the company has introduced various improvements to the game. With a constant stream of fresh content, Riot made Valorant relevant in the competitive world of MOBAs and team shooters.

Valorant Patch 9.03 Brings Major Improvements

The newest Valorant update brings about numerous updates that will make your life less stressful.

The first thing we'd like to mention is the improvements to ground AOE abilities.

Previously, surface-spreading skills such as Snakebite had a nasty tendency of dealing damage through walls. Their size would differ based on your position, which made you guess whether or not they would hit the enemies.

With the 9.03, there's much more consistency in terms of their size and impact.

The second big improvement is how map-targeted abilities are shown. In Valorant 9.03, certain skills (such as Orbital Strike or Ruse) are shown on the minimap, allowing for more targeting precision.

Maps, Bugs, and Knickknacks

However, what excites us the most is the introduction of the Pearl map to consoles. If you haven't tried it, this sea-based level has a Mediterranean feel and is characterized by constant bullet-barrages in narrow streets.

A few of the agents also received some love. Sage's Barrier Orb ability now has a placement preview, while Harbor's High Tide no longer ends prematurely.

As for the bugs, Riot addressed a problem where you'd notice an enemy agent closeby, but they wouldn't appear on the map.

They fixed an issue where pinging a weapon on the ground wouldn't show its name. The developers also tackled language and observer issues, as well as certain tooltips.

While this update isn't that exciting, as it doesn't introduce new content besides Pearl, it definitely provides a few excellent improvements. We hope the Riot team will cook up something else in the near future.

Valorant 9.03 Official Patch Notes

For a full rundown of all changes added to the game, here are the Valorant 9.03 full patch notes:

GENERAL UPDATES

• Made enhacements to how overlapping interactable objects work. You are able to perform the desired actions more consistently.
  • For Example: A dart from Cypher’s Spycam should no longer prevent you from attaching to a rope if you’re directly looking at it.

AGENT UPDATES

• Ground Spreading Abilities
  • We're making enhancements to abilities that spread along the ground like Brimstone’s Incendiary and Viper's Snakebite. In the past, these abilities had inconsistent effects depending on the exact location they landed, ranging from extremely different sizes or damaging through walls and in areas the ability wasn’t visually present. With this patch, these skills spread more consistently and focus damage in places that are consistent with the visuals.
• Map Targeted Abilities Improvements
  • You have the option of pinging the map to see additional icons on maps used for ability targeting
    • Affected abilities: Brimstone’s Sky Smoke and Orbital Strike, Clove’s Ruse, and Omen’s From The Shadows
• Sage’s Barrier Orb
  • Barrier Orb’s placement preview now also shows up on the minimap

PERFORMANCE UPDATES

• Improved the performance of Iso’s Kill Contract ability.

BUG FIXES

General

• Fixed issue where opening menus would reset your toggle crouch / toggle walk state.

Gameplay Systems

• Fixed a problem where pinging guns on the ground was not displaying the weapon's name in the text feed.
• Fixed a rare issue that resulted in the defuse timer showing up as ‘-00.00’ if the Spike was defused as the round timer hit 0.
• Fixed a bug with Ability icons not appearing on the minimap as an Observer.
• Fixed a bug where you can see an enemy but they don’t appear on the minimap.
• Fixed a problem where "DAMAGE TO YOU/YOU DEALT" is overlapping the Combat Report widget.
• Fixed font size issues with Combat Report in a specific languages.
• Fixed an issue with auto re-scoping for Outlaw, Marshall, Operator staying active while the gun goes through a reload.

Maps

• Abyss
  • Fixed a spot in Mid Library where thrown abilities can clip through the shelves into gameplay space.
  • Fixed a spot where Agent utility could be thrown off the map and used as a platform.
  • Revised the message from the Scions of the Hourglass to fix text errors.
  • Fixed a minor visual issue for the railings around Defender Spawn.
• The Range
  • Fixed a bug where particular words in the Range were not being translated into certain languages.

PC Specific Changes

BUG FIXES

Client

• Combat Report
  • Fixed a bug where during pre-round, you must hold down while pressing the cursor toggle button to enable the cursor.

CONSOLE Specific Changes

MAP UPDATES

• Pearl enters Unrated & Swift Play queues.

KNOWN ISSUES

General

• Fixed problem where opening an Ability map and the Shop/Scoreboard at the same time results in an output loss.
• Fixed a problem where using an Ability button while defusing the Spike equips a weapon.

Agents

• Harbor
  • Fixed a problem where Harbor’s High Tide ends prematurely.

Valorant

Shooter

Systems

OpenCritic Reviews

Top Critic Rating:81/100 Critics Recommend:86%

Platform(s)

PC , PlayStation 5 , Xbox Series X , Xbox Series S

Released

June 2, 2020

Developer(s)

Riot Games

Publisher(s)

Riot Games

Multiplayer

Online Multiplayer

Engine

Unreal Engine 4

ESRB

T for Teen: Blood, Language, Violence

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