The patch notes for Valorant 5.12 for PBE have been released by Riot, with drastic changes across the board, making balancing one of the most dramatic FPS games in recent memory. Among the major changes Riot Games has made are previously teased Chamber nerfs thanks to a skill overhaul, Omen tweaks, and a rebalance of Sage's Healing Orb that will encourage more team play in multiplayer.
Probably the two biggest changes in the Valorant 5.12 patch notes are the camera nerfs and the Sage healing rework. As Riot previously reported, Chamber's Rendezvous teleporter will now only place one anchor that he can teleport to while within its radius. This radius has been increased and it can be used at any height as long as you are close enough, but removing the second anchor essentially makes it impossible for it to teleport to safety. The date will also be disabled for a round if the anchor is destroyed.
Chamber's trademark trap also has a range limit, meaning he will have to stay close to it in order for it to remain active. This, combined with the previous change, makes Chamber a far less dominant force, preventing him from easily controlling multiple sections of the map. Bounty Hunter Chamber's spread has also been increased to reduce the effectiveness of Spam Fire, while his ultimate has also greatly reduced his fire rate, and his slow has been reduced from six seconds to four.
Meanwhile, Sage's Healing Orb now only heals her for 30 HP, but heals allies for 100 HP (as opposed to the constant 60 HP for both previously). This will make her a more effective team player, but less able to use her healing to duel alone. This emphasis on team play is highlighted by the increase in "auxiliary tail" time, allowing assistance to be awarded longer after the debuff expires if the affected enemy is killed.
Another key change is that utility items like the Trapwire Cypher, Nanoswarm Killjoy, Blast Pack Raze, and more will now take damage from enemy area-of-effect abilities. Their health has been increased slightly from their default one HP so they won't be destroyed immediately, but Riot says they should still be low enough health to be one-shot destroyed in most situations. Additionally, area damage abilities now deal less damage to non-players, making them less effective against higher health abilities like Sage's Barrier Orb.
These changes will also weaken certain interactions - for example, Breach's Aftershock no longer destroys Killjoy's ultimate Lockdown, which has been increased from 150 health to 200. Other changes listed in the full PBE patch note are a reduction in the cost of Omen's Paranoia, allowing him to have more utility with purchases such as armor, flash, and smoke, while still collecting Paranoia. However, this is good news for newcomer Harbor, who is seeing a buff to the duration of his High Tide and Cascade abilities.
So far, the community seems to be excited about the potential of this latest update. Among the most voted comments in response to the patch notes, one notes: "These changes reward more coordination and team play compared to single player, it's an extremely rewarding and positive change." Another calls it "the biggest patch for Valorant since launch", saying "Peak Valo is on the way, folks, it's time to get excited."
Long missing Valorant Split map returns in version 6.0, so get ready to return to the familiar streets again.
