Valorant 7.09 PBE patch notes: Raze and her best friend Judge are set to receive MASSIVE nerfs along with major buffs to cypher, fixes and more

The new patch in Valorant set to bring some exciting changes

Valorant 7.09 PBE patch notes: Raze and her best friend Judge are set to receive MASSIVE nerfs along with major buffs to cypher, fixes and more

Image via: Riot Games

Riot Games does a great job of keeping Valorant fresh by constantly introducing exciting changes and frequent updates. The Valorant 7.09 PBE patch seems to be no exception. Players can expect significant changes in the upcoming update, such as massive nerfs coming to Raze & Judge and impactful buffs to the sentinel agent Cypher.

With this patch, Riot Games wanted to address some balancing issues with the Sentinel agents. Riot has said that sentinels often craft deliberate setups that other agents like Skye and Raze easily destroy. Their aim is to encourage sentinel agents to be more deliberate and intentional when using utilities to counter enemy sentinel setups.

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Valorant PBE 7.09 Patch Notes – All changes coming to the game

Along with bringing changes to agents, the developers have also tried to tweak matchmaking and fix certain gameplay complaints that the community has raised. Changes have also been made to Playoff qualification thresholds, as well as adjustments to zones & divisions. Here are all the changes in the patch notes of Valorant PBE 7.09

Valorant PBE 7.09 Cypher
Image via: Riot Games

Agent Changes

The changes made to Skye and Fade are implemented to add more strategic depth to Cypher’s Trapwire.

  • Cypher (Trapwire, C by default)
    • Decreased the time from 3 secs to 1.5 secs until the trap concussed a captured enemy
    • The trapwire no longer destroys itself after concussing an enemy or an enemy in the trap was killed. Instead, the trap re-arms after 0.5 seconds to ensnare another enemy.
    • The duration of the tag slow when hit by the trap increased from 0.75 seconds to 2 seconds.
  • Skye (Trailblazer, Q by default)
    • The trailblazer’s collision is adjusted so that it goes under trapwires placed at mid-height. This does not affect hitboxes for weapon damage.
  • Fade (Prowler, C by default)
    • The prowler collision is adjusted to go over tripwires placed at foot height but under tripwires placed at head height. This does not affect hitboxes for weapon damage.
  • Raze (Paint shells, E by default)
    • Primary grenade explosion radius reduced from 6m to 5.5m
    • The secondary grenade explosion radius reduced from 6m to 5.5m
    • Primary Grenade explosion minimum damage reduced from 15 to 1.
    • The secondary grenade explosion minimum damage reduced from 15 to 1.
    • Damage multiplier to enemy utilities reduced from 250% to 100%
  • Raze (Blast Pack, Q by default)
    • Satchel does not deal damage until fully armored
    • Satchel arm time increased from 0.5 secs to 1.5 secs

Raze will now have to be more precise when it comes to her Paint Shells to deal damage to enemies and destroy enemy traps. Raze also has to be more intentional with her choice between mobility and damage while using a blast pack.

Weapon Updates

Only the Judge is receiving changes. Riot Games is aiming to sharpen the gun’s “hunker-down style” by reducing effectiveness while moving. The mag size is also reduced to create more opportunities for enemies to catch the player while reloading.

  • Judge
    • Max mag size reduced from 7 to 5
    • The jumping spread increased from 1.25 to 2.25
    • The running spread increased from .10 to .75.

Premier Updates

  • Premier Practice – There will now be windows of time where players can queue for practice on select non-match days. These will not affect premier score.
  • Enrollment Updates: Teams created before or during the Team creation window will be able to recruit members and participate in premier at any point during the stage.
  • Timeouts – Teams will have one timeout per side and additional time out in overtime.
  • Premier Crests – Crests will reflect the team’s performance and evolve over the entire stage.
  • Playoff Qualification Thread – The qualification threshold in this stage is set to 600 points.
  • Matchmaking – Slight adjustments to find fairer matches during weekly matches
  • Zones – Adjustments made to certain zones to support generally healthier queue times and improved match fairness

Bug Fixes

A rare where detaching from a rope would cause a footstep noise has been fixed.

These changes are being tested in the Valorant PBE server so players can expect some changes when the patch rolls out globally. Valorant devs are taking some rightful steps in boosting the pick rate of some unused agents and tuning down some agents to avoid the issue of power creep. This patch will be released globally and fans can expect some new team meta after patch 7.09

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