VALORANT update 7.04 patch notes: Sunset, Agent & map changes explained

The VALORANT update 7.04 patch notes are now here, detailing all the latest agent and map changes to the game, and the introduction of the Sunset map.

Riot Games is known for its consistent update schedule, and VALORANT is no different, receiving patches typically every two weeks that result in balance changes, bug fixes, or just new content for players to enjoy in the game. This time around, it's all about balancing the agents in the game, with many of them receiving big changes to their abilities.

If you want to know everything there is to know about the latest update for the game, here are the patch notes for VALORANT update 7.04.

• Make sure you check out our VALORANT Agent tier list

VALORANT update 7.04 patch notes

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Agent updates

Outlined in the patch notes, the agent changes are intended to focus on increasing the game state clarity by making the following adjustments:

• Reducing the frequency of large area of effect of ultimates
• Reducing the amount of time utility is active in the world
• Reducing the HP of shootable utility
• We also believe the Ultimate cost updates below better align large area, high-impact ults with the pressure they place on the enemy, creating both a better pacing of the round-defining abilities and a clearer choice competition between high and low cost ults

Breach

• Aftershock (C)
  • Ticks reduced from 3 to 2
  • Damage increased from 60 per tick to 80
• Rolling Thunder (X)
  • Ultimate points increased 8>>> 9

Brimstone

• Orbital Strike (X)
• Ultimate points increased 7>>>8

Fade

• Prowler (C)
  • Time to re-equip gun takes slightly longer after using the ability

Gekko

• Mosh Pit (C)
  • The impacted area does 10 damage per second before exploding
• Wingman (Q)
  • HP reduced 100>>>80
• Thrash (X)
  • Thrash’s explosion had a little makeover to make it easier to see and understand the area it has affected (on top of being beautiful)

Killjoy

• Lockdown (X)
  • Ultimate points increased 8>>> 9

Omen

• Paranoia (Q)
  • No movement velocity imparted when casting

Skye

• Guiding Light (E)
  • Max duration while casting reduced 2.5s >>>2s
• Trailblazer (Q)
  • HP reduced 100>>>80
• Seekers (X)
  • Ultimate Points increased 7 >>>8
  • Seeker Health decreased 150>>>120

Sova

• Recon Bolt (E)
  • Total number of scans reduced 3>>>2

Viper

• Viper’s Pit (X)
  • Ultimate points increased 8>>>9

Astra

• Gravity Well (C)
• Startup time increased .6>>>1.25 
• Gravity time duration decreased 2.75>>>2.0
• Nova Pulse (Q)
• Startup time decreased from 1.25>>>1.0
• Cosmic Divide (X)
• Audio now is blocked completely by the wall rather than muffled

Jett

• Tailwind (E)
  • Dash window decreased 12s>>>7.5s
    • At 12s, Jett could often find value activating her dash without clear intention or make incorrect calls but still have time to find another use for the dash. Shortening this window pushes Jett to be more deliberate with her calls and reduces Tailwind’s power at defensively holding angles, while minimally impacting her ability to proactively use the dash to break onto a site
  • Activation windup increased 0.75s>>>1s
    • Increasing Tailwind’s windup should promote proactive use by reducing Jett’s ability to activate it reactively when caught off guard or in the middle of a fight and successfully escape
• Cloudburst (C)
  • Duration decreased 4.5s>>>2.5s
    • Time to re-equip gun takes slightly longer after using the ability.
      We want to reduce some of the persistent safety Jett gets dashing into or escaping with smokes, sharpening Cloudburst to be a fast but powerful tool that forces players to be quick and precise with their decisions
• Updraft (Q)
  • Charges decreased 2>>>1
    • With two Updrafts, we’ve seen moments where Jett escapes situations where they’ve been tactically outplayed by throwing enemies off by relying on Updraft’s unpredictable movement. We hope to reduce some of the unhealthy movement extremes Updraft can produce and increase the importance of using it at the right time
• Blade Storm (X)
  • Ultimate points increased 7>>>8
    • Jett’s ultimate has proven one of the most flexible, reliable and economically powerful gun replacement Ultimates because of its lack of a timer, reset on kills, and harmony with Jett’s movement. This change should bring Blade Storm up to the same cost of comparable weapon ults, such as the Tour De Force and Showstopper
      
      
• Here's the full VALORANT skins list

Map updates

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Map rotation

• Breeze will be rotating back into the Competitive and Unrated map pool
• Please note that Fracture and Pearl have been rotated out of the Competitive and Unrated map rotation

New map: Sunset

• Sunset, our newest map, features three lanes and two sites
• Please note that the Sunset only queue will only be playable in Swiftplay mode for one week and then goes into the Competitive and Unrated map rotation in Patch 7.05

Breeze

Breeze’s scale and size are core to the map’s design but we wanted to address rotation times by simplifying where threats could be to make retaking less dangerous. This set of changes aims to add more tradeoffs to A and B site slams that utilize post-plant utility to secure the round while adding more incentive for Attackers to control Mid to exert pressure throughout the map.

• Adjusted Mid Pillar
  • We closed off one side of Mid Pillar and tightened up Mid Cubby. As a result, Mid should be more comfortable to rotate through with more predictable threats. 
  • Mid Pillar
    • One side has been closed off and boxes have been added
  • Mid Cubby
    • One side of the pillar has been closed off

• Adjusted B Site

  • We’ve adjusted B Site to make enemy positioning more predictable. This should make retake scenarios more manageable
  • B Site
    • Boxes have been added and parts of the wall around B Site have been removed and added
  • B Back
    • Boxes have been added and the stairs have been removed and walled off
• Blocked off A Hall
  • Halls required a lot of attention from Defenders often forcing them to spread thin. By blocking it off we hope this allows Defenders to better focus on where threats will come from while allowing both teams to invest more resources across the rest of the map
  • A Hall
    • Part of the hall has been walled off with a fence

• Adjusted Mid Doors
  • We expect there to be more fights in Mid and around Doors so we’ve adjusted this area to be more spacious and added a new stack of boxes as additional cover
  • Mid Wood Doors
    • Boxes have been added and door has been opened fully

• Closed A Cave and adjusted A Shop
  • Cave added a lot of pressure to post plant situations and the split approach to A made it difficult for Defenders to confidently contest the space. These changes aim to make the main approach to A feel more neutral and less strong for post-plant
  • A Cave
    • Interior has been widened and boxes have been added

• • A Shop
    • Entrance and interior have been widened
• Adjusted A Pyramids and added signage for callouts
  • We added a small platform at the bottom of each pyramid to make utility a bit easier to land around them. Also, we added signage to help differentiate callouts for the two pyramids
  • A Site
    • Pyramids have been made taller

Player behaviour updates

Report UI Improvements

• We’ve increased readability by adding icons and showing detailed text descriptions when hovering over each of the newly added icons
• We categorized the list of post-game reports into groups to help break down decision making from high level category to subcategories
• We’ve added reportee info in order to reduce false reporting

Premier updates

Premier has officially launched!

• If you played in Premier’s Ignition Stage, your team and match history will carry over
• Enrollment runs until September 7. The exact time for the end of Enrollment varies by Zone—make sure to check the schedule in the client for more information so you don’t miss it
• Weekly matches will feature the full competitive map pool across seven weeks. Each week will still have one dedicated map and a maximum of two matches on said map. Matches start on September 7 and run through October 21, with Playoffs on October 22
• Earn a Premier Score of at least 675 to qualify and to have a chance to be crowned one of the best teams in your Division
• Performance will now be tracked from Stage to Stage. You will receive a Division crest at the end of each Stage
• Divisions will be split into five tiers: Open, Intermediate, Advanced, Elite, and Contender
• Check out our FAQ for all the details, and good luck on your games

Bug fixes

Agent

• Fixed an issue where Sage’s Barrier Orb (C) can break when being placed in between doors such as C Garage on Haven

Gameplay Systems

• Fixed a bug where being killed on Fracture’s ziplines would make your Agent’s body appear in Spawn

Player Behavior

• Fixed a bug where pushing the play button on your keyboard caused voice to transmit despite having different keybinds set or none at all

Premier

• If a match goes into overtime and results in sudden death, the end of game timeline now displays the sudden death round correctly

Known issues

Premier

• Overtime Priority vote sometimes triggers two times in a row for a team

That's all for our coverage of the VALORANT update 7.04 patch notes, and now you know all the latest changes to the game.

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