Riot Games has officially dropped VALORANT Patch 13.08 to kick off Episode 26, Act 6. This update is packed with highly anticipated system overhauls, massive map pool rotations, structural reworks to Corrode, and a staggering Vanguard ban report to start the Act on a clean slate.
Here is a full breakdown of everything you need to know about the new patch.
The Brand-New Map Rating System
Have you ever wondered if your win rate is genuinely better on certain maps, or if you just have a favorite? Patch 13.08 introduces the Map Rating System to give you concrete data on your performance.
Every map in the game now receives its own 0-500 rating and a letter grade ranging from C to S. This grade is calculated based on your overall win rate, your specific Attacker vs. Defender side success, and your Performance Score.
- Weighted Recency: Recent games will weigh more heavily on your score than older ones.
- Privacy: This rating is completely private; nobody else can view your grades. It will appear for you in Agent Select, the End of Game screen, and your newly updated Career navigation bar.
- Fresh Start: Like the recent Agent Mastery update, Map Rating starts completely fresh for all players. Old match data will not be counted.
Map Pool Rotations and Corrode Rework
The Competitive and Deathmatch map pools are getting a major shakeup. Bind and Corrode are officially back in, while fan-favorites Ascent and Split are rotating out.
To accompany its return, Corrode is receiving a series of structural reworks to improve the defensive experience and cut down on oppressive post-plants:
- Faster Rotations: Defender rotations to the back of A and B sites have been significantly shortened.
- Mid Changes: The mid half-wall is now made of metal (removing bullet penetration spam) and has been pushed out by a meter.
- A-Site Adjustments: Boxes have been moved, a new jump-up has been added, and a specific wall has been raised to prevent players from peeking over the new box position. The A-site plant zone was also adjusted to make post-plant scenarios less oppressive for retaking defenders.
Performance Score Tuning & Client Updates
Following feedback from the launch of the Performance Score system, Riot has pushed several tuning updates.
- The impact of raw damage, “adjusted kills,” and “adjusted deaths” (such as First Bloods and First Deaths) has been bumped up.
- Chamber received specific utility tweaks to ensure his contributions are properly valued by the scoring algorithm.
- Client Updates: The game features a new Queue and Mode Select interface, as well as a new navigation bar in the Career tab for easier access to Rank Legacy, Accolades, and the new Map Rating.
Massive Vanguard Ban Wave
Riot shared fresh Vanguard statistics from Act 5, showing their continued aggressive stance against rule-breakers. The numbers for the previous Act are massive:
- 171,000+ banned for cheating
- 54,000+ banned for botting
- 76,000+ banned for rank manipulation (boosting/smurfing)
- 74,000+ banned for toxicity
- 288,000+ banned for AFK and gameplay abuse
- 14,000+ banned for stream sniping or using install tools
Bug Fixes and Known Issues
- Killjoy Fix: Alarmbot destruction VFX and audio will now properly trigger when the bot is destroyed by moving doorways.
- Warden Fix: Critical scope alignment during full-auto fire with the new Warden rifle has been sorted out.
- Audio Tweaks: Footstep, body-fall, and gun bounce audio have been cleaned up alongside fog-of-war visual fixes.
- Temporarily Disabled: The heavily praised “Practice Range in Queue” feature has been temporarily disabled while the devs fix a bug state. There is also a known visual bug affecting the Team MVP badge in match history.
