VALORANT Patch 13.09 has officially arrived on the live servers today. While the headline of the update is undoubtedly the full release of the new Duelist, Hush, Riot Games has also packed in some controversial balance adjustments for Clove, much-needed buffs for the Warden rifle, and a massive overhaul to in-game tooltips and buff terminology.
Here is a complete breakdown of everything you need to know about Patch 13.09.
Hush is Now Available
The wait is over: VALORANT’s newest agent, Hush, is now fully playable in-game. Hailing from Guangdong province, this eccentric Duelist uses telekinesis to completely disrupt enemy setups. Her unique kit features:
- Telekinesis (Passive): Allows Hush to pick up weapons or the Spike (on attack) and interact with switches from an increased range.
- Displacement & Flashbulb: Projectiles that can be prepped in mid-air and redirected toward the crosshair to stun or flash enemies.
- Flow: A movement ability that drops an anchor and propels Hush toward it.
- Suspension (Ultimate): An explosive orb that levitates all caught players helplessly into the air.
Because she is the first agent released since the Performance Score launched, Riot noted that scoring on Hush might be a bit bumpy for the first few days as the system tunes what constitutes “good utility use”.
Clove Adjustments (Nerfs)
To standardize values across the agent roster and fix long-standing inconsistencies, Riot has issued a pair of nerfs to Clove.
- Pick-me-up: The bonus movement speed granted by this ability has been decreased from 15% to 10%.
- Not Dead Yet: Killing Clove after they cast their ultimate will now correctly grant the killer an ultimate point and a signature refresh point, fixing an issue where players were not properly rewarded for winning the second gunfight.
Warden Rifle Buffs
The developers are aiming to improve the base versatility and handling of the Warden to ensure it feels justified at its 2,900 credit price point. To make it more controllable, the rifle is receiving the following buffs:
- Pitch recoil has been smoothed out for the first few bullets.
- The second bullet error has been reduced from 0.25 to 0.2.
- The third bullet error has been reduced from 0.6 to 0.5.
System & UI Updates: New Buff Terminology
Patch 13.09 introduces some massive clarity updates to the in-game UI. All relevant agents now have proper descriptions for their passives (like Neon’s Battery) visible in the Agent Hub and tooltips.
Additionally, Riot is categorizing specific status effects with official terms:
- Haste: This term now officially refers to a strict movement speed boost (affecting Clove, Neon, Miks, and Waylay).
- Combat Stim: This term is now exclusively reserved for buffs that increase weapon handling, fire rate, and reload speed (like Brimstone’s Stim Beacon).
- Snapshot: This term officially refers to the still-image silhouette reveal mechanics used by Cypher’s Neural Theft and Spycam.
Competitive Tuning and Bug Fixes
- Map Rating: Your “Act Best Match” will now have a bigger impact on your Map Rating each Act to better reward consistency and peak performances.
- Accolades: The threshold for earning the First Blood Accolade has been raised to make it harder to obtain.
- Bug Fixes: A plethora of bugs have been resolved, including fixes for Gekko’s Mosh Pit damaging objects outside its AoE, Clove’s Ruse map being visible from below, and Tejo’s Special Delivery persisting into the next round.
