Valorant patch 2.08 notes: New map Breeze, Astra & Viper bug fixes

Valorant patch 2.08 marks the launch of Episode 2 Act 3. The big update includes the release of new map Breeze, as well as some fixes to Astra, Viper, HRTF audio and more.

Valorant Episode 2 Act 3 is launching with patch 2.08, with a raft of new content set to hit Future Earth. New map Breeze, an all-new battle pass, and more are on their way – but not a new Agent.

While there aren’t any major Agent balance changes introduced in patch 2.08, there’s plenty of bug fixes that touch on characters like Astra and Viper.

New Valorant map: Breeze

People have been looking forward to the new map, Breeze, for some time. Not only will it add more depth to the map pool, it’s also one of the more open battlegrounds in Valorant so far.

It features lots of long sightlines, and plenty of space to spread your team out on attack and defense to try and conquer the beach paradise.

• Read more: Valorant adds new item dedicated to classic Sykkuno clip

Riot is giving players a new, temporary playlist that will be a Breeze-only Unrated queue for two weeks to learn the map. After that, it’ll be enabled in Unrated and Ranked play — as well as for VCT Stage 2 Masters in May.

Valorant Episode 2 Act 3 launch

We mentioned it at the top, but the newest Valorant Act is launching with patch 2.08 on April 27. Episode 2 Act 3 is the last major update of this arc of Valorant’s history ahead of Episode 3.

The new battle pass is launching with 50 tiers of rewards to grind towards. The Forsaken skin line – the dark side of the prestigious Sovereign one – is also being added to the shop.

• Read More: Riot investigating Valorant’s “one-sided” matchmaking

No new Agent is coming with the Act launch though, a first for Valorant. Instead, they’ll be coming with Episode 3 in June 2021.

HRTF audio upgrades

The Head Related Transfer Function (HRTF) audio setting is getting a much-needed update that will improve on the sound cues it picks up. When the 2.08 patch rolls around, HRTF will register weapon drop sounds when the feature is turned on. It was a highly requested addition, seeing as it’s an important sound cue to play attention to.

The Valorant developers also included a ton of bug fixes to Viper’s ability kit, as well as flash interactions with Astra and Brimstone’s smokes.

• Read more: Valorant Episode 2 Act 3 battle pass details

There’s plenty to dissect in the Valorant update 2.08 patch notes so take a look at the complete change list below, courtesy of Riot Games.

Valorant patch 2.08 notes

Map Updates

MAP UPDATES

BREEZE

Introducing the newest map, Breeze, to the VALORANT map pool. Breeze is set on a remote island distinguished by its bright, playful, and colorful environment, with wide open spaces and opportunities for long range encounters.

• Breeze will launch alongside a Breeze-only Unrated queue that will remain active for two weeks
  • More details on this queue can be found in the Competitive Updates section below.

COMPETITIVE UPDATES

• Added a Breeze-only Unrated queue for those who want to grind our new map
  • Breeze will also be available in the standard queues for Deathmatch, Spike Rush, and Escalation as well as Custom games.
  • This queue will only be active for two weeks. During this two week period, Breeze will not be available in the standard Unrated or Competitive queues. Following this period, the Breeze-only queue will be disabled and Breeze will then become available in the existing Unrated and Competitive queues.
• Reminder! This is the last Act to work for your Episode 2 Rank Reward, awarded after the end of Act III

GAME SYSTEM UPDATES

• Coach slots have been added to Tournament Mode Custom Games
  • We’re very excited to introduce Coach slots to Tournament Mode games! This is only the beginning of our work on Coaches, and while functionality will be limited to start, we have plans to expand the capabilities available to coaches during a match. We look forward to evolving the role of coaches and working on this feature in partnership with coaches from the VCT ecosystem.
• Coach slots Current Functionality:
  • Coaches can spectate Tournament Mode games and are locked to observing the team chosen in the custom game lobby.
  • Coaches cannot use Map Pings, Team Chat, or Voice Chat in-game.
  • Coaches can use All Chat and Party Chat to allow for cases where they may need to communicate with a Tournament Moderator.
  • Coaches can pause a match in cases where that functionality is allowed to players.

QUALITY OF LIFE

HRTF

• We’ve heard your requests (and where they came from)! Weapon drop sounds have been added to HRTF.

SOCIAL UPDATES

• Reporter Feedback has been added into the game
  • Those of you who make reports against disruptive players that get actioned on will now be notified.
  • Thanks for helping make VALORANT a better place for everyone and keep those reports coming 🙂
• Warnings are now enabled for first-offenders who need to be reminded of the in-game code of conduct. No excuses for bad behavior now!
• Wild Rift players will now appear on the social panel

BUGS

AGENTS

• Fixed Killjoy’s Turret and Alarmbot icons disappearing when disabled
• Fixed Astra and Brimstone’s smokes from blocking flashes even when you are not fully inside them
• Fixed Viper’s Toxic Screen going longer than intended when it passed through the teleporter on Bind
• Fixed Viper’s Poison Cloud pickup distance being 200 instead of the intended 400
• Improved performance of Astra’s Nebula VFX on low settings

MODES

• Fixed a bug where, in Spike Rush, picking up the weapon upgrade orb with the Operator equipped would cause you to lose your Operator and receive nothing to replace it
  • Now, you will keep your Operator, and will be granted a random secondary slot weapon.

COMPETITIVE

• Fixed a bug that was causing rank icons to disappear in Match History
• Fixed a bug that was causing Act Rank badges to show up on map loading screens in non-competitive modes