Valorant patch 5.12 notes: New Swiftplay mode, Agent changes & more

Valorant’s last patch of the year is here with update 5.12 and there are plenty of changes along with a brand new game mode for you to try. Keep reading to find out everything there is to know about Valorant’s last update of 2022.

Episode 5 Act 3 in Valorant has been mostly about balancing the Agents with various buffs and nerfs. Keeping up with the trend, update 5.12 has presented changes for almost all the Agents in the game. Additionally, Riot has also introduced a brand new game mode which will be available until the end of this episode.

Given that Riot has confirmed update 5.12 to be the last patch of 2022 as well as Episode 5, it remains to be seen how the changes will affect the in-game meta ahead of Episode 6. Having said that, let’s dive in and check out all the changes coming in with the new update.

Valorant 5.12 patch notes

With 15 Agents getting affected by the 5.12 update, it is safe to say that this is one of the largest sub-patches in the history of Valorant. Additionally, the Spectre has also received a notable nerf to balance its in-game performance.

Apart from that, Riot has also introduced several new damage-interaction changes which will now cause several abilities to behave differently from before against other abilities. On top of all these, Riot is also releasing a new beta game mode featuring much quicker matches with a best-of-nine-round structure.

With that said, here’s the full list of changes in Valorant update 5.12 from the official patch notes.

Agent Updates

Breach

• Rolling Thunder (X)
  • Ultimate Points increased 7 >>> 8

Chamber

• Headhunter (Q)
  • Updated Stability Curve
    • Spread increased after 2nd bullet, when spamming. This is explicitly meant to reduce low-precision body-shot spam as an effective combat measure at range.
• Rendezvous (E)
  • Chamber now places a single anchor that can be teleported to while inside its range
    • Radius increased 7.5m >>> 13m
  • Removed teleport activation height restriction
    • You can teleport to the Anchor while on different verticality so long as you are within its radius.
  • Increased weapon equip time after teleporting 0.4s >>> 0.7s
    • Headhunter is unaffected by this change
  • Destroying Rendezvous teleport anchor now disables it for the remainder of the round, instead of being placed on a cooldown.
  • Chamber no longer incurs an additional cooldown when recalling his Anchor after teleporting.
  • Health decreased 80 >>> 50
• Trademark (C)
  • The trap is now range restricted
    • Trademark will disable when Chamber moves out of range, and reactivate once he is inside.
  • Can now be recalled mid-round without line of sight
  • 30s cooldown on recall
  • Destruction remains permanent
  • Initial Arm Time increased 2s >>> 4s
  • Health Increased 1 >>> 20
• Tour De Force (X)
  • Fire rate decreased by 57.5%
• Slow
  • This applies to both Trademark and Tour De Force
    • Reduced duration 6s >>> 4s

Cypher

• Trapwire (C)
  • Health increased 1 >>> 20

Fade

• Prowler (C)
  • Health decreased 100 >>> 60

Harbor

• High Tide (E)
  • Duration increased 12s >>> 15s
• Cascade (C)
  • Duration increased 5s >>> 7s

KAY/O

• ZERO/POINT (E)
  • Health increased 1 >>> 20
• NULL/cmd (C)
  • Ultimate points increased 7 >>> 8

Killjoy

• Lockdown (X)
  • Health increased 150 >>> 200
• Nanoswarm (C)
  • Health increased 1 >>> 20

Omen

• Paranoia (Q)
  • Cost decreased 300 >>> 250

Phoenix

• Blaze (C)
  • Cost decreased 200 >>> 150

Raze

• Boom Bot (C)
  • Health decreased 100 >>> 60
• Blast Pack (Q)
  • Health increased 1 >>> 20

Sage

• Barrier Orb (C)
  • Fortify delay  increased 3.0s >>> 3.3s
• Healing Orb (E)
  • Self heal total amount decreased  60HP >>> 30HP
  • Ally heal total amount increased 60HP>>> 100HP

Sova

• Recon Bolt (E)
  • Health increased 1 >>> 20

Skye

• Trailblazer (Q)
  • Cost increased 250 >>> 300
• Regrowth (C)
  • Cost decreased 200 >>> 150

Viper

• Viper’s Pit (X)
  • Smoke integrity regen time 5.0 >>> 25.0
  • Max time out of smoke decreased 15.0 >>> 8.0
  • Ultimate points required 7 >>> 8

Yoru

• Gatecrash (E)
  • Health decreased 100 >>> 60
  • Cost decreased 200 >>> 150

Gameplay Systems Updates

Assist Tail Tuning

• Concuss, Nearsight, Detained
  • Assist tail increased 2s >>> 3s
• Exiting Smokes
  • Assist tail increased 1s >>> 2s
• Slow
  • Assist tail increased 1s >>> 2s
• Suppression
  • Added new 3s assist tail

Damage Interaction Updates

• Abilities that output damage will now universally damage enemy objects that can be damaged. Exceptions are made for Skye Trailblazer & Cypher Trapwire that only deal damage to players.

Brimstone

• Incendiary now damages:
  • Killjoy Nanoswarm
  • Killjoy Alarmbot
  • Killjoy Lockdown
  • Cypher Trapwire
  • Raze Blast Pack
  • Sova Recon Bolt
  • Reyna Leer
  • Sage Barrier Orb
  • KAY/O Knife
  • Chamber Trademark
  • Chamber Rendezvous
  • Fade Prowler
• Orbital Strike now damages:
  • Chamber Rendezvous

Phoenix

• Hothands bow damages:
  • Cypher Trapwire
  • Killjoy Nanoswarm
  • Killjoy Alarmbot
  • Killjoy Lockdown
  • Raze Blast Pack
  • Reyna Leer
  • Sage Barrier Orb
  • Sova Recon Bolt
  • Fade Prowler
  • KAY/O Knife
  • Chamber Trademark
  • Chamber Rendezvous
• Blaze now damages:
  • Cypher Trapwire
  • Killjoy Nanoswarm
  • Killjoy Alarmbot
  • Killjoy Lockdown
  • Raze Blast Pack
  • Reyna Leer
  • Sage Barrier Orb
  • Sova Recon Bolt
  • Fade Prowler
  • KAY/O Knife
  • Yoru Fakeout
  • Chamber Trademark
  • Chamber Rendezvouszero

KAY/O

• FRAG/MENT: KAY/O now has a voiceover that tells his allies the number of enemies suppressed when the knife hits.
• ZERO/POINT now damages:
  • Fade Prowler

Killjoy

• Nanoswarm now damages:
  • Cypher Trapwire
  • Killjoy Nanoswarm
  • Killjoy Alarmbot
  • Killjoy lockdown
  • Raze Blast Pack
  • Reyna Leer
  • Sage Barrier Orb
  • Sova Recon Bolt
  • Chamber Trademark
  • Chamber Rendezvous
  • Fade Prowler
  • KAY/O Knife

Raze

• Blast Pack
  • Now damages:
    • Fade Prowler
• Paint Shells
  • Now damages:
    • Fade Prowler

Sova

• Shock Bolt
  • Now damages:
    • Fade Prowler
• Hunters Fury
  • Now damages:
    • Raze Satchel
    • Reyna Leer
    • Fade Prowler
    • Chamber Rendezvous

Viper

• Snakebite
  • Now damages:
    • Cypher Trapwire
    • Killjoy Nanoswarm
    • Killjoy Alarmbot
    • Killjoy lockdown
    • Raze Blast Pack
    • Reyna Leer
    • Sage Barrier Orb
    • Skye Seekers
    • Sova Recon Bolt
    • Chamber Trademark
    • Chamber Rendezvous
    • Fade Prowler
    • KAY/O Knife

Damage Multiplier Updates

Breach

• Aftershock now deals 250% >>> 100% damage to non-players

Brimstone

• Incendiary now deals 100% >>> 50% damage to non-players

KAY/O

• Fragment now deals 250% >>> 100% damage to non-players

Killjoy

• Nanoswarm now deals 100% >>> 50% damage to non-players

Phoenix

• Hot Hands now deals 100% >>> 50% damage to non-players

Raze

• Blast Pack now deals 1200% >>> 250% damage to non-players
• Paint Shells now deals 100% >>> 250% damage to non-players
• Boom Bot now deals 100% >>> 250% damage to non-players

Viper

• Snake Bite now deals 100% >>> 50% damage to non-players

Allied Ability Damage Immunity

Chamber

• Rendezvous
• Trademark

Cypher

• Spycam

Fade

• Prowler
• Haunt

KAY/O

• ZERO/POINT

Killjoy

• Alarmbot
• Lockdown

Raze

• Blastpack
• Boom Bot

Skye

• Seekers
• Trailblazer

Sova

• Owl Drone
• Recon Bolt

Yoru

• Gatecrash
• Fakeout

Weapons Updates

Spectre

• Added a third damage range to the Spectre and updated distances.  New distances and body shot damage is:
  • 0-15m, 26 damage.
  • 15m-30m, 22 damage.
  • 30m+, 20 damage.
• For reference, the old ranges and damages were:
  • 0-20m, 26 damage.
  • 20m+, 22 damage.

Modes Updates

Swiftplay Beta

Swiftplay Beta is playable from December 6 through January 10, 2023.

• Similar to the standard 5v5 Unrated mode, but condensed:
  • First to 5 rounds, 4-round half
  • Spike mode victory conditions
    • Single Spike carrier
  • Set Credit amounts granted at the start of the round
    • 800
    • 2400*
      • Not including the 600c bonus for winning the pistol round
    • 4250
    • 4250
  • Weapon and Credit carryover supported
  • +600 credit bonus for winning the pistol round
  • Standard Kill bonuses (+200c) and Spike Plant bonuses (+300c)
  • 2 Ult points are granted at the start of each half
  • Sudden death overtime
  • The match time is approx. 15 minutes

Bug Fixes

• Fixed an issue where Phoenix would not be decayed by Viper for a short period after dying during Run It Back while decayed. (Thanks for the report Iyerfire)
• Fixed an issue where Cypher wasn’t able to place Trapwires on the glass panels by the yellow crate on Icebox.
• Fixed a bug where enemy Spycams or Turrets could trigger Cypher’s Trapwires.
• Fixed a bug where enemy knives could not damage Chamber’s Rendezvous teleport anchor.
• Fixed a bug where Boombot would explode on contact with Yoru’s Gatecrash beacons.

---

So, there you have it, that’s everything included in Valorant update 5.12 patch notes. For more about the game, make sure to check some of our other Valorant content:

What is the Night Market? | How to get Gun Buddies | All Valorant skin bundles | Best Valorant Agents | When is Valorant on Mobile coming out? | Best Sentinels | Best Initiators | What is Econ Rating? | How to get free loot drops | Best Duelists | Is Valorant on Mac? | Best Controllers