What we learned from Valorant Episode 3 launch stream: Butterfly Knife, level system, more

Riot Games revealed a ton of new information during Valorant’s Episode 3 developer livestream on June 21. Here’s a breakdown of all the biggest announcements.

To celebrate the launch of Episode 3 in Valorant, Riot hosted a Q&A livestream, tackling some of the biggest topics in the community. Developers rotated in and out to address everything from skins to ranked and even new Agents.

While the spotlight is clearly on new additions in Episode 3 itself, that didn’t stop the Riot devs from teasing what’s in the pipeline.

Here’s a recap of all the biggest talking points from the Episode 3 stream.

Valorant ranked improvements in Episode 3

Out of the gate, Riot unveiled plans to improve Valorant’s ranked experience.

Throughout the first year, the game adjusted MMR up to a 100 game cap. It was just to get people into their correct rank really quickly,” designer Jon Walker explained. Moving forward, this system is going to be switched off.

“We found by reworking the system and turning it off, we could increase matchmaking accuracy by up to 50% in the lower ranks.” According to Walker, this should provide a more balanced experience in Valorant’s competitive playlists in Episode 3.

Valorant level progression in Episode 3

With the beginning of Episode 3 comes a new progression system in Valorant. Players will now have an overall level tied to their account, tracking experience across every game mode. 

This system goes all the way to level 499, providing unique profile borders for every 20 levels along the way.

Moreover, Riot confirmed this leveling system will work retroactively, meaning all your progress thus far will be factored into your starting level in Episode 3.

Valorant 5-stack tournaments

After months of anticipation, Riot has finally unveiled an in-game tournament system coming to Valorant. 5-stacks will finally be able to compete against one another through this feature that was described similar to Clash tournaments in League of Legends.

Competing in this tournament structure will lead to bigger and better opportunities, Riot confirmed. Winners of regular 5-stack events will later be invited to a featured bracket at the end of Act 1.

Butterfly Knife coming to Valorant

If you’re looking for your next cosmetic upgrade in Valorant, Riot has teased that a CS:GO-style Butterfly Knife is on the way.

“We will have a Butterfly Knife,” Art Lead Sean Marino said during the broadcast. While there’s no telling what the price will be, nor when it might come out, rest assured it’s on the way.

Similar Valorant Agents down the line

Last but not least, Goscicki touched on the idea of repeat abilities in Valorant’s future. While we already have certain similarities, this should become more and more common down the line.

“You’ll start to see these things on other Agents,” Character Producer John Goscicki said in regards to various debuffs and abilities. “No status effect is sacred to a current Agent. It’s just that some are only represented on one Agent currently.”

This means we’ll likely be seeing more common traits in Valorant moving forward. Otherwise, Riot worries the game may become too convoluted with new Agents always introducing new gameplay elements and effects.

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So that’s a wrap on all the key talking points from the Episode 3 launch stream.

In the meantime, there’s plenty to get excited about for the new update. From the release of KAY/O to one of the bigger balance adjustments we’ve ever seen, be sure to brush up on everything ahead of the season launch.