Riot Games’ promised Yoru rework is here and Valorant Episode 4 Act 2 is kicking off with a set of patch notes you won’t want to miss. The update 4.04 patch notes also detail changes to Omen, Brimstone, Astra, and Viper alongside major changes to Icebox and a healthy amount of bug squashing.
Fans have been waiting for Valorant’s Yoru rework to drop for some time and it looks like not a lot has changed since it was first discussed by Riot in December. His Fakeout decoy is going to react to being shot and he’ll now be able to trick opponents with a fake teleport cue. In addition to this, Yoru’s Dimensional Drift changes – which were revealed last month – have also made the cut. It’s safe to say that Yoru players will be able to cause a lot more disruption and confusion going forward.
These changes are sure to shake up Yoru’s place on our Valorant tier list, but they’re not the only ones players need to look out for. Omen and Brimstone are both being tweaked slightly, with Omen’s Shrouded Step and Brimstone’s Sky Smoke receiving minor buffs.
Viper and Astra, however, are subject to more substantial changes. Astra’s abilities are being tweaked, with Nebula’s size increasing significantly, but her cooldowns are being almost doubled across the board. Viper’s cooldown for Toxic Screen and Poison Cloud is also being nerfed with new indicators making it clear when each ability is on cooldown.
The meta might look like it’s going to change, but Valorant players are also going to have to get used to a significant map rework in this update. The update 4.04 patch notes also detail several changes being made to Icebox – specifically, the area of the map around B Site.
Riot Games has explained that these changes are being made to improve attacker options and add a new importance to controlling B Site – all while making engagements in the surrounding areas a bit more manageable. You can find a full list of the changes in our Valorant patch notes guide.
With a collection of bug fixes rounding out an important update, Valorant players are going to have a lot of new information to contend with when Valorant Episode 4 Act 2 releases on March 2. If you’re planning to dive into competitive, now is the perfect time to get clued up on the Valorant ranks here.