The latest VALORANT Patch 6.08 includes a brand new Act, a fresh Battle Pass, and a host of gameplay tweaks to enhance the players' overall experience. Let’s see all the updates in detail, including nerfs to Killjoy and changes to agent Gekko.

VALORANT recently received a massive update bringing a plethora of exciting changes and updates to the game with Patch 6.08.  Out of all the changes that came with this highly teased update, the return of the fan-favorite map, Bind, is the star of the show. The patch also introduced some significant changes to agent Killjoy and some minor ones to Gekko as well. 

So, grab your guns, and let's explore what's new in the latest VALORANT Patch 6.08! Don’t forget to check out our VALORANT competitions such as daily Missions and Ladders where you can test your skills and get rewarded as you progress with our Stryda Battle Pass. 

Bind is Back! (Icebox is Out) 

Source: Riot Games

The fan-favorite Moroccan map, Bind, was taken out of the rotation alongside Breeze in the previous act and fans have been missing it. However, Riot finally decided to reveal that the map will be added back into rotation with the brand new Episode 06: REVELATION: Act 3 update (patch 6.08) alongside some major changes to it. Additionally, Icebox has been taken off of the active map pool to make room for the legendary map’s return.

These changes weigh heavily on the gameplay since some are as big as to even have a whole new meta built around them. To put it simply, Bind has become a completely new experience with a significant impact on how players strategize on the map. Some of the changes include revamped Teleport Exit near Bath, changes to the B site, and much more! Let’s dive deeper into the specifics.

A Site changes in Bind with VALORANT Patch 6.08

The most significant change you’ll notice right away is that the Teleport Exit on the A side of the map has been totally revamped. The Exit has been moved right next to the Bath entrance. Its previous location still exists with an elevated platform with a shop.

The next big change has been made to the Bath itself. A Bath interior has become much wider allowing players to take control of it rather easily. Angles can be cleared more efficiently now and the doorway that connects A Site and Bath has also become wider.

Finally, the site itself has received some minor adjustments to accompany the aforementioned changes. The Radianite crates on the A site have been adjusted to add more horizontal cover. The site also has some other minor changes that add more flexibility to back site.

B Site changes in Bind with VALORANT Patch 6.08

On the other hand, B Site hasn’t received as many updates as the A Site but some significant changes have been made to its back site. The most significant one is the addition of a small high window in the Elbow. Projectiles and utility can now be shot and thrown through it to make retakes and defusals more challenging. Additionally, the doorway connecting B Hall and B Site has also been widened.

Huge Killjoy Nerf with VALORANT Patch 6.08!

Source: Riot Games

The next big change that came with Patch 6.08 is the massive Killjoy nerf. Agent Killjoy has been a go-to Sentinel agent for many players that provide a ton of defensive abilities to team compositions. However, her abilities have been a little harder to perform, and Riot has addressed this situation with some changes to her Nanoswarm (C). The reveal radius of the ability has been increased to match its area of damage and to make it more realistic for enemies that are moving methodically to track them down. Additionally, some of her audio cues have been adjusted to make it clearer when her abilities are destroyed and some UI changes have been made to improve the overall quality of gameplay. Here’s a full breakdown of all her changes:

Nanoswarm (C)

• Nanoswarm reveal radius increased 350 >> 525

• Nanoswarm audio has been updated.

• Audio loop now also turns off when disabled as a result of Killjoy being killed or suppressed.

• Improved feedback for the enemy when they destroy Nanoswarm.

• Nanoswarm is now revealed when it is disabled.

Other Abilities

• Updated visuals for Killjoy’s ultimate Lockdown (X) being destroyed.

• Removed the yellow warning UI Indicator for enemies Killjoy’s Lockdown (X).

• Updated deactivate sounds for Killjoy’s Turret (E) and Alarmbot (Q) to make them more distinct.

Gekko Changes with VALORANT Patch 6.08

Source: Riot Games

Killjoy wasn’t the only agent that received some changes in VALORANT Patch 6.08. The brand-new agent on the VALORANT roster, Gekko, also received some quality-of-life improvements to make him fit more into the game and the meta. His updates are pretty minor compared to the Killjoy changes, but still here’s a full breakdown:

Wingman

• Audio improvements to Wingman’s (Q) plant and defuse audio.

• The audio cues for Wingman's spike and defuse sound were unclear during hectic combat situations. This should help make those audio cues stand out.

Other changes to Gekko

• Riot has updated Gekko’s in-game portrait for better gameplay readability and quality consistency.

Premier and other QOL Changes with VALORANT Patch 6.08

Even though this is a pretty massive update that brought a new Act, it did not introduce any new agents or maps to the game but many changes to some existing agents and maps. However, Riot introduced a brand new feature to the game, Premier. 

So what’s the new Premier feature in VALORANT? Premier is a game mode that puts teams in a tournament structure to compete at the highest level of competitiveness, similar to what Riot has done with Clash for League of Legends. The game mode was first revealed earlier this year and it has finally come out in its open beta phase to the public.

Apart from that, Patch 6.08 also brought in some visual updates to several Shorty models, including the default Shorty. These are simply visual updates that do not bear any gameplay impact. Following is a list of all the updated Shorty skins.

• Default Shorty

• Wunderkind Shorty

• Sidekick Shorty

• Karabasan Shorty

• Prism II Shorty

• Doodle Buds Shorty

And lastly, as usual, the patch also fixed some known bugs to improve the game’s quality of life. These include everything from known gameplay bugs to issues with the client and its functionality. Here’s a full breakdown of all the bug fixes.

• Gameplay

• Fixed an issue where “Kick ally off” displays while defusing the Spike.

• Fixed a visual bug where the Spike progress bar for planting or defusing would speed up or reset while defusing.

• Fixed an issue where Yoru couldn’t drop his weapon while using Dimensional Drift (X).

• Social

• (Fixed in Patch 6.07) Fixed a bug where the add/remove friend button wasn't available when right-clicking a party member who had the "Hide my name outside my party" setting turned on.

• (Fixed in Patch 6.07) Fixed a bug where banned players would not get removed from your party.

• Fixed a bug where party invites that were no longer valid were sometimes still showing as active for players.

• Fixed a bug where the Team and All chat logs would be wiped after a match. Thank you to our Redditors for alerting us to this one.

• Fixed a bug where punctuation marks were not correctly displayed when the in-game language is Thai.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the changes to the Bind map are sure to change up the gameplay and provide new strategies for players to explore. The updates to Killjoy and Gekko, especially the Killjoy nerf, will also have an impact on how players approach certain situations in the game. The addition of Premier mode will offer even more variety and excitement for players with more competitive environments and challenges. What are you most excited about in this recent patch?

Now that you have all this knowledge, what better way to test the new update than entering a VALORANT Ladder in Stryda? Make your GGs more rewarding with our free Battle Pass, join Stryda now!