Here are the VALORANT Patch 7.06 patch notes

The third patch of VALORANT Episode Seven, Act Two, is here, and although not a major update, it’s bringing a few crucial changes to the game this season. Launching on Sept. 19, Patch 7.06 will be available to download across all servers after a short server maintenance period. 

To summarize it, Patch 7.06 finally introduces the competitive update to combat botting and smurfing we all have been waiting for, a couple of updates related to UI and gameplay systems, new voice lines for our wall-bearing sentinel Sage, and, of course, bug fixes.

What is included in VALORANT Patch 7.06?

Competitive update to counter botting and smurfing

Going forward, Ascendant players will be restricted from queuing with players below Platinum—even in five-stack parties. 

Originally announced for Patch 7.05 and then delayed, this competitive update aims at countering the growing bot problem, where account sellers use bots to level up new accounts and sell those to smurfs. It also aims to discourage high-Elo VALORANT players who queue with low-Elo players to get easier lobbies or to boost their low-ranked buddies. 

Hopefully, we’ll be seeing a reduction in competitive rank boosting from now on. But Riot Games said it’ll be actively monitoring botting abuse and punish anyone detected indulging in such practices.

Sage is getting some brand-new voice lines

It’s been a while since our favorite healer received any interesting changes—other than her disheartening nerfs to her self-healing ability and Barrier Orb in VALORANT Patch 5.12. Patch 7.06 is about to change that, introducing some new dialogues where Sage addresses many agents, including Jett, Deadlock, Chamber, Astra, Brimstone, Gekko, and more. 

And one of these voice lines even refers to the popular “Jett, Revive me” meme. Well, Riot never fails to disappoint with its meme game.  

Load times and gameplay systems updated 

Riot has added improvements to how it loads your in-game accessories, like gun buddies and weapons skins, reducing your load times. This change will land mid-patch, so don’t expect it to go live on Sept. 19.

Besides this, the Combat Reports feature has also received some backend updates to “fix instances where all the correct information wasn’t showing.” 

I’m glad the Combat Report fixes are in. It was confusing to see two Frenzy headshots deal zero damage in one of my ranked matches earlier, and I don’t want it to happen again. That said, make sure to report any anomalies you spot, especially in the pre-round start or after-death report.

Bug fixes added with VALORANT Patch 7.06

All three bug fixes of this patch are related to gameplay systems:

• Fixed a rare bug where you would be revealed unintentionally in places where you shouldn’t be seen after purchasing a weapon.
• Fixed an issue where the Spike plant and defuse UI bar did not appear for minimal HUD observers. 
• Fixed a bug where vision cones would flicker at the start of a round on Sunset. 

Check out the full patch notes here.