Patch 6.08 hits VALORANT today, April 25, and with it comes a variety of changes big and small. One so small, in fact, that you may not even notice it. Alongside Bind coming back into the map pool with its shiny new updates and some adjustments to Killjoy and Gekko, one particularly niche gun has gotten a visual rework.
The Shorty has always felt a bit like a toy, with its low price and just two bullets to fill the chamber. Not to mention if you’ve completed Killjoy’s agent contract, your Shorty is decked out in cute designs from the Wunderkind skin. The gun isn’t a particularly useful weapon either, only coming in handy in specific scenarios with certain agents.
Nevertheless, the Shorty is a beloved member of the VALORANT family of weapons. And finally, this small cousin of the other shotguns in the game has gotten a makeover.
The Shorty now looks a bit more sleek and refined, meaning it can hold its own (visually) against other VALORANT weapons. Riot Games has assured players that this change is only visual, and won’t affect or change the performance of the gun in any way. Here’s the old version of the weapon, for comparison.
The new design of the default Shorty adds a bit more depth to certain aspects of the gun while smoothing out other areas. The grip on the gun’s handle is a bit less defined, but the hinge to open the chamber is larger and more pronounced. The barrel of the gun is a bit slimmer, and the trigger is larger.
Related: Here are the VALORANT Patch 6.08 patch notes
Riot has also updated a few skins to reflect this change in the gun. The skins that have received updates seem to be those that feature intricate designs on the barrel that have had to be adjusted to account for the slimmer design.
These are the six skins that have received updates with the Shorty’s new design:
- Default
- Wunderkind
- Sidekick
- Karabasan
- Prism II
- Doodle Buds
Though the updated visual model for the Shorty certainly looks a bit more refined, some players may wonder why this change was needed in the first place.
VALORANT developers said the main reason for adjusting the visuals of the Shorty and some of its skins was “to get them up to par visually with the rest of our weapons.”
Though the Shorty is arguably the weakest gun in the game, it doesn’t deserve to be the ugliest as well!
