Riot’s new approach to Valorant updates comes in patch 1.12

After the problematic release of patch 1.11, Riot is taking a new approach to game updates. 

“Patch 1.11 is forcing us to reevaluate what it takes to raise the quality bar for patch days going forward. So, while we’re not skipping Patch 1.12, we’re giving it a light touch,” comms associate Jeff Landa explained. 

Landa also noted that they will be skipping the next patch cycle. This means patches will return once the First Strike qualifiers are complete. Developers noted earlier that they had to slow down patches because they were disruptive to the competitive integrity of the game’s tournaments. 

The next Valorant update will arrive on December 8.

What is included in Valorant patch 1.12?

It only makes sense that the biggest changes in Patch 1.12 involve competitive integrity heading into the biggest Valorant esports competitions of the year. Observers no longer hear ping audio and have improved sightline visibility in well-lit areas. Developers also added a game state modification cheat to allow moderators to adjust various aspects of the game, including player stats and money, while in a tournament setting. 

The other competitive change was a rollback that fixed team colors. This was previously changed in patch 1.11, causing confusion as viewers thought red meant offense and green meant defense. Riot also fixed a few bugs that caused certain UI elements to display in the incorrect color. 

“We plan to bring this feature back in the future when we finish adding support for custom team colors,” Landa said. 

The patch added a new user interface for custom game observers during character select. 

When it comes to bugs, 1.12 fixed an overlapping observer UI when a player is planting or defusing a spike. A rare issue that caused camera transition visuals to get stuck when swapping between player views was also fixed. 

Other bugs included: 

• A bug that caused players to disconnect from a custom game, resulting in a VAL-51 error
• A bug in the end-of-game screen after a match on Icebox that would display Haven’s map instead, incorrectly displaying timeline markers
• An issue where players could target mid-air weapons with some of their abilities
• A bug that displayed incorrect team colors on minimap pings