Valorant patch 2.05 adds harsh AFK penalties, fixes Cypher bug

Fariha Bhatti Published 16/03/2021

Valorant patch 2.05 is here and, as promised in previous updates, it brings stiff penalties for AFK players.

The new patch rolls in with AFK penalties, competitive changes, agent key binds, and bug fixes. Players have been calling on the developer to prevent chat-banned players from entering ranked games. The devs have heard those pleas and taken action in Valorant patch 2.05.

One of the smaller quality of life updates that were added are improvements to key binds. The developer has added unique key binds to utilize Sova’s Owl Drone smoothly across the map. A similar feature has been introduced for new agent Astra whenever she slides into Astral form. Placing stars mid-game will become easier with Astra’s quick and unique binds.

Muted players out of ranked, AFK penalties increased in Valorant patch 2.05

The new update provides players with more power on their rank visibility. The rank badge is visible in default mode but can be toggled on and off at will. Players will also be able to filter out their competitive history through a new tab introduced in patch 2.05.

After the new update, dodging a game to play on a different map will cost Rank Rating. Many players have valid reasons to dodge a game, which is why the deduction of RR will remain minimal.

On the flipside, punishment for AFK players is at the centre of patch 2.05. Leaving teammates high and dry will be met with a queue restriction, experience penalties, and bans from the competitive queue. Comm-banned players will also be barred from queueing for ranked games.

“This one’s about putting you on your best behavior. Our social and player dynamics team is out here making sure we can better detect AFK and promote better behavior with penalties for chat-based and AFK offenses,” Comms Associate Jeff Landa wrote.

This should combine to make the solo queue experience in Valorant better. It’s often difficult to have a match play out with all 10 players sticking around to the very end, especially if things start going poorly for one side or the other. Hopefully these punishments will be enough to clean things up.

Cypher, Killjoy bugs fixed in Valorant patch 2.05

Apart from competitive and agent changes, the developer has rolled out fixes for some significant and long-standing bugs in Valorant.

After patch 2.05, Killjoy won’t be able to place her Turret on awkward and unintended angles. Many Killjoy players utilized Sage’s wall or Raze’s satchel to access higher areas to set up the lockdown device, making it more difficult for enemies to deal with. The ability to plant sentries in those hard-to-reach areas has been removed, but it’s not all bad for Killjoy players. The agent will also be able to recall her bots after Sage has revived her, which wasn’t always the case previously.

Another big bug fix relates to an interaction between Sage’s wall and Cypher’s camera. Cypher’s camera was able to shatter Sage’s Barrier Orb in certain locations, a significant bug in ranked games. The glitch has been addressed and fixed. The agent’s camera can no longer penetrate solid objects.

Valorant bug lets Cypher place camera through Sage’s wall

The developer has also fixed a bug that would cause the “Network Problem” icon to appear when no network issues were present. Finally, the defuse range circle indicator that appears after planting the Spike again displays properly after the patch 2.05 update.

Fariha Bhatti

About Fariha Bhatti

Fariha Bhatti is a long-time gaming writer who loves competitive FPS games and slots with particularly fun themes. She got her start playing classic games developed by SNK, from legendary fighting game series The King of Fighters to challenging platform franchise Metal Slug. She now spends most of her time playing Valorant and Counter-Strike 2 while working her way through new slot releases to find her next favorite. Fariha has been published at PCGamesN, TalkEsport and ONE Esports.

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