Valorant players can choose their skin variants in new patch

M Alzamora Published 14/09/2020

With Valorant ditching Counter-Strike: Global Offensive’s weapon loot boxes, Riot will now allow players to buy every type of skin outright.

Starting with patch 1.09, Valorant players will be able to purchase a specific variant of a weapon skin, according to Riot’s ongoing question and answer series where the game’s developers answer community questions. While games such as CSGO already feature weapon skins, Valorant has taken the idea a step further, allowing players to “evolve” their weapon skins with color swaps and even special visual effects that are unique to each skin.

Spline Phantom Variant 2

New Valorant patch to let players buy individual weapon variants

While Riot developers said that players will still need to spend enough time with the weapon to unlock some skin line’s custom animations, the upcoming patch will let players purchase and unlock whichever color variant they want for any skin that they own. While some of Valorant’s flashier skins, such as the Elderflame, can turn the game’s weapons into literal dragons, skin lines like the Spline come with a simple set of palette swaps that users will be able to purchase independently.

Spline Phantom Variant 3

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The move is a smart one on Riot’s part. Valorant’s original skin lines weren’t the most original of designs, with some even resembling weapon skins from CSGO. But with patch 1.09, Valorant is letting players throw down their money around on skins however they please. While CSGO players are stuck with randomly generated rewards or forced to buy weapon skins through third-party sites, Valorant’s “choose your own look” options are a breath of fresh air.

Even skins that entirely change how one of Valorant’s weapons looks and behaves have color variants, giving Valorant a huge number of customization options.

What changes are in Valorant patch 1.09?

Besides the ability for players to purchase weapon variants directly, Valorant developers explained several other possibilities for the hugely popular first-person shooter. A different animation for flashbang effects to accommodate epileptic gamers, the ability to change the game’s weapon position from the right hand to the left, and the eventual possibility of Valorant’s ranking system counting more than just damage were all discussed in Valorant’s weekly tell-all. Some of those options still seem far off, but others such as weapon positions are much easier than others. Valorant is currently still on patch 1.07, meaning that the ability to purchase and choose a Valorant skin variant is likely still a few weeks away. But it’s definitely coming sooner rather than later.

Want to know more about how Valorant calculates player ranks? Check out WIN.gg’s breakdown on what stats Riot’s Valorant actually counts in competitive games by clicking right here or on the image below. Here’s a hint: It’s less than you would expect.

What does Valorant really use to rank its players?

M Alzamora

About M Alzamora

There are few things that writer M Alzamora loves more in life than Pokemon. And there are even fewer things that she loves more than her favorite Pokemon, Eevee. But M’s appreciation for gaming isn’t just limited to Nintendo’s famous pocket monsters. She’s interested in every type of game across every genre of gaming, and she has the credentials to prove it. M’s work has also been seen on Working Classicists and gaming sites.

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