Valorant patch 9.01 notes: All changes explained

Valorant patch 9.01 was released by Riot Games on July 16, 2024. The new update is somewhat minor for PC users since it primarily focuses on some quality-of-life changes and bug fixes. However, Riot Games is all set to introduce a new Esports feature exclusively for the PC. The new patch also brings a plethora of changes for console users. This includes changes to Agents as well as the map pool.

This article will further detail all the major changes coming to both platforms under Valorant patch 9.01.

Valorant patch 9.01: All changes for PC and console explained

Riot Games made some changes to Valorant on all the platforms. These are as follows:

Outlaw Update:

The Outlaw and all of its skins received an animation update to make it more apparent when the gun is ready to be fired. This change comes just ahead of the release of Valorant's RGX 3.0 bundle which will feature a new Outlaw skin.

Escalation:

Escalation was temporarily disabled on all platforms due to a bug. This bit of information was not revealed in the Valorant patch 9.01 notes, however, the official X page of the game notified the fans that the popular game mode will likely return during patch 9.03. However, the developers soon announced that the bug had been fixed and that Escalation would no longer be disabled in the game.

PC

For the PC players, Riot Games introduced a Pick 'Ems feature. There have also been some major and minor bug fixes.

Pick 'Ems:

From July 26th, players will have access to Valorant Champions Seoul Group Stage from the game client as well as the website. You'll be able to predict teams going forward in the competition, compete against other experts, and also win rewards based on your predictions.

Bug Fixes:

Many bugs around the Premier were fixed including a bug that prevented matches from being played out during the first two weeks of Valorant Episode 9 Act 1. This issue was prevalent in the IBIT Premier zone.

Console

The console players will see changes in the abilities of Neon, Raze, and Iso. Furthermore, there is also an addition to the existing map pool.

General updates:

Players can now freely rebind non-ultimate Ability Button mappings. Furthermore, there is now a new setting for inverting map cursor controls.

Agent changes:

Neon: Slide re-equip speed has been changed from fast to instant
Raze: The horizontal force of the second Blast Pack has been reduced.
Iso: Double Tap duration has been reduced from 20 seconds to 12 seconds. Furthermore, his signature kill reset has been removed.

Map update:

Lotus will join the Competitive, Unrated, Swift Play, and Deathmatch queues with the beginning of Valorant patch 9.01.

Game Mode updates:

Deathmatch will be disabled on the console in patch 9.01 since the game mode has been experiencing an issue. It is not yet known when the mode will be brought back by Riot Games.

Major bug updates:

Players had been experiencing a bug where Surrender or Remake menus in Valorant could lock up all controls. In response, Riot Games has temporarily disabled the two functions as they look for a fix.
Devs have also fixed the issue where AimAssist would incorrectly apply while equipping abilities like the Nightfall, Cascade, Poison Orb, Dimensional Drift, and more.

There have also been a few more minor bug fixes for both platforms. However, this article was meant to highlight all the major changes in Valorant patch 9.01.