VALORANT Patch 13.09 introduces Hush, a new Agent who uses telekinesis to redirect utility and send players floating into the air. The update also gives the Warden smoother handling, tones down Clove’s movement speed bonus, and cleans up ability descriptions across the roster.
Riot published the patch notes on October 27, with changes covering PC and console. Here’s a breakdown of the new Agent, balance adjustments, competitive updates, and bug fixes.
In brief:
- Hush joins VALORANT with telekinetic abilities that pull, flash, and levitate players.
- The Warden gets smoother early recoil and improved accuracy on follow-up shots.
- Clove’s Pick-me-up movement speed bonus drops from 15% to 10%.
- Competitive updates adjust Map Rating, Performance Score information, and the First Blood Accolade.
New VALORANT Agent Hush and Her Abilities
Hush arrives from Guangdong province with a kit built around manipulating utility and repositioning players. Being able to redirect her projectiles toward the crosshair gives players room to get creative with their throws.
Here’s how each ability works, according to the patch notes:
| Ability | What it does |
|---|---|
| Telekinesis (Passive) | Lets Hush pick up weapons, collect the Spike on the attacking side, and interact with switches from farther away. |
| Displacement | Throws a projectile that can be redirected toward the crosshair. It explodes on a surface or after a delay, pulling all players toward its center. Players become concussed if they collide with a surface or another player. Resets every two kills. |
| Flashbulb | Throws a flash that can be redirected toward the crosshair. It detonates on a surface or after a delay, flashing all players looking at it. |
| Flow | Creates an anchor, then propels Hush toward it after a delay. If activated while airborne, she briefly levitates in place. |
| Suspension | Sends out a projectile steered with the crosshair. Reactivating the ability or pressing fire detonates it, levitating all players caught in the effect. |
Players will need to watch their teammates’ positioning. Displacement, Flashbulb, and Suspension can affect all players, making coordination a big part of getting value from her kit.
Warden Buffs Improve Recoil and Follow-Up Accuracy
The Warden receives a few handling improvements in Patch 13.09. Riot wants the weapon to feel more comfortable to learn and better suited to its 2,900-credit price.
The changes include:
- Smoother vertical recoil during the first few bullets.
- Second-bullet error reduced from 0.25 to 0.2.
- Third-bullet error reduced from 0.6 to 0.5.
These adjustments should make the opening shots feel more controllable, with less spread on the second and third bullets. Players who struggled to get comfortable with the Warden have a reason to give it another try.
Clove Nerfs Reduce Movement Speed and Change Resurrection Rewards
Clove receives two gameplay changes as Riot standardizes parts of their kit with the rest of the roster.
Pick-me-up’s movement speed bonus drops from 15% to 10%. That means Clove will have a smaller speed boost when repositioning after activating the ability.
Meanwhile, killing Clove after they cast Not Dead Yet now awards the killer an ultimate point and a signature refresh point. Finishing off a resurrected Clove will therefore contribute toward those resources.
Ability Tooltips, Haste, and Snapshot Explained
Riot has updated ability descriptions across the roster for clarity and consistency. More passive descriptions now appear in Agent Select, the Agent Hub, and ability tooltips, including previously undescribed mechanics such as Neon’s Battery.
The redesigned tooltips also include information such as the Agent, role, and keybinds, and appear during relevant moments like testing an Agent in the Range.
Patch 13.09 introduces clearer terminology for existing effects:
- Haste: Increased movement speed.
- Combat Stim: Increased fire rate, equip speed, reload speed, and recovery speed.
- Snapshot: A still-image silhouette reveal, such as those produced by Cypher’s Spycam and Neural Theft.
Brimstone’s Stim Beacon, Clove’s Pick-me-up, Miks’ Harmonize, and Neon’s High Gear and Overdrive now display the Haste buff when applicable. Waylay’s Convergent Paths buff also takes the Haste name because its effects are identical.
Clove’s old Pick-me-up timer bar has been removed to avoid duplicating the new Haste timer. Jett’s passive has also been removed from the Buy Menu for consistency with other passives that players cannot purchase.
Competitive Changes to Performance Score and Map Rating
Hush is the first new Agent introduced since Performance Score launched. Riot says her scores may fluctuate during the first few days while it tunes how the system evaluates effective utility use.
The end-of-game pages receive additional Performance Score information, including a new “learn more” screen. PC players also get hover text for trades on the scoreboard.
Two other competitive adjustments arrive with this patch:
- Map Rating: Act Best Match now has a larger influence on your rating each Act.
- First Blood Accolade: The earning threshold has increased because the accolade appeared too frequently. Previously earned accolades remain unchanged.
VALORANT Patch 13.09 Bug Fixes
The update addresses several ability interactions that could reveal information, apply damage incorrectly, or carry effects between rounds.
Some of the more notable fixes include:
- Clove: Enemies positioned below Clove could see the Ruse ability map. A separate fix removes a Pick-me-up timer that could remain on the HUD.
- Raze: Boom Bot could continue tracking an enemy after they teleported.
- Sova: Hunter’s Fury could affect players positioned behind him.
- Tejo: Special Delivery could persist into the next round and damage or concuss players. Guided Salvo could also target an unintended location or fail after a target moved out of range.
- Chamber and Omen: Their positions could briefly appear on enemy minimaps after teleporting.
- Gekko: Mosh Pit could damage destructible objects outside its intended area.
- Multiple Agents: Certain Cypher, Vyse, Viper, and Killjoy abilities could be visible through barriers during the Buy Phase.
Additional fixes cover Cypher’s Cyber Cage orientation, Deadlock’s capture voice line, Omen’s teleport visuals, and Yoru’s Gatecrash audio while suppressed.
Riot also addresses ability-map placement problems, incorrect minimap information while Nearsighted, maps remaining visible through consecutive flashes, and missing ability descriptions. Veto and Vyse’s retrieval prompts now say RECALL instead of PICK UP.
PC, Console, and Regional Updates
On PC, Riot fixes an issue where the mouse cursor could briefly disappear outside certain ability-map boundaries.
On console, Miks’ M-Pulse and Bassquake now provide controller vibration feedback when equipped or cast.
Players in Korea can also purchase Radianite Points directly in-game. Other fixes correct the notification icon on new Player Cards and restore Neon’s Fast Lane visuals for spectators observing the Spike.
