Valorant Act 3: Patch 1.10 Brings New Icebox Map, Makes Competitive and Deathmatch Changes

Riot Games launched the next chapter for its tactical shooter today, October 13. Patch 1.10 marks the arrival of Valorant Act 3, and it brings a slew of exciting additions and changes. The new map, Icebox, is perhaps the most notable addition, while the update also incorporates changes to ranked play and deathmatch game mode.

Valorant Act 3 brings a new map

Icebox is a snowy map with two bomb sites and a zipline connecting certain areas. It features plenty of cover and verticality, and the sites are overall some of the most complex combat spaces seen in a Valorant map thus far. Riot has released Icebox ahead of schedule, meaning the map will remain in beta for at least two weeks.

For now, Icebox will be available to play in Unrated, Spike Rush, and Deathmatch modes. Riot plans to make the new map available for play in the competitive queue from October 27.

Also read- Valorant is Taking Over CS:GO and the Departure of Big Orgs Prove It

Act 3 makes changes to Competitive and Deathmatch modes

The devs had detailed the changes Act 3 would make to rank progression and competitive matchmaking. Patch 1.10 does just that. It reduces the rank difference for players to queue up with others to three from six. Moreover, only wins and losses and the game outcome’s decisiveness will impact rank progression for Immortal and beyond. Also, the update adds the feature to select a preferred server in competitive mode.

Meanwhile, the Deathmatch mode also receives an overhaul with the patch. Deathmatch now has an increased player count of 14 compared to the previous count of 10 players. Besides that, players now need to get 40 kills to win, up from 30, and the time limit is increased to 9 minutes. Several other changes were made to the deathmatch games, including automatic reloads upon getting a kill, improved spawning algorithm for safer respawns, and more.

Last but not least, Patch 1.10 implements numerous bug fixes, quality of life improvements, and social updates. Check out the full patch notes released by Riot Games below.

Also read- Is the New Agent in Valorant Going to be Overpowered?

Patch notes for Valorant Patch 1.10

Map Updates: New Map – Icebox

• Early in the patch, players queuing for Unrated will more often get placed on Icebox
• Ascenders (Ropes) / Ziplines
• Acceleration adjusted to prevent sudden shifts in direction (this was added last patch but wasn’t in the patch notes because well, you might start asking about ziplines)
• Added weapon tagging when shot while on Ascenders
• These changes are intended to make players that are using Ascenders and Ziplines less evasive during combat.

Ascent, Bind

• Vision Cones accuracy improved for Ascent, Bind
• Haven, Split may also be updated in this patch

Competitive Updates

• You can now select your preferred server(s), increasing the chance you will play on a server you want
• Rank disparity for parties capped at 3 tiers (from 6).
• We have also tightened our competitive matchmaking to reduce skill disparity.
• Immortal+ ranked changes will only be impacted by winning and losing and the decisiveness of the game outcome (how many rounds won or lost by) and not factor individual performance into the calculation.
• We will be testing and monitoring this change in Act III for potential future implementation in all ranks.

Mode Updates: Deathmatch

• Increased player count 10 >>> 14 players
• Updated spawning algorithm to encourage safer spawns
• Now that we’ve fixed some tech on the backend, we can support up to 14 players without compromising on our commitment to 128 tick-rate servers. With 10 players, you’d sometimes have to run 10 or 15 seconds to even find a fight, which can really kill your flow. Sometimes you’d also spawn way too close to enemies. This was because we had to artificially increase spawn density because of the low player count. Now that the player count has increased, we’ve re-tuned our spawning algorithm to try and give more consistently safer spawns.
• Removed periodic location pulse, and you’ll now only receive a pulse right when you respawn
• Now that there are 14 players on the map, the pulse feels completely unnecessary. We’re keeping a single pulse for players right when they respawn so that they can help get their bearings and find a quick fight without getting caught off guard.
• Increased match length, first to 40 kills (was 30), time limit upped to 9 minutes (was 6)
• We felt like the match length was a little too short to get into a real groove, especially now with more players, so we’re bumping the duration and kill limit up a bit.
• Kill Reloads: On every kill, players get an automatic, immediate full reload of their active weapon (Ares & Odin get 30 bullets back)
• It already felt a little frustrating to have to reload in Deathmatch, and now that player count is higher, reloading feels like even more of a deathwish.
• XP gain increased from 500 to 900 XP
• Honestly, 500 XP felt a little low for Deathmatch. We’re bumping this up to 900 to account for the increased match length with some extra on top.

Quality of Life

• Players now have the ability to choose their own Variant as opposed to having to level them sequentially
• The Battlepass now has upgrade Variants for the Surge skin line, including the free track Surge Sheriff
• Minimap performance increased
• Tournament mode enabled custom games can now fit up to 12 observers
• Requested guns can now be sold back to the shop; doing so will refund the player who fulfilled the request
• Observer can now hold walk when in freecam mode to reduce speed (fast and slow speed can be configured in settings menu)
• In-world pings are now team-colored for observers
• Reyna and Phoenix ult timers correctly update for observers
• The keybind text in the current spectate target widget has been removed for observers
• Flashed indicator for observers has been updated with new art
• Crosshair setting added that allows crosshair colors to be locked to team color for observers
• Players no longer get stuck trying to descend vent ropes while walking (leaving A-Tower)
• Added new modifier keybind for observers to jump straight to freecam when jumping to a player (left shift by default)
• Plant/defuse progress UI is now always visible to observers, and includes which player is taking the action
• Observer player no longer see player-specific hud indicators (e.g. taking damage indicator) when in freecam
• Ability timers now work for dead / spectating players & observers (e.g. Reyna & Phoenix ult durations)

Social Updates

• Players will now be able to add and view friend notes. Notes from League of Legends will transfer over to VALORANT as well. Players will be able to edit these notes from VALORANT
• Social panel will now pause sorting for a short time while you’re interacting with it

Bug Fixes

• Players will now be able to add and view friend notes. Notes from League of Legends will transfer over to VALORANT as well. Players will be able to edit these notes from VALORANT
• Social panel will now pause sorting for a short time while you’re interacting with it

Meanwhile, those looking for a detailed breakdown of Valorant patch 1.10, and the devs’ approach behind the changes, especially for the new Icebox map, can read the full patch notes here.