The next VALORANT patch, 7.12, is changing the power levels of two of the game’s initiators, including a drastic nerf to one of Skye’s signature abilities, her Trailblazer.
Gekko and Skye will be the two recipients of agent balance changes in Patch 7.12, according to the “early” patch notes posted on the VALORANT Public Beta Environment (PBE) forums. A handful of bug fixes and performance improvements are included in the notes, but the main focus most certainly are the initiator changes. Here are the early patch notes for VALORANT Patch 7.12.
Nerfs to Skye’s Trailblazer
Skye’s changes are “centered around pushing Skye to be more deliberate when using Trailblazer,” but primarily are focused on the dog, or Tasmanian Tiger’s, leaping ability. The changes to Trailblazer include:
- Locking the camera on Trailblazer during its leap.
- No concussive explosion if Trailblazer is destroyed during its leap.
- Trailblazer’s leap now concusses allies as well as enemies.
The VALORANT devs are hoping that players will think more about choosing between getting extra distance with the Trailblazer or fulling clearing multiple angles and hiding spots without the leap. With the camera locked, Skye players won’t be able to do both when 7.12 goes live.
The power of the Trailblazer leap’s concussive blast has been mitigated as well. Since it can be destroyed now without the blast going off, enemy players might be more eager to sit in their spots and shoot Trailblazer rather than clear out.
Buffs to Gekko’s abilities, namely Dizzy
Gekko’s pal Dizzy is the biggest winner of Patch 7.12, but his friends and fellow abilities Wingman and Thrash also come out ahead:
- Dizzy, Wingman, and Thrash’s reclaim channel time was reduced from two seconds to one second.
- Dizzy will react and shoot his projectile faster.
- Pre-fire targeting delay decreased from 0.5 to 0.35 seconds.
- Missile speed increased from 7,000 to 10,000.
While Gekko isn’t as little used as the likes of Deadlock, he does lag behind the other initiators significantly. One of the biggest drawbacks is that his Dizzy flash can be shot out of the sky so easily. But this change in 7.12 reduces the amount of time he hangs in the air before firing at a target. The other changes to Gekko are positive ones for sure, but it’s the reduced delay for Gekko’s projectile that is going to feel like the biggest upgrade.
A new Team Deathmatch map, Drift
Drift is the first new map to be added to the Team Deathmatch mode, after the new mode launched earlier this year with Piazza, District, and Kasbah. Set on the shores of Thailand, Drift features “more isolated lanes” and a “long-range mid” area, according to Joey Simas, Lead Map Designer.
The new map will also feature a zipline for the first time on a TDM map, connecting two of the map’s numerous hiding spots that can be utilized.
The full patch notes including the minor bug fixes and performance updates can be found on the VALORANT PBE subreddit. VALORANT Patch 7.12 is expected to go live on Tuesday, Dec. 5, but PBE participants can start testing it this weekend.
