While VALORANT Patch 6.10, released on May 23, was meant to enhance “better gameplay readability and quality consistency” through new agent portraits and a resolution update, the update has, unfortunately, failed to impress players.
A Reddit post on May 23 attracted upset comments from players, expressing dismay about the “improved” agent portraits in the Agent Select screen and the Tab Stats page.
You may have noticed that all the agent portraits before Fade (Episode Four, Act Three) had a right-sided look, which wasn’t the case with Fade’s, Harbor’s, and Gekko’s portraits at their time of release. Riot Games wanted to instate balance by reworking the new portraits.
Gekko’s portrait received an update in VALORANT Patch 6.08, while Fade and Harbor received theirs in the latest patch. The developers also updated some agent portraits with higher resolution, aiming to improve clarity. But a mishap (a bug perhaps?) has possibly ruined Riot’s intention.
Despite Patch 6.10 upgrading the portraits of some VALORANT agents to a higher resolution, all the icons appear blurred now: it was much smoother before the latest update. Players reported that the portraits appear zoomed as if the boxes aren’t enough to hold the pictures. Comments ranging from “not crisp” to “unappealing” spotted under the Reddit post clearly reflect the players’ emotions.
A number of portraits, including that of Reyna, Jett, Astra, Yoru, and more, no longer fit in the Agent Select boxes, with a portion of their heads being cut off from the frame. The icons aren’t even clear on the mini-map and the Tab Stats page, causing visual discomfort for some VALORANT players.
While this is just a visual problem and isn’t going to affect your gameplay in any way, the icons have definitely taken a turn for the worse, as many players have shared.
Besides the resolution problem, the other common complaint was about Fade’s updated portrait, which, according to players, is lifeless and doesn’t reflect her in-game style. “IMO the old portrait showcased her whole nightmare aesthetic and personality very well, the new one just looks dull and generic.” one player remarked.
Most players seem to approve of the update to Harbor and Gekko’s portraits. But the ‘low resolution’ issue affecting the portraits is quite vivid and difficult to ignore.
Looks like Riot needs to revert the changes it brought to VALORANT’s agent icons and get rid of the issue causing the unintended resolution downgrade, all while paying heed to the community’s feedback about Fade’s dull portrait update.
