The latest PBE patch for VALORANT is here, and though the number of changes is low, the few adjustments in patch 7.08 might throw some players through a loop. One of the strangest changes in the patch will have some controller agents taken aback as their smokes will now make noises.
Your Premier squad may also need to reconfigure some of your match times with the latest queue update from Riot Games. Patch 7.08 will be available on the PBE starting Friday, Oct. 13, and run just over the weekend until Monday, Oct. 16 at 11 AM PT. The changes will likely go live in the main game next week.
As far as the agents go, Deadlock players will still have to wait for the agent’s long-awaited buffs, but Astra, Brimstone, and Omen players will have something new to adjust to. Their smokes—Astra’s Nebula, Brimstone’s Sky Smoke, and Omen’s Dark Cover will now make an audio cue moments before they disappear.
Just 1.5 seconds before the smoke ends, there will be a visual and audio cue indicating that the area will no longer be cut off by the smoke. Though this change makes sense in theory, some may be curious why it is needed in the first place.
Astra, Brimstone, and Omen each have smokes that serve a similar purpose but linger for different durations. Brimstone’s smokes are some of the longest-lasting utility in the game with just over a 19-second uptime, while Astra’s last for just over 14 seconds. For new players especially, it can be hard to intuitively remember the length of these smoke uptimes, and you could be caught by surprise at a smoke going down before you expect it to.
Some players may be wondering why the other two controller agents, Harbor and Viper, won’t have this same sound queue before their smokes go down, and the answer is simple: Each of those agents already has a visual and audio cue in place.
Maybe you’ve never noticed it over your teammate’s voice comms, but Viper will verbally state into the radio when her smoke is going down with a voice line. As for Harbor, the bulletproof shield on his smoke breaks before it disappears completely.
The other notable change in the 7.08 notes is an unexpected shift in the queue procedure for teams competing in VALORANT’s Premier tournaments. Instead of an hour-long queue window, teams will now have to be ready and queued up within 15 minutes. This change will start during this season’s playoffs.
The rest of the VALORANT Patch 7.08 PBE patch notes can be found below.
All buffs, nerfs, and changes in VALORANT PBE Patch 7.08
General Updates
- The rows of agents during the select screen have been shifted to make room for upcoming agent releases.
Agent Updates
- Astra, Brimstone, and Omen’s smokes will now have an audio and visual cue 1.5 seconds before they fade.
- Ability-equipping sounds can no longer be heard by teammates.
Premier Updates
- For the Premier Playoffs Tournament, the queue is now only 15 minutes instead of one hour. Your team will have to queue up and stay queued within the 15-minute window.
Store Updates
- The Level Borders and Player Card UI has been upgraded into a grid system.
Bug Fixes
- Deadlock’s Annihilation Ultimate can no longer open doors on Bind and Breeze.
- Neon’s Fast Lane ability now accurately extends through the A Door on Fracture when cast from outside the door.
- Fixed an audio bug where the music track would skip when loading into a map.
- Players will now receive the correct penalties for disruptive behavior in ranked games.
- Fixed an audio bug where kill banner sounds were too quiet.
