All Valorant Agent updates coming in Patch 5.12: Chamber, Viper, Sage, and more

Valorant is ready to introduce a set of fascinating Agent changes that can bring about a major shift in the game's meta, according to the official patch notes for PBE 5.12. These changes will be ported into the game in the form of Patch 5.12 after completing a series of player tests in Valorant's Public Beta Environment (PBE).

Riot Games' tactical shooter initially arrived with an Agent pool of 10 characters, with the remaining 10 Agents being introduced as part of later updates. With the entry of each new Agent, Valorant's meta underwent a slight transformation, altering the gaming experience for its multi-million playerbase.

Valorant enthusiasts are in for a ride as the upcoming Patch 5.12 is expected to introduce a myriad of changes, perhaps the most that players have seen in a single patch since the Icebox and Controllers rework in Patch 4.04 (March 2022).

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Valorant to introduce major nerfs for Agents like Chamber, Viper, Sage, and more in Patch 5.12

Riot Games has always had its way with balancing its various multiplayer titles, be it League of Legends, Legends of Runeterra, or Valorant. In Patch 5.12 of Valorant, Riot is expected to introduce nerfs for Agents like Chamber, Sage, and Viper, while buffing Agents like Skye, Omen, Phoenix, and more.

Here are all the buffs and nerfs that players can expect in Patch 5.12:

Chamber

Chamber has maintained a menacing presence in Valorant's meta ever since his release in November 2021. Currently, Chamber is one of the most-picked Agents both in the game's casual environment and professional play.

To balance Chamber's efficiency as an Agent and to diversify the game's Sentinel meta, Riot Games has introduced the following changes:

Headhunter (Q)

Updated Stability Curve: Bullet spread will now increase after shooting the second bullet in order to minimize body-shot spamming.

Rendezvous (E)

Number of Anchors will be reduced from 2 to 1
Radius will be increased from 7.5m to 13m
Activation height of the teleport will now be removed, which will allow Chamber to teleport to the Anchor's location while being on different verticality.
Weapon equip time after teleporting will be increased from 0.4s to 0.7s (Headhunter will not be affected by this)
Rendezvous will now be disabled for the rest of the round if destroyed
No additional cooldown after recalling the Anchor after teleporting
Health of the Anchor will be decreased from 80 HP to 50 HP

Trademark (C)

Trademark can be restricted by range similar to Killjoy's Alarmbot
Trademark can be recalled mid-round without maintaining line of sight
Will have a 30s cooldown after recall
Trademark cannot be redeployed in the same round once destroyed
Initial Arm Time will be increased from 2s to 4s
Health of the Trademark will be increased from 1 HP to 20 HP

Tour De Force (X)

Tour De Force's fire rate will be decreased by 57.5%

Slow

Slow duration will be reduced from 6s to 4s for both Trademark and Tour De Force abilities

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Sage

Sage is yet another Sentinel who will be nerfed in the upcoming patch. While the changes for Sage may seem minimal, it will certainly put a leash on her attacking capabilities and turn her more into a support Agent.

Barrier Orb (C)

Fortify delay will be increased from 3.0s to 3.3s

Healing Orb (E)

Total amount of self-heal will be reduced from 60HP to 30HP
Total amount of ally-heal will be increased from 60HP to 100HP

Viper

Viper is the most unique member of Valorant's class of Controller Agents. Her utility kit is unmatched in terms of the diversity it provides the team during their Attack phase.

Patch 5.12 will ensure that Viper is balanced enough for players to use other Controllers like Harbor and Astra, who are witnessing a low pick-rate in casual and pro play.

Viper’s Pit (X)

Viper's Pit's smoke integrity regeneration time will be increased from 5s to 25s
Maximum time Viper can spend outside the Pit will be decreased from 15s to 8s
Ultimate points required to activate Viper's Pit will be increased from 7 to 8

Skye

Unlike the aforementioned Agents, Skye only has a couple of changes to her utility kit. The upcoming patch will seek to balance Skye as well by working around the cost of her abilities.

Trailblazer (Q)

Cost of the ability will be increased from 250 to 300 credits

Regrowth (C)

Cost of the ability will be reduced from 200 to 150 credits

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Harbor

Valorant's latest Agent, Harbor, is yet to be popular among its casual audience. With the new season of Valorant esports being months away from kicking off, gamers are yet to see the best pro Controller players utilize the Agent to its fullest potential.

To make Harbor more interesting to play, Riot has introduced two small buffs to his toolkit:

High Tide (E)

Duration of High Tide will be increased from 12s to 15s

Cascade (C)

Duration of Cascade will be increased from 5s to 7s

Yoru

Riot Games will introduce a couple of small changes for Yoru in patch 5.12. Although the Japanese Duelist is adored by many, Yoru hasn't exactly found his place in Valorant's meta, despite his release being almost two years ago.

In their attempts to include Yoru in the game's meta, the developers at Riot have introduced a few changes to Yoru's teleport ability.

Gatecrash (E)

Health of Gatecrash rift tether will be decreased from 100 HP to 60 HP
Cost of Gatecrash ability will be decreased from 200 to 150 credits

Killjoy

Killjoy's ultimate ability is one of the most threatening ultimates in Valorant, as it detains all enemy Agents within its range. So far in the game, several Agent abilities have been used to cancel out Killjoy's ultimate for a very minimal cost.

The upcoming patch 5.12 looks set to change that and has brought about the necessary tweaks for Killjoy to implement the change successfully.

Lockdown (X)

Total health of ability will be increased from 150 HP to 200 HP

Nanoswarm (C)

Total health of Nanoswarms will be increased from 1 HP to 20 HP

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Raze

Raze is the only Agent in the game who has four different damage-dealing abilities. Dealing severe damage to enemies is one of Raze's key characteristics. However, her Boom Bot ability is often a menace when it locks on to multiple enemies in narrow areas of the map where it's most effective. \

Patch 5.12 will attempt to tone down the efficiency of the Boom Bot, while allowing Raze to retain all of her unique characteristics.

Boom Bot (C)

Total health of Boom Bot will be reduced from 100 HP to 60 HP

Blast Pack (Q)

Total health of Blast Packs will be increased from 1 HP to 20 HP

KAY/O

One of Valorant's most robust Agent additions, KAY/O has enjoyed a widespread presence in casual lobbies worldwide as well as in pro play. A few notable changes were introduced to KAY/O earlier in Episode 5. Patch 5.12 will add on to those with two more minor changes.

ZERO/POINT (E)

Total health of ZERO/POINT will be increased from 1 HP to 20 HP

NULL/cmd (C)

Points needed for ultimate will be increased from 7 to 8

Aside from the Agents listed above, a few more members of the Valorant Protocol will receive small but significant improvements in the upcoming patch. They are:

Breach: Ultimate Points to activate Rolling Thunder (X) will be increased from 7 to 8
Cypher: Total health of Trapwire (C) will be increased from 1 HP to 20 HP
Fade: Total health of Prowler (C) will be reduced from 100 HP to 60 HP
Omen: Cost of Paranoia (Q) will be reduced from 300 to 250 credits
Phoenix: Cost of Blaze (C) will be reduced from 200 to 150 credits
Sova: Total health of Recon Bolt (E) will be increased from 1 HP to 20 HP

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Patch 5.12 of Valorant will be the game's last patch in Episode 5 Act 3. Players all over the world can expect this patch to arrive on December 12, 2022, with the timings varying with each region.

In addition to these Agent updates, Valorant enthusiasts can find all the gameplay system updates and weapon changes that will likely arrive in Patch 5.12 by going through the latest PBE patch notes.