Valorant patch 6.0 (January 10) official notes: Lotus map release, Araxys skin collection, Episode 6 Act 1 Battlepass, and more

Episode 6 Act 1 of Valorant is set to make its way into the game in the next few hours. Patch 6.0, which will bring forward the much-anticipated Act, will comprise Valorant's ninth map, Lotus, an Exclusive Edition skin collection, a brand new Battlepass, and more exciting features.

Valorant players can expect Patch 6.0 to be deployed immediately after the scheduled server maintenance is over. The server downtime will start at 6 am PST for North America, Brazil, and Latin America, 2 pm PST for Asia-Pacific and Korea, and 8 pm PST for Europe.

Valorant patch 6.0 official notes

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1) Gameplay Systems Updates

Reworked the way guns process Zoom inputs for ADS and Scopes when using Toggle Zoom.
There should now be fewer cases that can lead to Zoom disagreements between the Client and Server under adverse network conditions like packet loss and ping jitter. Additionally, Zoom Inputs when using Toggle Zoom can now be buffered earlier than before and multiple zoom level transitions can be buffered at once.

2) Map Updates

New Map: Lotus

Lotus is a new 3-site map that offers a variety of rotation options. Unlock the secrets behind the doors of these ancient ruins.
Please note that the Lotus-only queue will only be playable in Swiftplay mode for one week and then goes into the Competitive and Unrated map rotation in Patch 6.1.

Split

"Split is returning with a few tweaks to make attacking a little easier."

A-main

First engagement area for Attackers has been widened and a small ledge added for mixups.
Boost box next to the orb has been reduced to give Attackers a new position looking into A site.

Valorant Split A Main After (Image via Riot Games)

A-Rafters

The under-over area has been removed, making this much easier to deal with as an Attacker.

Split A Rafters After (Image via Riot Games)

A-Tower

The back section of the Tower has been flattened to make the fight to Ramps easier for both teams.

Split A Tower After (Image via Riot Games)

Mid

Players can now silently drop down Mid platform.
The trick-jump up onto Mid box has also been removed for simplicity.

B-Tower

Defender side jump up box has been removed to simplify the space.

Valorant Split B Tower After (Image via Riot Games)

B Rope Pocket

The hard corner here has been smoothed out to make clearing the spot easier.

Valorant Split B Rope Pocket After (Image via Riot Games)

Map Rotation

⦁ Please note that Breeze and Bind have now been removed from the Competitive and Unrated map rotation, but are still playable in all other modes.

Omen's Dark Cover (E)

⦁ Dark Cover placed inside walls will now fall to the height of nearby ground.

3) Competitive Updates

Episode reset reminder: A new Episode means a ranked reset! Expect your placement rank to be lower than at the end of Episode 5, and good luck on your climb!

For all players: Ranked Rating gains/losses will depend slightly more on Win/Loss, and slightly less on the exact round differential of the match.

For players whose ranks are far from their MMR: RR gains will depend more on individual performance, instead of round differential. You should also see your rank and MMR converge faster.

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4) Progression Updates

Variant Favorites

We’ve heard your feedback and added the ability to favorite specific Variants of your gun skins (along with some UX/UI changes to better support that). Now, when you favorite a specific Variant, only your favorited Variants will enter the potential pool of weapons you can take into game if you’ve equipped the Random Favorite for that weapon type.
On release, your existing favorite weapon skins will now have all unlocked Variants favorited to maintain consistency with current behavior.

5) Bug Fixes

Cosmetics

Odin’s ammo belt will no longer visually pop into a vertical position when swapping gun buddies in the Model Viewer.

Maps

Ascent

Fixed a bug when breaking the door at Market by using an ability on the wall to the side of it.

Agents

Fixed a bug where Cypher’s Trapwire (C) could be placed through Sage’s Barrier Orb (C).
Fixed objects like traps that were not being damaged if they are placed in molotov patches that are already active.
Fixed bug where you could see Skye’s Seekers (X) on the minimap while they were still invisible if you had a line of sight to their hidden location.
Fixed a bug where suppression would not properly interrupt Fade’s Prowler (C) control.
Fixed a bug where Viper could deactivate her ultimate, Viper’s Pit (X), while suppressed.
Various gameplay damage interactions fixed:
Killjoy’s Lockdown (X) now properly takes damage from all abilities.

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Fixed Skye’s Trailblazer (Q) dealing damage to enemy Skye’s Trailblazer (Q) and Sova’s Owl Drone (C).
Fixed Sova’s Hunter’s Fury (X) and Breach’s Aftershock (C) not damaging Raze’s Blast Pack (Q).
Fixed Phoenix’s Blaze (C) not dealing damage to Harbor’s Cove (Q), Raze’s Blast Pack (Q), Reyna’s Leer (C), Sova’s Recon Bolt (E), and KAY/O’s ZERO/POINT (E).
Fixed Brimstone’s Orbital Strike (X) not dealing damage to Harbor’s Cove (Q).
Fixed Breach’s Aftershock (C), Raze’s Showstopper (X), and Paint Shells (E), damaging allied Killjoy’s Nanoswarm (C).
Fixed Sova Hunter’s Fury (X) damaging allied Fade’s Haunt (E).
Fixed Killjoy’s Nanoswarm (C), Phoenix’s Hot Hands (E), and Blaze (C) not dealing damage to Chamber’s Rendezvous (E) and Trademark (C).

In addition to all the changes listed above, Valorant players will have access to the new Battlepass and the Episode 6 launch skin collection, Araxys. The Battlepass will cost players 1000 VP (Valorant Points), whereas the Araxys bundle will cost 8700 VP, with its individual skins costing 2175 VP (4350 for Melee).