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Valorant's long-awaited Patch 3.10 has finally dropped globally. It has introduced a few exciting changes to the game. Riot has regularly patched and updated their 5v5 competitive shooter. This has kept the game fresh with an ever-evolving meta and provides new content for players to enjoy.
Patch 3.10 was hotly anticipated for several reasons, the biggest of them being the arrival of Valorant's 18th agent. Chamber, nicknamed Deadeye, is the latest sentinel to join the roster. The patch also updated competitive queue.
Diving into Valorant with Patch 3.10
Chamber's arrival: Allons-y!
Although Chamber was announced earlier, he was not released with Act III of Episode III in Valorant. His release was rather delayed by two weeks. Meanwhile, the sophisticated Frenchman's trailer and abilities made sure the community was rife with speculation.
Chamber being released is great news for fans because he has been added to the Sentinel category in the agent list. The official biography describes him as a:
"Well dressed and well armed, French weapons designer Chamber expels aggressors with deadly precision. He leverages his custom arsenal to hold the line and pick off enemies from afar, with a contingency built for every plan."
The new agent also brings in a new contract for players to complete. The contract offers unique rewards like sprays, a gun buddy, titles, and the Finesse Classic skin.
Competitive queue updates
There has been a significant overhaul in competitive queuing with Patch 3.10. 5-stacks of any rank are now allowed to queue together "with a few conditions in place that impact how much or how little Ranked Rating a group of five will earn," as the patch notes state.
The developers explained this change as:
"An effort to reduce smurfing, we’re removing all ranked restrictions from 5-stack parties in Competitive Queue. Our data has shown that the most common reason that players smurf, is because they want to play with their friends outside the bounds of our current ranked restrictions. Removing these boundaries for 5-stacks specifically, means that you can play with your friends regardless of the restrictions that exist for smaller party sizes in Competitive Queue."
Due to the probability of wide skill disparity that will take place in these stacks, the developers have also stated that there are conditions put in place that determine how much Ranked Rating a group of five will earn. Check out the reduced RR possibilities here.
Along with this, 4-stacks have been removed from competitive queueing. The patch notes point to the "relatively poor play experience" that solo players have with these groups.
Features and bugs
The 128 fps issue that caused a few milliseconds of input delay has been resolved. Several esports features have explicitly been added, dealing with Observer Agents and HUD. The issue where invited players were not allowed to be re-invited has now been resolved.
Magepunk 2.0
A new premium-tier skin bundle has been confirmed. It is a sequel to the dystopic Magepunk. Magepunk 2.0 will be available in four chromas - Blue, Green, Pink, and Gold. The following weapons are present in the bundle: Sheriff, Guardian, Ares Operator, and a Shock Gauntlet melee weapon.
