Valorant patch 6.0: Release time for all regions, expected changes, and more

Besides being the torch-bearer of Episode 6 Act 1, Valorant's upcoming patch will also bring some much-needed Agent, Gameplay System, and Progression updates. Patch 6.0 will be deployed after the ongoing Episode 5 Act 3 ends and the developers complete mandatory server maintenance.

Patch 6.0 will add the much-anticipated Lotus map to the game while returning Split to the competitive queue. To accommodate these, two existing maps - Breeze and Bind - will be removed from the Competitive and Unrated map pool, but they will remain playable in all other modes.

Valorant's upcoming patch will also add various fixes to existing bugs and gameplay damage interactions to the game. Such changes will affect many Agents, including Viper, Cypher, Fade, and Skye. Read on to find out all the expected changes, release times for all regions, and more details on patch 6.0.

Everything you need to know about Valorant's upcoming patch 6.0

The exact release time hasn't been announced yet; however, one can take a smart guess from past trends.

Riot Games will possibly take down Valorant's servers for maintenance according to the following regional schedule:

Asia Pacific: Servers will be going down for maintenance on 10/01/2023 at 14:00 PST
Brazil: Servers will be going down for maintenance on 10/01/2023 at 06:00 PST
Europe: Servers will be going down for maintenance on 10/01/2023 at 20:00 PST
Korea: Servers will be going down for maintenance on 10/01/2023 at 14:00 PST
Latin America: Servers will be going down for maintenance on 10/01/2023 at 06:00 PST
North America: Servers will be going down for maintenance on 10/01/2023 at 06:00 PST

Pre-patch maintenance prepares the game for the upcoming patch. For patch 6.0, it may last around 3-4 hours, after which the update will be made available in-game. Note that players won't be able to launch Valorant during server maintenance.

Going by the aforementioned trend, Riot Games will likely deploy the patch on January 10 at around 18:00 PST for Korea and Asia-Pacific, 10:00 PST for North America, Latin America, and Brazil, and 00:00 PST for Europe.

Once the developers deploy the patch, players can install the update and return to the game.

Expected changes

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Valorant's new patch will be extremely eventful for the popular tactical shooter and its existing meta. It will add two new maps, tweaking the competitive meta hugely. The patch will also change Omen's playstyle by nerfing his Dark Cover's ability to create one-ways. The game will also receive some much-needed fixes to Agent-related bugs in Valorant that have affected match outcomes in several cases.

Riot Games is yet to announce the official 6.0 patch notes for Valorant at the time of writing; however, the erstwhile PBE 6.0 gives us a major hint of the changes it will include. Here are the changes that were tested in the January 7 PBE and are expected to show up in-game via the new patch:

GAMEPLAY SYSTEMS UPDATES

Reworked how 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.

MAP UPDATES

New Map: Lotus

Lotus is a new three-site map that offers a lot of rotation options that need to be tested. Unlock the secrets behind the doors of these ancient ruins.

Split

Split is returning with changes to several locations in the map.

A Main:

First engagement area for Attackers has been widened and a small ledge added for mixups.

A Main Box:

Boost box next to the orb has been reduced to give Attackers a new position looking into A site.

A Rafters:

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

A Tower:

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

Mid Bottom:

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

B Tower:

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

B Rope Pocket:

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

Map Rotation

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

AGENT UPDATES

Omen’s Dark Cover (E)

Dark Cover placed inside walls will now fall to the height of the nearby ground.
One-way smokes are a part of VALORANT, but they are difficult to play against, and we want to keep them limited to intentional and understandable areas. We'll keep a close eye on how this impacts Omen's power levels.

PROGRESSION UPDATES

Variant Favorites are here
On release, your existing favorite weapon skins will now have all unlocked variants favorited to maintain consistency with current behavior.

BUG FIXES

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 when 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 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 was able to 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.
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).

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PBE patch notes usually reflect what's upcoming in Valorant's next official update; however, Riot may add more changes depending on the outcome of the testing phase. Also, patch 6.0 will bring a new battlepass and an exclusive weapon collection as part of Valorant's Episode 6 Act 1.