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Valorant's Episode 8 Act 1 is about to kick off. Like Episode 7 Act 3, which brought a few changes to the Agents and utility, Episode 8 also looks quite exciting. The latest iteration will release a new Sniper Rifle into the armory, a fresh Battlepass, and an amazing skin bundle.
This update will be released for all regions on January 9, 2024. However, readers must note that each region will have a specific timing. Read on to know when Valorant's Episode 8 Act 1 will be released on the Mumbai (India) server.
Release date and time for Valorant Episode 8 Act 1 in Mumbai (India) server
As usual, before the release of Episode 8 Act 1, Valorant's popular competitive mode will be temporarily disabled. Due to this, players won't be able to queue in any ranked matches and gain RR (Rank Rating). Eventually, they will be unable to queue into any mode apart from Custom.
Valorant's servers will subsequently go into maintenance mode for a few hours. The Mumbai (India) server will witness this phase on January 10 at 2:30 am IST, mostly ending by 6:30 am IST. After this, the players should be able to download and install the update to play Episode 8 Act 1.
New changes coming in Valorant Episode 8 Act 1
Episode 8 Act 1 is quite a unique update for Riot's tactical shooter, mostly due to the release of the new Sniper Rifle, Outlaw. Since the game's launch in June 2020, developers have never released a new gun into the armory.
The Outlaw seems to be a mix between a Shorty and a Marshall. Capable of doing 140 damage to the enemy with a body shot, it has a fast enough fire rate that some players already prefer it over the Operator. The new weapon should bring some interesting changes to the half-shield meta currently prevalent in the game.
This update will also bring the latest skin collection, Kuronami, featuring skins for the Sheriff, Marshal, Vandal, Spectre, and Melee. The most coveted part of the collection is easily the Melee weapon, which is quite reminiscent of the weapon wielded by Scorpion, a popular video game character from Mortal Kombat. All these skins have remarkably fluid animations and crisp sound effects. Many from the community have already started heralding Kuronami as the best skin bundle in the game.
Some Agents, like Cypher, Killjoy, and Deadlock, will also undergo changes in their utility. The player base is particularly curious to see if Deadlock's changes bring her into the current Agent meta for both casuals and professionals. Lotus will also be receiving a lot of changes alongside Icebox, which will make a return to the map pool, and Haven will be removed from the rotation.
For more news on the game's update and guides, check out Sportskeeda's Valorant page.
