Valorant Patch 1.14 is now live! This one’s pretty feature-packed, bringing changes to Icebox as well as a new game mode and big additions to Observers. Read on for all the juicy details in the latest update.

Icebox gets its first overhaul, Sage’s Barrier Orb gets love, and lots of observer tool additions. Also, Night. Market and Snowball Fight are coming!

Read all the details here: https://t.co/2qSTWPIBo1 pic.twitter.com/cbPZGQOlP1

— VALORANT (@PlayVALORANT) December 8, 2020

Sage Changes

• Barrier Orb can’t be cast in Buy Phase. Riot mentioned that the abilities that can be cast in the buy phase are meant to be “more permanent utility,” which the barrier orb isn’t

Icebox Changes

• A Belt area is shorter and connected to the platform below it via a ramp. This should help keep the site at relatively the same height and allow targets on top to be taken down easier.
• A see-through gate was added on the ground level of A site to make defending and attacking paths more predictable.
• One of the corner walls has been sloped and the double stack of crates was changed to a much shorter “thing.” This change was also meant to make attacking and retakes faster and easier by reducing the number of corners teams need to check.
• The yellow container outside is now shorter as well, allowing it to be cleared with less upward crosshair movement and from several angles.

Snowball Fights are Here

Valorant Patch 1.14 bring the game’s first themed event! The Snowball Fight mode will start on December 15th and last through the 29th. Anyone who plays at least a match in the new mode will also receive a Gun Buddy, to be delivered at a later date.

• The mode will be a 5v5 deathmatch with respawns enabled. The first team to 50 kills wins. Each game completed gives 750 XP with an additional 150 XP per win.
• All players will be equipped with a snowball launcher, with Killjoy having her own custom version of Brimstone’s Molotov launcher. She is an inventor after all.
• The snowballs have travel time and an arc, meaning players have to calculate their shot before firing. They are also infinite so there is no reason to let go of left-click.
• Power ups in the shape of gifts will spawn around the map which must be shot open. Only one power up can be active at a time. If you die, you lose the power ups.
• The power ups include rapid fire, growball (a snowball that grows in the air), ricochet, and skates (Olympics here I come).
• For the first week, the game mode will only be available on Icebox before moving to all maps in week two.

Competitive Updates

• Rank distribution has been updated to make it easier to climb out of the lower ranks.
• The Act Rank Badge is back on in-game player cards.
• Match History and Act Ranks have their own sections in the Career page.
• Players must now win ten unrated matches before unlocking competitive. The previous requirement was just playing 20 unrated matches. Riot hopes this will help reduce the amount of AFKs and INTing in unrated games from people rushing to unlock ranked.

Valorant Now Has a Night Market

• Starting December 10th, each player will get six chances to receive a random Select, Deluxe, or Premium skin at a discount.

Social Changes

• The Report Player menu now has a text field so reports can have more information.
• Friends can now be added through the in-game player list in the escape menu.

Observer Additions

• Tournament organizers now have the ability to replay a match from a specific round. This is useful in case a round had some technical issues and needed to be replayed.
• Observers now have cinematic camera locations across all maps. They can be accessed by pressing Shift + player number to jump to the best cinematic camera for that player. Observers can move from a Cinematic Camera to Free Camera instantly. They can use player numbers on the minimap to jump directly to a specific player.
• Observers can now follow a player’s projectile by pressing F. The camera will remain at the projecticle’s destination and will transition to a free camera.
• Observers also have access to a special Minimal Broadcast HUD.
• Observers can lock their view to match that of another observer.

What do you guys think of Valorant Patch 1.14? What changes are your favorite/least favorite? Let us know in the comments below! As usual, remember to follow us at Run it Back and join our Discord for all your latest news, extensive guides, and exclusive interviews in the world of Valorant.