The day is finally here. Valorant patch 2.06 is a meaty one as it includes the long awaited buff for Viper as well as a nerf for the Bucky shotgun. Also, Yoru lovers will find patch 2.06 to be a godsent for their favorite duelist agent.

Welcome the boosted Viper

Valorant developers have been hinting at another Viper buff for months now. The day has finally arrived as this may be Viper’s biggest boost to her kit as of yet.

Toxin (passive)

Enemies that cross through Viper’s Poison Cloud, Toxic Screen, or Viper’s Pit are instantly inflicted with at least 50 decay. Their decay level increases the longer they remain in contact with toxin.

While in cloud, Decay over time decreased 15 >>> 10

When out of Viper’s cloud, delay before health regen decreased 2.5 >>> 1.5

Poison Cloud (Q)

Can now immediately be redeployed when picked up, but grants a temporary charge instead of a permanent charge

If active when Viper dies, Poison Cloud now remains up for an additional 2 seconds, or until Viper runs out of fuel.

Pick distance increased from 200 >>> 400

Toxic Screen (E)

If active when Viper dies, Toxic Screen now remains up for an additional 2 seconds before deactivating

Full blind distance from the wall increased to better match the blind distance from the edge of smokes

Snakebite (C)

Equip time decreased from 1.1 >>> .8

Perhaps the most powerful buff to Viper comes in the form of instant 50 decay to health and or armor. Whenever a player comes in contact with her Poison Cloud, Toxic Screen, or Viper’s Pit, they are instantly decayed with 50 damage. That is why her Decay over time has been decreased from 15 to 10. This is a massive change that will definitely be reflected in-game.

Yoru back on the table?

Yoru has been hyped as one of the coolest-looking and flashiest Valorant agent. However, his pickrate has been dismal as he failed to solidify himself as a useful enough duelist agent over the Jetts, Reynas, Phoenixes and Razes. The below changes may tempt some players to give Yoru a second chance.

Blindside (Q)

Flash activation time decreased 0.8 >>> 0.6 seconds

Flash duration increased from 1.1 >>> 1.5

Gatecrash (E)

Gatecrash is no longer refreshed on kills and is instead replenished every 35 seconds

Lifetime of the Gatecrash fragment increased 20 seconds >>> 30 seconds

The range at which the Gatecrash fragment is revealed from stealth decreased 7m >>> 4m

Visuals for visibility range added to the moving fragment

Dimansional Drift (X)

Ult Points reduced 7 >>> 6

Yoru can now reactivate Gatecrash while in Dimensional Drift

An increased flash duration paired with higher reliability on the Gatecrash ability is great news for Yoru mains. Also, his Ultimate now needs 6 Ultimate Points instead of the former 7. On top of that, Yoru can use Gatecrash while in his ultimate ability. There’s lots to love about those buffs to the Japanese agent.

Bucky gets the axe

Bucky’s right-click came under fire from the community when everyone realized just how strong this weapon can be. The 900 credits price tag simply did not justify its power on those eco rounds. The latest changes aim at pulling the Bucky in-line with its price.

Primary fire (left-click) bullet spread decreased 3.4 >>> 2.6

Decreased spread on Alt-fire (right-click) 3.4 >>> 2.0

Updated damage curve for both primary and alt-fire

• 0m–8m is 20dmg per pellet
• 8m–12m is 12dmg per pellet
• Beyond 12m is 9dmg per pellet

Reduced amount of pellets in a right click shot from 15 >>> 5

Despite the reduced spread on both the primary fire as well as the alternate right click shot, the damage curve is quite punishing, especially beyond 12 meters. Bucky enthusiasts will also find that relying on the right click shot will not be as smooth as before. This is due to the reduced number of pellets, all the way to only 5. Much like the Stinger, the Bucky has been heavily nerfed.

Check out the full list of patch notes for patch 2.06 over on the official Valorant website.

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