VALORANT patch 5.10 buffs Cypher & Harbor, nerfs Fade
Riot Games has released VALORANT patch notes 5.10. The update comprises several changes for three agents, bug fixes and a new feature called Real Time Text Evaluation.
The first agent to be affected by the update is Cypher. Riot found his Trapwire to be predictable and easily countered by enemies. Cypher’s Ultimate was also unsatisfactory due to the hassle of performing it and its measly result.
Riot increased his Trapwire distance from 1,000 to 1,500 to enable more possible setups. Now, Cypher can be more difficult for enemies to track down without being discovered. Allies’ AOE skills also can no longer destroy Cypher’s deployed utilities.
To make Cypher’s Ultimate more accessible, Riot removed the time restriction on enemy corpses. Neural Theft can now reveal enemies’ locations twice, with a four-second delay between each reveal. The skill’s maximum cast distance also increased from 1,200 to 1,800.
“We hope that these updates get Cypher mains out there coming up with new setups for their information webs and that, when paired with upcoming updates to Chamber, help him reclaim a compelling spot amongst his peers,” Riot said.
While Cypher received some buffs, Riot nerfed Fade to force players to be more deliberate when using her. Prowler’s duration has been reduced from 3 seconds to 2.5 seconds, while Nightfall’s cost increased from 7 to 8. However, Fade also received a buff to her hitbox.
“Prowlers now fizzle out and no longer debuff instead of debuffing its target if they teleported away before it finished its animation,” Riot said.
Riot also gave Harbor one buff to push players to use more of the agent’s abilities. The devs increased Cascade’s purchasable charges from 1 to 2.
“We hope these changes make it easier for players to hit the ground running with Harbor and for skilled Harbor players to achieve more flexibility when controlling the map,” Riot said.
Riot adds Real Time Text Evaluation
Another significant change in the update is the addition of the Real Time Text Evaluation feature. Now, players who send disruptive text messages will be muted to ensure a safe environment for VALORANT players. The feature is now available in North America, with plans to launch it in other regions soon.
“Interventions for disruptive text will now be applied sooner rather than later as we continue updating our systems to evaluate more types of text communication.” Riot wrote. “With the implementation of more immediate text evaluation, we hope to detect and reduce disruptive situations while players are still in game and help you feel safer to engage in VALORANT.”
The update also fixed bugs that had plagued several agents. The devs removed the bug where Astra could perform a fake Nebula at the beginning of a round before her Star was full. They also fixed the bug where Chamber couldn’t equip his gun at the start of a round.
Harbor received a lot of bug fixes. His Cascade ability will no longer appear under the map, and it can now be seen in the minimap. Neon’s Slide has also been fixed, so players can no longer use it to propel themselves into the air in specific areas.
