VALORANT Update 13.01: strengthening of Iso and Yoru, significant weakening of Outlaw and the fight against boosting

The developers of the tactical shooter VALORANT have released patch 13.01. The main focus of the update is centered on returning two duelists to the meta, reducing the firepower of the popular rifle, as well as implementing strict sanctions against rank manipulations.

To increase the competitiveness of the Asian duo, who had been out of the game meta for a long time due to previous nerfs, the developers implemented the following improvements:

• Iso: Weapon equip speed after canceling the Double Tap ability is now instantaneous.
• Yoru: The active beacon duration for the Gatecrash ability has been increased from 15 to 20 seconds. Additionally, to better deceive opponents, clones from the Fakeout ability will now hold the weapon that the player last equipped, instead of automatically selecting the most powerful weapon from the inventory.

After demonstrating dominant results at VCT China 2026 Stage 2, the developers decided to limit the effectiveness of the Outlaw rifle in eco-rounds. The update adds more control and penalties for rapid successive shots:

• Recovery time after the first shot has been increased from 0.1 to 0.15 seconds.
• Bullet spread after the first shot has been increased from 0 to 2.25.
• Recoil after the first shot has increased from 0 to 4.0.

To combat the artificial lowering or inflating of ranks, Riot Games integrated new offender detection tools. This technology is based on the successful experience of systems previously implemented in League of Legends.

From now on, severe punishments await offenders: account bans, annulment of achieved ranks, and revocation of seasonal rewards.

Reminder, PR has returned to MOUZ and completed the updated team roster.