VALORANT Patch 13.05: Stream Sniping Penalties & Pick'Em Return

The most significant change targets third-party software. Riot Games has begun rolling out penalties for players detected using stream-sniping or instalock tools. Initial violations will result in temporary game bans, with repeated offenses leading to increasingly severe consequences, including permanent account suspensions. This marks a direct escalation in the publisher's anti-cheat enforcement strategy.

Competitive players can now engage with the upcoming Champions Shanghai event. Pick’Ems return starting September 10, allowing users to submit Group Stage predictions via the VALORANT client or web interface. Participants earn points for correctly predicting advancing teams, with additional rewards for exact placement guesses. All predictions must be finalized before the Group Stage commences on September 24.

Audio mechanics have been refined to improve team communication. Sound sprays now feature adjusted attenuation, limiting their audible range to nearby areas. This prevents long-distance interference with tactical calls and establishes a new standard for all future sound spray implementations.

Looking ahead, the patch includes a notice regarding the Agent Gear system rework scheduled for September 22 alongside update 13.06. While previously unlocked items and Kingdom Credits remain intact, each gear item will become directly tied to the player's usage frequency of the corresponding agent.

Technical stability has also improved. General fixes address issues where ultimate voice lines continued playing after agent death, combat reports incorrectly displayed blind counts, and smokes blocked line-of-sight abilities after dissipating. Specific agent corrections include performance drops for Chamber, trapwire debuff persistence for Cypher, visual glitches for Deadlock, and vision-blocking errors for Omen. On PC, players can now customize bot counts in the Range practice mode, with five bots spawning by default.