Riot Games has released Patch 10.06 for Valorant on April 1, 2025, introducing significant buffs to KAY/O's flash abilities with a new bounce mechanic, while increasing Yoru's Fakeout cost and reducing Vyse's ability durations. The update also includes CPU performance improvements for the Sunset map and numerous bug fixes across multiple agents.
KAY/O Gets Major Flash Ability Overhaul
The most substantial changes in this patch target KAY/O, as Riot aims to bridge the gap between his skill floor and ceiling. His FLASH/DRIVE ability now features a new mechanic where flashes will start a 0.8-second windup after bouncing before they pop, complete with unique audio and visual cues.
This change makes KAY/O's flashes more predictable and easier to coordinate with teammates, especially in mid-range engagements. To complement this update, his underhand maximum flash duration has been increased from 1.25 to 1.5 seconds, and the unequip time has been reduced from 0.85 to 0.6 seconds.
For better team coordination, KAY/O's "flashing" voice line range has been expanded from 20 to 50 meters, and a minimap indicator has been added for teammates only. Perhaps most importantly, his NULL/cmd ultimate has seen a dramatic reduction in ally resurrection time, going from 3 seconds to just 1.5 seconds.
Agent Balance Adjustments: Yoru and Vyse Receive Nerfs
While KAY/O players have reason to celebrate, Yoru and Vyse mains might be less enthusiastic about the changes coming their way:
- Yoru's Fakeout ability cost has doubled from 100 to 200 credits, as Riot felt it was providing "too much return on investment" at its previous price point.
- Vyse, who received buffs in patch 9.11, is seeing duration reductions on two abilities: Razorvine duration decreases from 10 to 7 seconds, and Shear's triggered wall duration drops from 8 to 6 seconds.
According to the patch notes, these Vyse adjustments aim to encourage more active capitalization on her abilities rather than relying on their "baseline value of stall."
What's New in Player Experience and Performance?
Beyond agent changes, Patch 10.06 includes improvements to player feedback systems and game performance:
- Enhanced feedback notifications will more reliably inform players when their cheating reports lead to bans
- CPU performance on the Sunset map has been improved by reducing the number of map-specific objects that tick each frame
- Console players experiencing a visual bug where progress isn't showing at the end of games should note that progress is still being tracked despite the display issue
Bug Fixes Across Multiple Agents
The patch addresses numerous bugs affecting various agents, including:
- Vyse: Fixed issues with Arc Rose animation and cooldown mechanics
- Raze: Resolved a problem where Blast Pack could knock back Skye's Trailblazer and Tejo's Stealth Drone through walls
- Clove: Updated tooltips to reflect changes from patch 10.04
- Deadlock: Fixed abnormally loud hit-confirm sounds on Annihilation's cocoon target
- Breach and Sova: Corrected incorrect third-person idle animation poses
- KAY/O: Fixed rare issues with standing animations during NULL/cmd and Zero Point dagger trajectory with packet loss
- Gekko: Resolved missing "Spike Down" voice line when Wingman was destroyed while carrying the Spike
- Iso: Fixed an issue where swapping to Iso with Double Tap active resulted in the wrong UI bar for spectators
- Tejo: Fixed a bug where Stealth Drone wasn't unstealthing properly upon jumping
PC-Specific Premier Mode Fixes
PC players will also benefit from two Premier-specific bug fixes:
- Fixed an issue where a player's status in the Premier Hub roster list would sometimes overlap with the alert icon
- Resolved a problem where the playoff bracket wouldn't update dynamically during the second game of a best-of-three matchup
Valorant's Patch 10.06 continues Riot Games' commitment to fine-tuning agent balance while addressing performance issues and bugs. With these adjustments, particularly to KAY/O's flash mechanics, players can expect a more refined tactical experience in their competitive matches.
And for those who may have been momentarily concerned - no, Riot is not actually adding four random teleporters to Bind. That was just an April Fools' joke included in the patch notes.
Recent Patch History
For players looking to catch up on recent Valorant updates, here's a quick summary of the last few patches:
- Patch 10.05 (March 18, 2025): Introduced Ranked Rollbacks and minor bug fixes
- Patch 10.04 (March 4, 2025): Added new Duelist Waylay, major agent updates, new map rotation, and Ascent changes
- Patch 10.03 (February 18, 2025): Focused on minimap clarity improvements and bug fixes
- Patch 10.02 (February 4, 2025): Addressed important agent bugs and other issues
- Patch 10.01 (January 21, 2025): Added Rank Shields to Competitive Mode
- Patch 10.00 (January 7, 2025): Introduced agent Tejo, new cosmetics, map rotation updates, and Remake Voting changes