Riot Games has officially launched Patch 10.08 for Valorant, marking the beginning of Act III of Season 2025. The update includes significant agent balance adjustments for Brimstone, Astra, and Yoru, introduces a long-awaited gifting system for the Featured Store, and brings back nostalgic Episode 1 music to celebrate the game's fifth anniversary.
New Gifting System Transforms the Featured Store
Players can now send items directly to friends through the new gifting functionality in the Featured Store. The process is straightforward: navigate to the store, open the details page of your desired item, click the gift button, select a recipient, choose between sending the full bundle or individual items, and complete the transaction. Recipients will receive a prompt to accept or decline the gift upon their next login.
Currently, gifting is limited to Featured Store items, though Riot plans to expand support to additional store sections in future updates. For specific requirements and limitations, players can visit the Player Support site.
Agent Balance Changes Target Meta Adjustments
Three agents receive significant adjustments in this patch:
- Brimstone: His Incendiary molotov audio has been updated for better clarity, especially when placed underneath smokes.
- Astra: Nova Pulse stun duration reduced from 4 seconds to 3.5 seconds, aligning with typical non-ultimate concuss durations.
- Yoru: Dimensional Drift duration reduced from 12 seconds to 10 seconds, and its point cost increased from 7 to 8, standardizing it with similar ultimates.
Fifth Anniversary Celebration Brings Back Episode 1 Music
To commemorate Valorant's fifth anniversary, Riot is bringing back the original Episode 1 music in patches 10.08 and 10.09. Players will experience nostalgic sounds in menus, character select screens, and Victory/Defeat sequences, offering veterans a trip down memory lane while introducing newer players to the game's original soundtrack.
When will Ranked Gun Buddies be distributed?
Act III marks the final opportunity for players to grind ranks before the distribution of ranked gun buddies in Patch 11.00. These rewards will be based on the highest rank achieved throughout the first three acts of Season 2025, giving players additional motivation to climb the competitive ladder before Act IV begins.
Premier Updates and Bug Fixes
Premier Stage V25A3 begins on May 7, 2025, with updated restrictions for disruptive behavior. Instead of a flat 30-day ineligibility period, punishment will now scale based on the severity and length of active intervention.
The patch also addresses numerous agent-specific bugs, including issues with Waylay, Harbor, Deadlock, Vyse, Yoru, Skye, Gekko, Tejo, Reyna, and Iso. Console players will benefit from fixes for long player names overlapping elements in the Timeline screen and missing text in the Act Rank screen.
A known issue with incorrect item names in Act III Battlepass Player Cards has been identified, with a fix scheduled for Patch 10.09.
For complete details on all changes and fixes, players can visit the official Valorant Game Updates page.