Understanding Valorant patch notes 13.09

Every few weeks Riot Games releases a new update for Valorant – and with it the patch notes. They reveal what is changing in the game: agents, weapons, maps, bug fixes and, of course, new skins and bundles. This guide explains what the patch notes contain, how often they appear and where to find the official version. Above all, though, we look at them from a special angle with our skin focus: what does each patch mean for your skins, the shop and their value?

🆕 13.09, 13.08 and 13.06 deep dives: new agent Hush, new map pool, Corrode update, Map Rating explained (with planner), Performance Score, VCT 2027 schedule and Gauntlet: Glitched with draft simulator.

Current patch: 13.09 (Oct 27, 2026)

The current Valorant patch is Patch 13.09, released on October 27, 2026 in the middle of Act 6. Riot’s headline: “Hush is here.” Besides the new agent it brings reworked ability descriptions, two new buff terms, a Warden buff and an adjustment to Clove. The key changes at a glance:

🆕 Everything about the new agent – abilities, unlock, tips and counters – is in our Hush guide.

Previous patch: 13.08 (Oct 13, 2026)

Before 13.09, Patch 13.08 was current, released on October 13, 2026 to kick off Act 6 (Season V26). There was no patch 13.07. These were the most important changes:

📊 Map Rating, Performance Score and Rank Legacy: what changes for your stats and when a Valorant tracker shows more.

📅 What else the start of Act 6 means – dates, battle pass and the new agent – is on Valorant new act.

Before that: patch 13.06 (Sep 22, 2026)

Before 13.08, Patch 13.06 was current, released on September 22, 2026. These were the most important changes:

VALORANT on console also launches in Australia and New Zealand. Riot had already announced features for upcoming patches: a map rating with Patch 13.08 (now released as Map Rating), plus Competitive Flex and Radiant changes with Patch 14.00. Before this came Patch 13.05 (Sep 1) with smoke-ability bugfixes, new Range bot options and the start of the Champions Pick’Ems, and Patch 13.04 (Aug 18) with the start of Act 5 and Abyss back in the Competitive pool. You can always find the complete official notes at Riot – our battle pass guide explains what new acts mean for your progress.

What are the Valorant patch notes?

The patch notes are a list, published by Riot Games, of all the changes an update brings. They are, in a sense, the game's "change log" and help you understand why Valorant feels different after an update – whether a weapon was adjusted, an agent is stronger or weaker, or an annoying bug was finally fixed. For the current edition we deliberately point to the original source instead of copying it here.

How often do new patch notes come?

Valorant is updated on a fixed rhythm. As a rule, a new patch appears roughly every two to three weeks. Especially large updates come at the start of a new season or act – then there is often a new Battle Pass, fresh bundles and sometimes a new agent or a new map. Between these major milestones lie smaller patches with balance adjustments and bug fixes.

When the next act starts and which patch dates are coming up until January 2027 is shown in our countdown Valorant new act: Act 6 & every date.

Where do I find the official patch notes?

The most reliable source is always Riot Games itself. You find the complete, current patch notes:

• on the official Valorant website in the "Game Updates" section (playvalorant.com),
• directly in the game, where larger changes are announced at launch.

Because the patch notes are Riot's copyright, you deliberately will not find them here as a full-text copy. Instead this guide explains them and puts into context what the changes mean for you as a skin collector.

How to stay up to date with updates:

1. Keep an eye on the official Game Updates on playvalorant.com.
2. Launch the game after an update and read the in-game announcement.
3. Check the cosmetics part specifically if new skins interest you.
4. Check your shop to see whether new individual skins are available.

What is in the patch notes?

Even though every patch turns out differently, the notes usually follow a similar structure:

• Agent updates: adjustments to abilities – buffs (strengthening) or nerfs (weakening).
• Weapons & balance: changes to values like price, spread or damage.
• Maps: new maps, adjusted corners or map rotations.
• Systems & modes: changes to ranked, Premier, the party system or game modes.
• Bug fixes: bugs that were fixed.
• Cosmetics: new bundles, skins, buddies, sprays and cards.

Patch notes and skins: what changes for collectors?

For anyone who likes collecting skins, the cosmetics part is the most exciting. Nearly every larger patch brings new skin lines and bundles into the game. This has several effects at once:

• New bundles appear as a featured offer and later move into the regular rotation.
• Your daily shop can subsequently show the new individual skins.
• Older skins show up in the Night Market at a discount with a bit of luck.

In short: every patch changes which skins are currently available – and thus also what you can spend your VP balance on.

Do patches change the prices of skins?

The good news first: the VP prices of the skin tiers are usually stable across patches. A premium skin generally still costs 1,775 VP, an ultra skin around 2,475 VP. What changes is mainly the supply – that is, which skins are currently purchasable. The typical tier prices serve as a rough orientation:

Tier	Price (VP)	≈ Euros
Select	875	~€8.75
Deluxe	1,275	~€12.75
Premium	1,775	~€17.75
Ultra	2,475	~€24.75

More on this in our guides to Valorant Points prices and the skin tiers.

Understanding patch numbers

Every patch carries a number, for example “Patch 10.00”. Roughly: the front number changes twice a year – at the season start (Act 1, e.g. 12.00 in January 2026) and at Act 4 (13.00 on June 23, 2026) – while the rear one counts the updates in between. This way you recognize at a glance whether it is a big season start (e.g. “x.00”) or a smaller in-between update.

New skins come with the patches

This is exactly why a look at the patch notes pays off for collectors: many popular skin lines entered the game via an update. A few well-known Vandal skins with real images and their prices as an example of the cosmetics a patch can bring:

More of these in our guides to the best Vandal skins and the most expensive knife skins.

Understanding buffs and nerfs

The two most important terms in every balance patch are buff and nerf. A buff makes something stronger – for example more damage, a lower price or a better ability. A nerf weakens something because it was too dominant. Riot uses these adjustments to keep the game balanced: if an agent is too strong and on almost every team, a nerf usually follows. If an agent is barely played, they often get a buff. For you this means: after a patch it pays to check whether your favorite agents or weapons are affected – sometimes this changes what is currently especially effective.

Distinguishing big and small patches

Not every patch is equally significant. Broadly, two types can be distinguished:

• Big patches (season start): often bring a new Battle Pass, larger balance changes, sometimes a new agent or map and many new bundles.
• Small patches (in-between updates): usually contain targeted balance adjustments, bug fixes and individual new shop offers.

For collectors the big patches are the most exciting, because that is when the most new skins appear. So a look at the notes at the season start is especially worthwhile.

What patches mean for the value of your skins

A common worry is whether a patch changes the value of your own collection. The reassuring answer: as a rule, no. A skin’s value comes from its VP price, and that stays stable across patches. What a patch changes is availability – that is, whether a skin is currently purchasable. Skins from limited collections that are no longer available after a patch do gain prestige, but their official price stays the same. You can recalculate how much your entire collection is worth with Valorant-Spind calculator at any time – regardless of which patch is currently live.

Common misconceptions about patches

• “After a patch my skins are gone”: no – purchased skins stay yours permanently.
• “A nerf lowers the price of my skin”: no – balance changes affect gameplay, not the VP prices of skins.
• “Every patch brings a new agent”: no – new agents only come at certain times, not with every update.
• “I have to read the patch notes in full”: no – pick out the sections that interest you.

The most important patch note terms

• Buff / nerf: something is made stronger or weaker.
• Hotfix: a small, quick update outside the normal rhythm, usually against an acute bug.
• Bundle: a new skin set that appears with the patch.
• Season / act: the period for which a Battle Pass and the ranked phase run.

How to read patch notes correctly as a collector

1. Scroll straight to the cosmetics section – that is where new skins and bundles are.
2. Check whether a skin line you like appears and plan your VP budget.
3. Take a look at Battle Pass novelties at the season start.
4. Keep in mind: new skins first land in the featured bundle, later individually in the shop.
5. Use the Night Market if you want to pick up older skins more cheaply.

New agents: when do they come into the game?

New agents are among the biggest additions a patch can bring – but they do not appear with every update, rather at larger intervals across the game year. When a new agent comes, it is always a big patch with a lot of attention. For you as a player this means: after the release of a new agent, a look at the notes is especially worthwhile, because team interplay can change. New agents are often briefly disabled in ranked at first, so not everyone jumps on them at once – that too is in the patch notes.

New maps and the map pool

New maps or changes to the map pool are also introduced via patches. When a new map is added, another is usually temporarily removed from the competitive rotation. These rotations are likewise in the patch notes. Anyone who wants to train specifically should therefore check after every big patch which maps are currently played – otherwise you might practice a map that is not in the pool right now.

How patches influence the shop and Night Market

Especially relevant for collectors: with the patches the offers change too. A new bundle appears as a featured offer and later shows up individually in the daily shop. Around certain patches the Night Market is also activated, where you get older skins at a discount. Anyone who divides up their VP balance cleverly factors in such moments and strikes exactly when it is worth it.

The test server: trying patches in advance

Riot sometimes tests larger changes in advance on a separate test server before they go live for everyone. There, selected players can try out upcoming adjustments and give feedback. For you this is above all a source of information: what appears on the test server gives a preview of what might come in one of the next patches. But do not rely firmly on it – quite a bit can still change before the final patch.

Is it worth buying right after a patch?

If a patch brings a skin line you like, there is nothing wrong with grabbing it – especially with limited bundles that are not permanently available. With regular skins, on the other hand, you are under no time pressure: after the featured period they move into the normal shop rotation and keep reappearing there. A good principle is therefore: for limited content, decide promptly; for regular skins, wait calmly – the skin might even come back in the Night Market at a discount.

Using patches cleverly for your budget

1. Read the notes at the season start and see which bundles are coming.
2. Decide early which skin line you really like – that way you avoid impulse buys.
3. Hold back VP for the Night Market if you want to save.
4. Keep track with Valorant-Spind calculator of how much you have already invested.

This way you ensure that every patch becomes a conscious event for you and does not lead to unplanned spending.

What patches do not change

An important point for everyone who cares about the value of their collection: patches do not take away your purchased skins and do not change their base value. A skin you have bought stays yours – regardless of whether it is later still available in the shop. You can check how much your collection is worth overall at any time: Valorant-Spind calculator reads your locker locally and automatically adds up the total value in euros.

Why do balance patches exist at all?

A game like Valorant thrives on staying fair and varied. Without regular adjustments, a few agents, weapons or tactics would quickly dominate, and the game would become monotonous. Balance patches counteract this: they strengthen weak options, weaken overly dominant ones and ensure that many different play styles remain possible. For you this means a game that keeps feeling a little new – and in which it pays to stay flexible instead of relying on just a single weapon or a single agent. Anyone who wants to climb in particular benefits from knowing the current adjustments and adapting their game to them.

Learning to read patch notes: a short guide

The notes often look long and technical at first glance. With a little practice, though, you read them in a few minutes. It is best to proceed like this:

1. First skim the section headings – that way you get an overview.
2. Read specifically the parts about your agents and favorite weapons.
3. Look at the cosmetics section if new skins interest you.
4. Note pointers on the map pool and ranked if you play competitive.
5. You can safely skip the rest (small bug fixes).

This way you extract exactly the information important to you in a short time – without having to read every line.

Community and patches

No sooner is a patch out than the community discusses it lively – in forums, social media and streams. This is a good opportunity to better contextualise changes: experienced players often explain why an adjustment makes sense or how to exploit it. But take such opinions as inspiration, not law – you learn the most by trying the changes out in the game yourself. It gets especially exciting when a patch shifts the so-called “meta”, that is, changes which agents and weapons are currently considered particularly strong.

Patches and the long-term value of your collection

Over the years the patches add up – and with them the skins you have collected. Even though the official price of individual skins does not change, the total value of your collection grows with every purchase. Skins from earlier, limited collections in particular gain a special status with the community over time. You can have their euro equivalent – as pure orientation – shown at any time with Valorant-Spind calculator. This way you keep an overview across all the patches of how much is in your locker.

Patch or hotfix – what is the difference?

Both terms keep appearing. A patch is a planned update on a fixed rhythm with many changes at once. A hotfix, by contrast, is a small, quick update outside the normal plan – usually to fix an acute bug or an overly strong effect at short notice. Hotfixes are much shorter and often affect only a single point. For collectors they are rarely relevant, because they usually bring no new skins. Still good to know: if a small update suddenly comes even though no big patch was planned, it is usually such a hotfix.

Do I have to download again after every patch?

Yes, every patch comes with a download that Valorant installs automatically at launch. Big season patches are more extensive than small in-between updates. So plan some time for the download around an expected big patch before you can play. The update runs entirely via the official client – you do not have to download anything manually from third-party sites. Be suspicious if a “Valorant patch download” is offered anywhere outside the game: that is never official and can be dangerous.

Conclusion

The Valorant patch notes are your compass through every update – from balancing to the new skins. For collectors the cosmetics part matters most: it determines which skins are currently available and what the VP balance is worth spending on. The tier prices stay pleasingly stable. Read the official notes at Riot, watch for the cosmetic novelties – and keep an eye with Valorant-Spind on how much your growing collection is worth.

Read on

🕰️ Where it all began: the Valorant release date & OG test page shows what changed since 2020.

What the current state means for the whole game – agents, weapons, maps and prices – is summed up on Valorant in numbers.

Frequently asked questions (FAQ)

What is the current Valorant patch?

Currently (as of Oct 27, 2026), Patch 13.09 from October 27, 2026 is the latest version – with the new agent Hush, reworked ability descriptions, the new buff terms Haste and Snapshot, a Warden buff and a Clove adjustment (Pick-me-up movement speed bonus 15% → 10%). Before that came Patch 13.08 from October 13, 2026, kicking off Act 6 with a new map pool and Map Rating; there was no patch 13.07.

How often do new Valorant patch notes come?

As a rule, a new patch appears roughly every two to three weeks. Especially extensive updates come at the start of a new season or act.

Where do I find the official Valorant patch notes?

Riot Games publishes the complete patch notes on the official Valorant website in the “Game Updates” section, as well as an announcement in the game itself.

Do patches change the prices of skins?

The VP prices of the skin tiers usually stay stable across patches. What changes is mainly the supply – that is, which skins and bundles are currently available.

Do I lose purchased skins through a patch?

No. Skins you have bought remain permanently in your possession, even if they are later no longer available in the shop. Their base value does not change through patches.

What does the patch number mean?

The front number stands for the current season or game year, the rear one for the respective update within that period. An “x.00” patch marks the start of Act 1 (season start) or Act 4.