Icebox gets sent back to the VALORANT labs for a quick rehab session.
VALORANT PBE 6.08 is here, and the recently published update log lists minor improvements to several Agents’ sound and visual effects, plus key map rotation changes that will see the return of a fan-favorite map and the removal of a staple VALORANT map from Competitive and Unrated Queues.
In this quick guide, we have outlined everything you need to know about the VALORANT PBE 6.08 update.
Gekko and Killjoy Updates
Gekko and Killjoy are set to receive audio and VFX updates in Patch 6.08, while Brimstone and Omen get improved targeting visuals to help with placement.
Gekko gets audio improvements to his Wingman ability’s plant and defuses audio cues. Previously, when planting and defusing the Spike using Wingman, the audio cues would easily get drowned out in the heat of battle, so these new audio updates should help make Wingman plant and defuse sound cues more perceivable.
Gekko finally gets his HD portrait weeks after arriving in the game. Players can now better appreciate Gekko’s hair color in HD.
Killjoy will get audio updates in Patch 6.08. The audio loop for hidden Nanoswarm (buzzing sound) will now be disabled whenever Killjoy is killed or suppressed.
Killjoy also gets a slight nerf in Patch 6.08, as her Nanoswarm reveal radius has increased from 350 to 525 and will now be revealed when Killjoy is disabled (by KAY/O’s Knife, for example.) Now the enemy team can spot Killjoy’s Nanoswarm sooner, forcing Killjoy players to employ more thoughtful Alarm Bot and Nanoswarm combos moving forward.
Other Killjoy updates include a new visual effect when Lockdown is destroyed, removing the yellow warning UI indicator for the enemy Killjoy’s Lockdown, and an updated audio cue for disabled Turret and Alarm Bot.
Lastly, Brimstone and Omen are getting improved targeting visual indicators for their Smoke abilities to accommodate pixel-perfect placements. Brimstone’s Orbital Strike is getting the same visual update to help with targeting.
Icebox Out Bind In
Bind makes a long-awaited return in Patch 6.08 but at the cost of one of VALORANT’s oldest maps in Icebox.
In Patch 6.08, Icebox will be obliterated from Competitive and Unrated queues, while Bind will now be playable in Competitive and Unrated again.
Unlike Bind, don’t expect Icebox back in Competitive or Unrated anytime soon, as Breeze will probably be added back into the game first when the devs complete the updates on the map.
House Cleaning
Expect Patch 6.08 to feature every update and change outlined in PBE 6.08, plus a few other updates, as the VALORANT devs go through all the other issues outlined in the PBE Patch notes. Patch 6.08 is expected to go live on April 25th.
You can read the full PBE Patch notes here.
