Valorant patch 5.0 notes: New map Pearl, new 'Ascendant' rank, Split removed

The patch notes for Valorant Patch 5.0 is here for the upcoming release of Episode 5 Act 1 and Riot Games is releasing a slew of new content including a new map and changes to Competitive. Here’s the full patch notes for the latest update for Riot’s tactical shooter.

Valorant Episode 5 is almost here with a release date set for June 22, and Riot Games has revealed new details following the developer live stream that took place today, June 16.

Now, Riot Games has released an extensive list of patch notes that detail new content such as the new map, Pearl, a Pearl-only queue, and a lot of bug fixes.

Additionally, the 5.0 patch notes noted a few bug fixes surrounding the Agents Jett, Sova, Fade, and Chamber. Let’s dive in and check out the full list of changes and tweaks coming in Valorant patch 5.0.

Valorant Patch 5.0 notes

The full patch notes for Valorant’s 5.0 update can be found below.

Patch notes obtained via Riot Games.

New Pearl map

The new map Pearl is making its debut in Episode 5. According to Riot Games Pearl is “Pearl is VALORANT’s first Omega Earth map that mixes technological marvels with tactical three-lane gameplay.”

NEW MAP: Pearl goes live!
Pearl-only queue
- This queue is a standard, Unrated mode that will give players a chance to practice the new map before they see it in Competitive play.
- Pearl-only queue will be available for 2 weeks, then after that Pearl will enter Competitive.

Aesthetically, the map seems to take inspiration from Mediterranean cities, featuring gray stone architecture, lush vegetation and flowers, and outdoor cafes all mixed with a technological element.

New ‘Ascendant’ rank

Added an additional rank above Diamond, below Immortal, called “Ascendant.”
- We believe our lower ranks have a few too many of you, especially Bronze and Silver. When we were looking at rank distribution, we realized that if we were to move some of you up and out of those lower ranks, it would overpopulated Platinum and Diamond. So by adding a new rank we can better distribute you across ranks, keep the prestige of high ranks, while helping better define the skill level of each rank.
Moved the rank MMR targets that determine rank down, due to the addition of the new Ascendant rank, for all ranks below Ascendant. Moved the ranked target for Immortal 1/2/3 and Radiant up.
- These are the cut-offs that say “You should be X MMR to reach this rank”. MMR targets determine your RR gains and help push your rank to match your MMR.
- This means players will go up in rank, if they are below Ascendant.
- To align with our expectations of what it means to be in the highest ranks of VALORANT, Immortal+ players will find it harder to climb back to their previous episode rank. This means Immortal will also have a smaller leaderboard population in all regions
- Due to the seasonal reset, you may not see a rank increase at the start of the Episode without putting in some work; but the reset will be “less harsh” compared to the last Episode reset. So because we are pushing the player base upwards to fill Ascendant, the reset will not hit you as hard.
- Next time we reset ranks it will probably push you down more than this Episode’s reset. Please remember that the “less harsh” reset is unique to this Episode because of the introduction of Ascendant.
Grouping restrictions for Ascendant are 3 ranks above or below the Ascendant ranked
player
- This fits in with our Platinum+ rule set for grouping.
The highest placement allowed has increased to Ascendant 1 (previously Diamond 1)
Five stacking 25% RR penalty now starts at Immortal 1 (previously Diamond 3)
Solo/Duo/5-stack restriction now starts at Immortal 1 (previously Diamond 3)
- Remember, Diamond 3 and above could previously only solo, duo, and 5-stack. This restriction now begins at Immortal 1.
- By adding another rank we were able to push the Five Stack penalty and Solo/Duo restrictions into Immortal. This makes it more straight forward, Immortal is where the leaderboard starts and because of this we try to hold players more accountable for their standings.
Due to a naming clash with the new rank, we’ve renamed Sage’s tier 8 Agent Contract unlock—the new Sage title is “Dauntless”
- Renaming this title was not something we chose lightly, but after talking about the title we felt like it was a chance to give the title more meaning to Sage and her personality/theme.

Split removed

The Split map is also being temporarily removed, which Riot Games is set to detail in a further update, though it likely has to do with Pearl debuting.

We are temporarily removing Split from the map pool in Unrated and Competitive queues.
There are reasons! You can read more about our decision in our map pool update article.

Bug Fixes

Maps

Fixed a bug on Haven that was preventing players from using their spray on a wall in A Garden.

Agents

Fixed a bug where Jett could equip a weapon during Tailwind
Fixed a bug where Agents revealed by Sova’s Recon Bolt or Fade’s Haunt would sometimes briefly appear in an incorrect location on the minimap
Fixed a bug where the scope visual effect would sometimes disappear when aiming with Chamber’s Tour De Force

Game Systems

Fixed a bug where using an Ultimate point orb or defusing the Spike at maximum range could cause channeling and progress bar animations to flicker
Fixed a bug where the use channeling progression bar does not update if the player disconnects and reconnects during the match
Fixed a bug where some weapon equips could play the wrong equip speed animation, which could visually misrepresent when you were able to fire. Some situations impacted by this bug were:
- Cypher exiting Spycam
- Capturing Ultimate point Orbs
- Canceling and completing Spike plant
Fixed a bug where the use channeling progression bar does not update if the player disconnects and reconnects during the match
Fixed a bug where some weapon equips could play the wrong equip speed animation,which could visually misrepresent when you were able to fire. Some situations impacted by this bug were:
- Cypher exiting Spycam
- Capturing Ultimate point Orbs
- Canceling and completing Spike plant

So there you have it, that’s all you need to know about the Valorant Patch 5.0 Notes. Make sure to check out our other guides for Valorant:

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