Valorant Patch 7.12, which went live this December 5th, is effectively the last Valorant patch for the year and introduces a couple of major changes in the game.

From the addition of a new map to some major buffs & nerfs in 2 agents, there’s more to this patch notes than meets the eye. As such, one cannot help but wonder how these changes will affect the Valorant agent meta and that, whether, the new map is any good.

Therefore, in this article, we will go through the key highlights of Valorant patch 7.12 and try to answer some of the most asked questions by players.

Valorant Patch Notes 7.12 Explained

New Map: Drift

Revealed at the Gamechangers event, the Drift map is inspired by Thailand and its floating markets. It is the headline addition for Valorant patch 7.12 and is the latest map to be incorporated into the Valorant map pool.

In short, Drift features a long-range mid that has several paths for players to weave in and out of and also includes overhead ropes to get across it. It showcases the standard three-lane layout and is designed to ensure predictable fights. The mid-section, however, paves the way for more dynamic engagements. This is partly thanks to the ziplines that weave the lanes together.

However, do note that Drift is only available in TDM maps, i.e., Team Death Match maps. As such, it finds its place among Piazza, District, and Kasbah.

While Drift is designed similarly to the other three TDM maps, what sets it apart is the amount of detail that went into it while designing. Essentially, Drift is dominated by wooden buildings, a beach resort, and floating markets. The Floating market is basically several market shops lined on the shore, typical of a bustling Thailand marketplace at sea-side areas.

In addition, more on the interesting side, Drift features isolated lanes. Unlike other TDM maps featuring complex lanes, where you would die from a headshot from a different part of the map, the isolated lanes allow for more traditional, simple, and predictable fights.

And to make up for the isolated sections, Devs at Riot Games have put immense details into Drift’s mid-section. It is the perfect place for close-quartered fights along with some thrilling long-ranged encounters that will put your sniping skills to the test!

So, does Drift sound exciting to play? Why not get a Valorant account from Eldorado and see it for yourself?

Now that we know what the new Valorant map is like, you may wonder what Valorant agents are best suited for it. As such, at first look, Sova and Fade can make great agent choices for Drift. Their initiating abilities will particularly prove very handy in Drift’s isolated lanes.

In addition, Brimstone and Omen can also give you a big advantage in the middle by blocking areas with their smokes and using shotguns to take our enemies quickly in short range. Moreover, Jett and Raze can give you much-needed mobility between lanes when you find your comrades in a strict standoff with the enemy.

Last but not least, since Drift is a TDM map and not a Ranked map, we advise you not to take it very seriously. Instead, you can use it to warm up before diving into ranked Valorant maps like Haven and Lotus.

Watch the Drift Team Deathmatch trailer here.

Agent Buffed: Gekko

Riot Games buffed Gekko big time with their latest Valorant Patch 7.12. Below are the changes introduced:

Dizzy (E)

• Once Dizzy is ready to shoot and sees a target, they will shoot faster, and the projectile will travel faster.
• Pre-fire targeting delay is now at 0.35s instead of the previous 0.50s.
• Missile speed is now at 10,000 instead of the previous 7,000.

Reclaim for Dizzy (E), Wingman (Q), and Thrash (X)

• The reclaim channel time is now 1s instead of the previous 2s.  

Gekko has been ignored by players for a very long time due to his abilities not being able to provide much value. However, things have changed for good now since the new buffs introduced are much more powerful than they seem.

For instance, you’ll now be able to pick up his orbs faster and with fewer, if any, second thoughts.

Agent Nerfed: Skye

Unlike Gekko, Riot Games nerfed Skye significantly with their latest Valorant Patch 7.12. Below are the changes introduced:

Trailblazer (Q)

• Camera movement is disabled during the leap.
• When the Trailblazer is destroyed during the leap, it no longer causes a concuss explosion and will play the destruction voice line when destroyed while leaping.
• The trailblazer explosion now concusses allies as well as enemies.

While it is certainly bad news for Skye mains, it should be accepted that Skye has been dominating Valorant’s Initiator agent meta for a very long time. These nerfs will allow other Valorant Initiator agents to shine.

That said, Sova and Fade will hopefully see a rise in their pick rate since they are the only other initiators with strong scouting abilities.

Miscellaneous

Apart from these key highlights, Riot Games also addressed some Player Behavior, Premier, as well as Agent bug fixes. Also, there have been some Performance and Player Behavior updates. All these miscellaneous changes are as below:

BUG FIXES

Agent

• Fixed a bug where kills would not be awarded to you while controlling an ability. This affected Sova getting a kill with Shock Dart (Q) while controlling Owl Drone (C), Gekko’s Mosh (C) kills while controlling Thrash (X), and Cypher’s Trapwire (C) kills while controlling Spycam (E).
• When KAY/O is downed during his NULL-CMD (X), the red portrait will now show for everyone in the game.

Player Behavior

• Fixed an issue where in rare cases, someone would spawn in the next round after being detected AFK, preventing the pistol round bonus for their teammates.

Premier

• Fixed an issue in Overtime Voting where the “Waiting for Opponents” message appears behind the voting team.

PERFORMANCE UPDATES

• Raw Input Buffer is improved by removing beta tags and setting the default value from off to on. However, do note that the existing, manually set, values will not be impacted.

PLAYER BEHAVIOR UPDATES

• There is now a Party Invite Code that party leaders can generate to send invite codes so that other people can use in-game to be able to join the same party.

To Wrap It Up

Drift is an exciting addition to Valorant, Gekko has got the much-awaited buff he so needed, and Skye has been nerfed for all the right reasons. As such, what do you think of this latest Valorant Patch 7.12? Share your thoughts with us and let us know in the comments below!